An ode to Rhiannon on her 40th birthday!

Ode To A Rock Chick - Part 4.0 by Sheila

Today is the day

And she’s turning forty!

A business partner, a rock chick 

And of course my friend, Rhi!

So let me tell you a little 

Of the tale of how we met

At Ardingly, in the Hangar 

In year 3, the scene was set. 

Where it all began. Even back then we were dressing the same!

She was suited and booted

She was dressed to impress.

She wore her hair tidy 

And was looking her preppy best!

For those of you who know her well

As of course now I do,

Will understand how funny this is

Tidy hair!!! WHAT!!! Who knew???

She was ever the professional 

And the chat was very polite,

‘It was nice to meet you, but I’m off

To practise with my band tonight.’

She made it sound as if she were

Part of a marching band.

Playing her triangle or her flute

With Girls Brigades across the land.

Apologies to the Orchid Thieves,

The actual band she was in. 

Not at all a marching group

How very wrong I’d been.

And so our time as team year 3

Had to come to a close.

She moved house, she moved school

The end of a chapter I suppose.

Then along came Leo, a little face

All cuddly and totally yummy.

And so a new era then began

Rhiannon was a mummy!

Taking it all in their stride

She and Jon moved to Germany

A new chapter in Munich then began

And so did the appearance of Nowi!

Completed was their family of four

Her two boys and her hubby,

Plus of course two lovely cats

Chimu and Charlie.

Then all of a sudden I got the call

To ask me for a favour.

Could I go and view a house in Newick

Take photos to give them the flavour.

So off I went camera in hand

To view this potential pad.

‘It’s pretty much falling apart’ I said.

‘We’ll take it’, she said. ‘It can’t be that bad!!!’

The Newick days had begun

And new friends were found and made.

As well as keeping up with old ones

As all the new babies met and played.

Rhiannon was teaching back in school

Where she was the music head.

A job she loved and pupils she adored 

‘But there’s still more to give’ she said.

One cold and rainy November

We meet in town for a coffee.

In Haywards Heath Costa we started to dream

And hey presto….. Discover and Be!

‘Let’s start that messy playgroup

That we’ve dreamt of for so long.

We can set up paint and play doh,

Read stories and end with a song.’

Rhiannon with her entourage of groupies!

We prepped and laughed 

And planned our dreams.

Wrote business plans, built websites 

And conjured up crazy themes.

Rhi tutored her music pupils

And renovated her home.

And she did her mum thing

While talking to me on the phone.

Nearly five years on we are an agency.

How did that happened? Who knows!

But having resisted my uniform colour choice

She now can’t stop buying yellow clothes!

So we know in her heart she’s a rock chick

Who loves to be on stage.

Doing her thing, she loves to sing

Staff bands, with toddlers, anyone, any age!

Rhi leading our staff band ‘Organised Chaos’ at Ardingly about 10 years ago.

So this is my ode to that rock chick

The one who has just turned 40.

So together let us raise a glass and say

Happy 40th Birthday Rhi!