We remain friends, and are still talking, but in the meantime I want to congratulate her on her new job, for a significant Adult mental health charity in the south-west of England.
But in the meantime, how does someone like me start a new relationship?
Well, the answer is - online, of course. Using a website, I started talking to a woman who we shall call Tannie, who likes in Derby. She also works in Adult Services, and is bloody good at her job, but spends the wrong side of 60 hours a week doing it. As a result, we don't get to see each other as much as I'd like, and to her credit she's recognised this.
But - lets go back a step or two. Tannie and I met online, and initially that's all it was gong to be. I happened to be coming home via Derby one day, and suggested we meet up at the OK Diner on the A38, for coffee. Just coffee - no intentions.
And
You know what it's like, you meet someone and it just feels right - and this did.
So... the question. Do I disclose or not? Do I tell her my history, do I explain Lisa...
The answer is - yes I do, I need the people around me to know about me and want to still be here, so I went to see her and disclosed. I then notified my Offender Management team, and they asked if they could have a chat with her, to which we both agreed yes.
Derbyshire police did that, thanks folks. And as a result, I can now say that I have a new girlfriend, and the relationship is supportive and not reliant on my past.
So, Life can, and does, go on.
Finally, though, the relationship with Lisa broke down because of me, and specifically because of the damage and harm I caused her at the start of this process. For that, I'm sorry - I can't fix it, I can't change it, and I'm now not even part of the solution.
Never let any Sex Offender get away with claiming he didn't do any harm - I used to do that...
