Married to Mr Muscle
Friday 20th February 2009
Is your partner Britain's cleanest man? If so, Mr Muscle wants to hear about him. The Mr Muscle Seach for Britain's Real Life Cleaning Heroes.
The competition in the paper had my husband all over it.
'Look' I said, shoving it under his nose as soon as he came in from his job as a community sports coach.
'Just because I like things to be just-so,' Ben, 30, huffed.
'Just so?' I laughed. 'Everything has to be spick-and-span and squeaky clean before you're happy.'
It was true. Our house was like a show home. And considering we had 9-month-old twins, Mia and Alannah, that was amazing. Ben and I had first met through working at the council back in 2002. As a rugby player, I'd been certain he was a real macho man. Until a month later, when he'd invited me round to his flat for the first time.
'I had to take the day off work to clean the place before you got here,' he'd said.
'Why?' I said. 'Was if filthy?' I'd asked.
'No,' he said. 'It was clean but I couldn't risk you seeing anything grim or dusty.' That was my Ben all over.
'Go on,' I said now. 'I think you could be the cleanest man in the UK.'
'OK,' he shrugged.
The prize was £1,500 worth of holiday vouchers from Thomas Cook. So, I logged onto the internet to enter. I had to write 200 words saying why Ben was the cleanest chap around.
'Easy,' I said and wrote about how he kept everything clean on top of being a dad, a coach and playing rugby.
The next day, I got a call from a lady called Vinnie.
'Can we see a photo of Ben?' she asked
So, I sent them a picture of Ben with the twins. The following morning Vinnie called again.
'Congratulations,' she said. 'Ben is Mr Muscle's Real Life Cleaning Hero.'
'That's brilliant!' I gasped.
A week on, he had photos taken of himself in a stretchy orange suit, like a superhero. I couldn't stop laughing. I'm so chuffed that Ben's the cleanest chap in the UK. He's all a girl could want, strong, good-lookin, and a whiz with a feather duster.
We haven't decided where to go yet. But I'm sure wherever we go, the place will get a once-over by Britain's cleanest man!
For more information, visit www.scjohnson.co.uk