There are lots of people out there.
Some you remember forever, some you have trouble registering even whilst you're talking to them ( I'm thinking bus enthusiasts, cardigan designers, Young Conservatives etc.)
Some are pleasing to the eye, some have the face of a dropped pie but pretty much everyone is fascinating if you look at them properly, and listen to their story.
Just occasionally you bump into someone who has the whole deal and then some.
Enter Ivana Van der Fluff ( not entirely sure that's her real name ) who, it's fair to say, is not exactly backward in coming forward.
She struck me as a walking celebration of the confidence (and courage) it takes to be whichever version of yourself you choose to be, unaffected by those who shake their heads as you shimmy past in a cloud of feline indifference.
She told me that there had been two things she had always wanted to do, but the business of having a responsible career, being a grown up and generally conforming to all the subtle expectations of those around us had somehow pushed her ambitions to the back of the queue.
But not any more...
One was to strut her stuff on the Burlesque stage, and the other was to abseil down a building.
So, for anyone who ever wondered if they should let their alter ego out to run about with it's pants on it's head, here's your answer.
We decide who we are and what we do and the fear of disapproval is of no consequence if we are true to ourselves.
Those who matter will not mind, and those who mind do not matter.
When I asked Ivana if she had fulfilled both her ambitions it came as no surprise to find that she had indeed abseiled down the outside of a tall building.
And Ivana being Ivana, had done it in feathers, boots and corsets.
Epic...
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