MandyD

This brings back memories...after I graduated I rented a flat with my boyfriend from 2003 to 2006, and although we cleaned the house from top to bottom before we left, Tapton Estates still charged us £52 for a 'dirty cooker hinge'. I still can't believe it, I think they were just desperate to get more money out of us. How can it cost over fifty pounds to clean a hinge? We also had trouble with damp in our flat - huge patches over and under the windows, behind the bed and over the front door. They said they'd send someone around, which they did, but that person left a note telling us to move all the furniture into the middle of the rooms so they could get a better look at the damp (as if it wasn't obvious enough!). We took them at their word, moving literally everything we could into the middle of each room (finding more patches of damp in the process), and they had another look. They said it was our fault for drying clothes inside without opening the windows and refused to do anything about it! I think that was the point at which we decided to stop renting and get our own place. I also remember once they ripped the shower out and took a week to replace it...

I love 'How Does it Feel' by Slade - it's nothing like their usual shouty songs, it's just really simple and beautiful. You'd think it was by a completely different band if Noddy Holder didn't have such a distinctive voice!

So it's not all people in their teens/early twenties then? That's a relief, I don't want to feel ancient! I'm quite looking forward to the wandering around aspect too, though I've got a few must-sees on my list - OK Go, Eels and the Vaccines. I'm still a bit gutted that Pulp aren't playing, I'd have loved to see them, but I'm sure there'll still be plenty to keep me busy!

I'm still in shock at how bad Leon's speech was, after 5 hours of preparation! It's surprising that no one stepped in and said they'd do it instead, a lot of them really like the sound of their own voices...

I'm going! I've never been before (despite being 30!) so am pretty excited! I was a bit disappointed with the headliners, to be honest - I'll probably see Coldplay, but I'm not bothered about U2 or Beyonce. At least there's a few good alternatives - Primal Scream and Queens of the Stone Age spring to mind! I can't quite decide whether to see Queens of the Stone Age or Gruff Rhys though...

Thanks so much for your help, tinkerbell. My health visitor is going to come and see me quite soon, so I'll ask her about getting someone to read through my notes then. I've also spoken to my husband and we've agreed to sit down and go through everything that happened, because I think that would help too. There are a lot of blanks from that day, because, like you say, it was such a blur! Bonding with my son didn't happen immediately (well, it couldn't - I only had a photo for the first two days!) but I love him to bits now.

I'd really like to go to a traumatic birth support group - I had my son seven weeks early by emergency Caesarean (after lots of blood loss as my placenta came away early), and it was the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me. It happened 6 months ago and I still get very emotional if I think about it. At the moment I'm in two minds about what to do though - on the one hand, I think maybe talking about it would help, but on the other I wonder if I'll just end up dwelling on it too much and won't be able to move on! Oh, and tinkerbell-rose, I completely understand your point about missing out on holding a bundle of joy in your arms straight after birth. My son was whisked off to the intensive care unit as soon as he came out, and due to my high blood pressure I wasn't allowed to see him until two days after he was born.