Fun with henna

It's the beginning of Mariyah's big week, and wedding preparations are gathering speed.
Samina and Mariyah invited Ruth and me to get our hands decorated with traditional henna patterns, along with several of Samina's friends from work. We had such a lovely afternoon: picking designs from websites, chatting with the very talented henna artist, and watching as each delicate design took shape. Ruth and I brought Eben and Luca with us, as it's half-term. They settled down in the living-room, alternating some TV-watching with occasional forays into the kitchen, to take a look at the henna process.
Early in the session, Mariyah came in from a beautician visit: eyebrow shaping, various waxing procedures (don't ask, we didn't). 'But are my eyebrows OK? Isn't the gap in the middle too big?', she asked. 'Nooo...! Your look fabulous!" came the reply from 6 of us in unison. And she does.
It's a long time since Ruth and I have spent several hours together with other women like this, in a room full of laughter, mutual encouragement and gossipy chat.   It took me right back to when Ruth and I lived next door to Samina and Mariyah - after Jack had left home, and before Richard and I moved in together.  Good memories.