Seek and ye shall find

This could either be seen as a bit of serendipity, or a cautionary tale about how easy it is to spend money online, but I'm pretty pleased with a purchase I made this afternoon, during my break at work. I only had my laptop with me because I'd gone straight to work after travelling back up from home this morning, and it was far too much of a temptation not to use it while it was available. What made me look today particularly, I couldn't say, but I did a search for a book I've been after for a good couple of years, and which I've never seen offered for anything resembling an affordable price. Until today. Although I've still paid what many might find an unconscionable amount of money for a second-hand paperback - £40 - the fact that I should soon be the proud owner of a copy of Sandel by Angus Stewart, which I've never seen on sale for anything less than £90 before, easily outweighs the financial downside. I'm going to call it a late birthday present, because there wasn't anything I especially wanted last month that was anywhere near any feasible budget, and I did mention it to my wife when I spoke to her earlier on, so I'm not doing anything underhanded. She asked what book it was, and I told her the title, although whether she'd make any further enquiries about it I don't know. Probably not, but it might cause a few ripples if she found a plot synopsis.
I found a few almost forgotten backwaters in my memory yesterday, too. On the way home yesterday morning, again for no reason I can readily explain, I began musing about the first time I was really consciously aware of being attracted to boys, and who the 'first boy' actually was. I know I wrote a while ago about a cricketing acquaintance who, with the benefit of hindsight, was the first I couldn't stop looking at, when I was 12, but I didn't properly realise at the time why I was so fascinated by him. By the time I was 14, though, I was well aware that I was looking at boys in the way that my coevals were looking at girls, and it's those early 'window shopping' exercises I was thinking about yesterday. What amazed me was how many there were, when I really thought about it, all a year or two younger than me - Laddy, Jamie, Clucker, Michael, Timmy, Paul, and the one I think must be awarded the dubious accolade of being my first 'crush'. Sorry Tony!

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B