The Pride of Britain Awards 2011

Nigel is certainly a dark horse with very hidden depths …..

….. he kept us all in pent up suspension over his mysterious disappearance until we got his effervescent phone call yesterday morning,  when all was revealed. He arrived back home, at about 12.30pm and all we could do was hug him, speechless in a totally stunned type nature for several minutes  …

……. until we recovered (a little)  and then we hung on his every word.

When he first showed us his official invitation our awe had never been so totally struck, to think that all those celebrity people who been there with him also had the same thing sitting on their celebrity mantelpieces, but Nigel had kept his hidden under his bed.

We were even more dumbfounded when he told us that he had also attended the Post Awards Party……

…. and had exchanged pleasantries with Piers Morgan, Gary Barlow’s minder, Paul O’Grady, Aston from JLS, and someone from Downton Abbey to name just a few!

It was like a wonderful dream to us ………

………. but Nigel had actually lived and breathed it,  …… he’d breathed the same air as what celebrities had breathed, how brilliant is that? 

He told us that when he got to the hotel and stepped onto the Red Carpet Gail Tilsley from Coronation Street was just a little way in front of him and as he didn’t quite know what to do, he watched how she waved to the crowds and decided to follow suit, saying that it had felt very natural to him!

He said that Gail was a lot more cheerful and smiley in real life and wasn’t wearing her usual awful black padded coat, that we have often commented upon but a rather lovely knitted shrug and her hair was beautifully quaffed and shiny.

Nigel was pleased to see that they had laid on a bit of tea for him and the celebs when they got to the Grosvenor House Hotel because all he’d  had on the train was a pork pie and can of fizzy pop and his stomach was beginning to make funny noises. We all nommed out aloud as we read the menu but wondered what Serrano Ham was.  Nigel said it tasted like chicken!

He added that the food had been wonderous and the fondant potato was to die for, but unfortunately he didn’t feel able to finish all his pudding as Tulisa came over to talk to him and he said he would have been mortified if he’d talked back and spat his milk chocolate truffle torte all over her posh frock.

He said she was incredibly beautiful, with lovely luminescent skin and he intimated that perhaps he might have a little crush on her now. He asked if her would keep an eye out for me and Darrell next year, if she was still a judge on The X Factor as we hadn’t entirely ruled out auditioning but still hadn’t decided to go as a group or separate entities.

  

Then finally Darrell couldn’t wait any longer and had to ask if Nigel had seen/met Stacey Solomon …… Nigel handled the situation with great diplomacy and aplombe, he said that he had, but all the time he had been with her he thought only of Darrell and was embracing the moment for him.

Nigel added that he could understand why Darrell loved her so much, she was beautiful, funny and totally natural, she also smelt gorgeous and her dress was as twinkly as the midnight sky.  It was a lovely description and out of the corner of my eye it obvious that Darrell was in danger of falling apart……..

I was so worried as to how he would react knowing that Nigel had been in Stacey’s arms and how much he would have wanted it to have been him …. but he gave Nigel the most maaaahosive cuddle and whispered “I know you did it for me little fella …..

…… but I might need to cuddle you a little harder and longer than usual for a while, just knowing that you have been so close to the love of my life”

What a wonderful adventure …… we are all truly blessed in a Hello Magazine type way ….. and what a man Nigel has proved to be!