A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

I've been thinking about this blogging business. How much do you reveal and what do you keep back? Given that most of my material and songs are drawn from personal experience, sometimes it's hard to tell.

I often find myself wondering, when I read various columnists, "Did that actually happen?", or "I wonder what that friend/spouse/partner thought of them writing that?" Maybe they don't mind. Or maybe they have some agreement about what they can and can't say. Who knows. One thing I do find a bit pretentious, although I understand why writers do it, is this business of giving your significant other an alias. For example, AA Gill calls his partner the "Blonde". One writer whose column I used to edit when I was freelancing referred to her partner as "Boyf". Eurgh.

I asked my husband what he'd like to be known as in this blog. He said: "He-man." I said, "Are you serious?" He said, "Yes." It all stems from this conversation I was having with a friend who came to stay a few weeks ago, and my husband was in the room. I was making some comment about I don't remember what, and my friend, Ada, said, "Well, you did marry a he-man." Which I think he rather liked. So He-man it is. For now....