Its been in the news a lot this week about the poor girls who have been arrested and charged in Peru for drug smuggling. Yes, I did say poor girls. Did they do it? I don’t know but I expect they were, at the very least, cajoled and enticed into it. I think its entirely possible that they were, as they say, kidnapped and threatened but obviously I couldn’t know for sure if they are telling the truth – to me it doesn’t matter. What I do know is that we all make and have made mistakes. Granted I never tried to smuggle thousands of pounds worth of drugs from one country to another when I was in my late teens but I did do some pretty stupid things. Was I thick? No, I wasn’t thick, but I was stupid at times. I believe these girls have just been very immature and very stupid as girls of their age can be. I don’t believe that means they deserve years of imprisonment for a moment of madness, if that’s what it was! And I don’t believe they deserve a minute of imprisonment if their story is true!

I hate drugs. I absolutely hate them. I’ve tried them in my past so I’m not speaking from a position of total ignorance but I have good reason to detest them. When I was 16-18 I used to take Amphetamines from time to time. Not a lot but I did take them. I also tried Ecstacy and Cocaine on the odd occasion back then. I had some fabulous recreational dapples where I saw beautiful colours, felt love for life and experienced the high. But… I also watched drugs do something very dark and sinister to people I know. I was lucky. I got away with it. I managed to try them and leave them behind but I know others who didn’t and even just Marijuana (which I never enjoyed by the way) did something horrid to someone I love and my stance on drugs now is don’t touch them. I have zero tollerance for them actually and good reason don’t you think? If you’ve seen drugs almost destroy someone first hand then I defy you to feel differently. Knowing this and you might think I would take a different view on these girls who may have been helping the drugs trade, in their own small way, flourish.

I’m afraid I can’t write them off though. They aren’t the big guys. Even if they might be the guys who saw a quick way to make some money or a way to try drugs for free in their naive youth… I can’t write them off. I don’t think I would have agreed to be a drug smuggler but I did agree to lots of other stupid things at their age. I believe, IF they did do it willingly, that they may have just been stupid and blighting their life for a stupid, random and immature act seems too terrible. As I said, I’ve done stupid and potentially life threatening things in the past. Walking home from a club at around aged 18 in order to save the cab fare home and a red sports car pulled up next to me with a middle aged man driving. He offered me a lift home. I didn’t even think. I just saw the offer and took it for what it was and in my mini skirt with my youthful body I slid in next to him. He drove me home and asked me out for a drink which I declined, horrified as it occurred to me for the first time that he was looking at me with some potential. I vacated his car at my Mum’s house and went home. I think we all know how easily that story could have ended differently and it would have just been one bad decision. One bad decision made with the naivety of a slightly drunk teenager. It could have ruined me. It didn’t. I was lucky. I wish I could say that the ‘accepting a lift’ decision was the only risky and dubious decision I made at that sort of age. It wasn’t, but we won’t go into them all, it might take a while.

The thing is, as a teen, a silly teen with life experience and growing up not yet happened, we make decisions which could potentially affect the rest of our lives. Sometimes yes, repercussions need to be had but sometimes just a scare should be enough. I shudder now when I think back to getting in that car. It almost takes my breath away at how lucky I was. I worry that Florence will take daring decisions and I wonder how I can teach her not to? I look at those poor girls in Peru and I think, that could have been me and what if it was my child? I’d want them home to shout at them and make sure they never did anything so silly again. I just hope they come home and get to learn their lesson in a way that doesn’t include rotting in a Peruvian prison. I might be a soft touch but they’re just girls really. Just like I was and just like my child will be one day.

MY LIFE WITH 2!

This week we have been staying with my Mum in Norwich and its been SO relaxing! When we arrived we had a meal in Norwich city centre and then went on a mini version of the GoGoGorilla trail. In Norwich at the moment they have over 50 life sized gorillas which have all been painted by local artists and with a map you can pick up at various outlets you are invited to find them all! We didn’t take a map or do the trail properly but instead just found the ones on our route which we took back from the station through the cathedral Grounds. Norwich is tremendously beautiful and I’m very proud of my city. I loved walking along the river and through the close into the city centre where we continued to find these fabulous Gorillas! Florence thought it was super fun and I hope we can make time to do the proper trail before the gorillas are auctioned off!

The rest of our trip was about sitting in the garden and not doing anything much really! I think we all needed the rest and both of the children have enjoyed the freedom of wearing no clothes and running around outside all day. Florence has been for a sleep-over at Grannie and Papa’s (Jonny’s parents) and we’ve just enjoyed the sunshine. Having a garden here only makes me more certain that we need to move to somewhere with outdoor space. It’s hard thinking about moving from the loveliest and most sought after area in our part of London to go to a not so desirable street but we’re lucky that we live East and even luckier that our area in particular is up and coming. We can sell for much more than we bought and perhaps buy a house for cheaper in a place not too far away that will rise just as our current place has. I just know that I don’t want to be without a garden any longer. Being outdoors is brilliant and BBQs, sand tables and a slide are in my sights! There is one downfall to having a back door I suppose… Its a step to fall off! Poor old Jimmy didn’t half graze his poor little head!

It was a lovely relaxing week and I intend to have more of those! See you again next week and in the mean time please do follow me on Twitter @rocknrollerbaby.

I was not paid for any part of this post.

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