I've been lurking in the Dooyoo lounge again and spotted a first experiences category, for some reason I thought I'd already bored you all with this one, but it seems I haven't so gird your loins and prepare to yawn.

FIRST LOVE

My cat Timmy at the age of four, seriously no man (or woman) has come close since.

FIRST JOB

Tesco's checkout as a 'Saturday' (and Wednesday evening) girl when I was 16 and still at school, I lasted 2 months and have had an aversion to tills ever since. My first full time job was as a lab assistant in Hendrefoelan (part of Swansea) University and I loved it.

FIRST TIME YOU GOT DRUNK

Was at the grand old age of 18, my best friend at the time and I went for a stomp in the woods at dawn my favourite time of day. We picked fresh mushrooms (the wood was surrounded by fields festooned with mushrooms) and cooked them with bacon and eggs on a little gas camping stove for lunch. We were out all day worrying the wildlife, taking pictures and generally being prats. Later in the day just after a scary encounter with a stroppy mare Chris produced a bottle of warm Pomagne from his rucksack and we toasted my birthday, classy or what. There was another drink or two with my family when we got back home and I had to be put to bed. Best birthday ever...... cough....

FIRST TIME YOU CRIED AT A FILM

Watching The Fox and the Hound (Disney) on video with my girls, I had to leave the room. I avoid animal films because if anything bad happens to them... and it usually does... I go to pieces, and I've never seen the point of watching something that is so upsetting it makes you cry. However when I had children of my own I had to sit through harrowing things like Bambi that I'd managed to avoid in my own childhood. Curse you Disney and your tear jerkers

FIRST TIME YOU LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL

That would be my cat Timmy (see above) my parents had him put down when my sister developed asthma and the Doc told them it was partially due to an allergy to animal 'dander'. They told me they'd given him away, but my dad confirmed years later what I knew instinctively, that they'd had him whacked, they claimed that he was ill and it wasn't just because of my wheezy sister (I do love her, honest). I'm still not over it.... Can you tell?...

The first special person I lost was my best friend, who died in a motor cycle accident with her boyfriend when she was only 18. We'd been friends since before we started school drifting apart for a while but always getting back together; she was chalk to my cheese and full of confidence and daring. She brought me out of myself and I grounded her. I've lost elderly family members since but heart breaking though that is there is something particularly awful about losing someone so young.


FIRST TIME YOU HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN

See above 'Timmy', touch wood I seem to have escaped having my heart broken by a mere human so far.

FIRST CAR

I can't drive but the first car I remember as a child was the family Morris 1000, I still remember the smell of the seats, I loved that little car.

FIRST FIGHT/HEATED ARGUMENT

I haven't had many but the earliest I can remember was when I was about 4 or 5 and playing with friends in their back garden. An elephant moth caterpillar was spotted crawling across the paving. None of us had seen anything like it ever before we didn't even know it was a caterpillar at the time, Julie and Mandy freaked out and insisted we kill it. They threw a board over it and Mandy demanded that we all jump on it. I remember trying to persuade them very heatedly that it wasn't hurting us so we should leave it alone, or if they were scared -and I admit I was a little scared myself - get one of our parents to move it. I'm ashamed to admit that when push came to shove I jumped on the board with them crying the whole time. I always tried never to bow to peer pressure after that, and have tried to make an extra effort to bring my children up to question things and not do something that seems wrong just because others do.

FIRST TIME YOU WERE PROMOTED/SACKED

I have never been either. I have worked mostly in local government and you don't get promotions as such in that sector. You have to apply for the position so any jump in scale I've had has been through the application process.

FIRST TIME YOU REALISED YOUR OWN MORTALITY

I was quite young and don't remember the precise reason that I realised that we all die. I do remember the feeling of horror and disbelief that this wonderful life thing that we have comes to an end. It took me ages to get my head around the concept.

FIRST TROPHY OR AWARD

Blimey so many to choose from... Not

FIRST KISS

Do hamsters count? If not it was at 16 with my first boyfriend. I was a total idiot as far as relationships went and was so self-conscious, lacking in confidence and awkward that I was convinced that he had asked me out as a joke. The kiss was nice but I wasn't ready to have a boyfriend and stuck to boys as friends for another three years.

You'd think that at my age the list of firsts would be becoming a bit thin on the ground, but they are still coming. First computer I personally would rate that almost right up there with first car, first grandchild (none yet and if I listen to my girls there never will be but I live in hope), first set of false teeth, first hip replacement... the list goes on and long may it do so for all of us.