Hi Dom, many thanks for your post, it was very interesting reading, especially about my brothers wife.
It reminded me of something that happened years ago, when my brother still lived in Scotland with my dad, I was up visiting. My brother had just been on a "boys only" holiday to Crete (or Corfu, can't remember which!) and said he had met a girl there. He said it was nothing serious, that he had met up with her a few times and decided it was going no-where, so he had tried to end it. This resulted in said girlfriend threatning to kill herself, couldn't live without him, all that sort of stuff.
Anyway, my brother is a very handsome bloke (think of David Tennant with a bit more muscle and you're there) - he showed me some pics of this mousy brown not overly attractive woman. I told him that his girlfriends in the past had been stunners, so what on earth was he doing with this "Heid the ball" (as we say in Scotland! I told him he could do soooo much better than her, and not to put up with her emotional blackmail, and to bin her.
He lived in Scotland, she lived in Sunderland (sorry to any Sunderlanders out there), so they weren't even living close to each other.
Well, the next thing was, he was engaged to her! I got married myself when I was 21 (long time ago, only lasted 18 mths), when I had my 21st birthday party, he turned up with his "fiance", and told my other brother that he had better behave himself and not get drunk and embarrass him! (It's a Scottish party for goodness sake, that's what we do!!)
Anyway, upshot is, I had the big white wedding, the full works, brother turns up and announces that he and said girlfriend had got married the week before in Nottingham! No guests, nothing. Although when we saw the pictures, all of her family were there - funny that!
The more I think back on it, the more I think he is quite a weak character, and she is pulling the strings.
Well, more fool him really for putting up with it.
As to his basic lack of knowledge if diabetes and ulcerative colitis, well, he has known my dad has suffered from this for a long time, my brother is an intelligent man, as he keeps telling me ("I've got a degree you know, and I did it all myself!!"), so I cannot accept he didn't at least Google it.
But, in his defence (don't know why I'm saying that!) a friend at work said today that this could be his way of dealing with things, he's frightened and doesn't want to see his dad like that. Although, neither do I, but I would never behave the way he did, totally unacceptable.
Sorry guys for ranting a bit again, but you might be able to tell, I'm still blazing mad at him
BUT - hubby is away tonight, and I have steered clear of the fridge!
One small Victory in a huge pile of SH*T! (Pardon the pun!!)
