Asian News Blog

My family managed to track down the ex husband and he agreed to a meeting in the weekend. He came along with his uncle, aunt, three burly cousins, it made me wonder what they thought we were going to do to him - beat him up and force him to divorce me?

There was no reason for his bodyguards to be there but they came in anyway and sat in the front room while we had a discussion in the dining room. My dad told his uncle that we wanted the Islmaic divorce and that there was no point in wasting time. I had already made it clear that any discussions on getting back together will be met with a stern NO from me. This had nothing to do with Dante, even if he wasn't in the picture I still would have said no. His aunt did bring it up though. She tried convincing us that the ex husband had changed. But we all knew that he had made no efforts to change. Even his uncle tried to get him to go to English classes and even suggested that he leave work and concentrate on studying instead, and he couldn't even do it. From what I know, even his uncle was beginning to get frustrated. I said to them it wasn't happening and I didn't want to waste anymore time and come six months we'd still be in the same posiiton.

Well after a huge and sometimes heated discussion on who was to blame, his uncle told my dad that if we would just kindly sign his papers to get him indefinite leave to remain, they would then give me the divorce!

My dad told me that he was expecting them to say this. I reckon my dad might have even agreed to it just for a quieter life, but the ex husband made the mistake of telling people that my parents used to take money off him and give him a fiver a week to live on!

My dad was livid when he had heard. He was coming up to retirement and had never borrowed money of anybody let alone take it from the ex. My sisters had to stop my mum from marching around to his house to ask him about it, but we calmed her down and told her most likely people will not beliwve it, those who know my mum also know she is a good woman and has always treated the ex with respect even when he was giving me a hard time!

I didn't let my dad answer as I didn't like him being put in sush a predicament and told them that I had already written to immigration and have told them that I have kicked him out and that I wasn't going back on what I have said. I haven't really called immigration but they beleived me.

After that we didn't really get anywhere. There was another heated discussion on who was to blame, the ex husband hardly uttered a word and let his uncle do all the talking. I kept on trying to remind everybodyu including my family that we weren't here to blame anybody and I just wanted it to end.

His burly cousins joined in but only to tell his uncle and aunt that it was time to leave. We didn't get what we wanted and they didn't get the answer they were looking for. My dad's only choice now was to seek the help of soemone really well respected in the community to bring this to an end.

As for Dante, it turns out we live in a very small world. He was telling me about a Bangladeshi lad he knew a few years back. They played football together and trained at the same gym. The lad was obsessed with the Bengal tiger he told me. I asked Dante where this lad was from and what he was called. When Dante told me I almost choked on my coke. The lad is the younger brother of a very god friend of mine. Dante had not seen him in years but they're catching up in a couple of days time at my friend's house. It really is such a small world!

Dante has many Asian friends and his uncle spent a gap year travelling through Bangladesh, India and Pakistan as a student and loved it. He's told the family many stories which I'm hearing off as well now. He watched his first Bollywood film, Sholay, last night followed by Baghbhan just so I could show him how well Amitabh Bachchan had aged. I think he enjoyed it, we never finished off the latter, but he took the film home to show his uncle and to watch the rest of it.

In the meantime work couldn't be better and I may even be flying out to Spain in a couple of days to meet some clients, I can't wait!