Just setting the record straight

Whilst having a conversation recently, the topic of my nickname arrised. For those of you that don't know, I am known as Flora in some circles. Quite an unusual nickname for a heterosexual bloke like myself, and one that always causes questions. So here it is, the reason I ma known as Flora (well, as I understand it anyway)...

In the first few weeks of University in the first year is when nicknames start to appear. In our year group we have Batman, Gadget, Extreme Paul (later XP), Fella, 'Our Kes', Irish Kerry and so on. Around this time, people started to refer to me as Flora. Apparently, my need to help people, and constant offering of help and stuff had earned me a reputation as being a very pro-active person. At the time (and maybe still, I don't know) you could buy a margarine called Flora Pro-active. Hence the name, Flora.

Cheesy, I know, and at first it certainly felt a little odd. But I've grown to like it. Unlike Batman and Gadget, whose real names of Simon and James have been long forgotten, I've managed to keep mine. I guess that would be largely due to the fact that it's difficult to introduce myself. 'Hi my name's James, but my friends call me Gadget' works alright. 'Hi, my name's Andy, but you can call me Flora' sounds even weirder than I look.

So there you have it. Done.

I also want to just say that I am going to the Alpes in January. Whilst for many people this may seem like a fantastic opportunity, as the University trip gets closer, I am beginning to resent it, and worry about it even more. Worse still, because of the enormous expense involved, the trip is going to wipe out my savings, and possibly even put me in debt. I wouldn't mind so much, if it was actually something I wanted to do, or maybe was for the benefit of others. But it's not. Am I a bad person for hoping that some personal tradgey will befall me, and give me a good reason to not attend? Of course, as soon as the idea even hints in my mind, I remember that people do rely on me -

I am driving, in my car, the glorious 1986 Ford Escort 1.4 GL Estate in champagne gold (Ernie) to Grenoble. Maybe that's the funniest thing you've ever heard, but only because you don't think my car's up to it. Rubbish. It's only a 1500 mile round trip. Ernie used to cover that in two weeks.

And on that note, I'd like to open up to comments from the floor. If you have another suggestion as to my nickname, please feel free to share it with us.