THIS weekend I'm back in Ireland playing with my new toy - a spanking new BMW.
I can't believe it. It only seems like yesterday that I was driving my sister's battered old Fiesta, which I bought off her. It was bad when I got it, but you should have seen the state of that poor old car - affectionately know in our family as 'Betsy' - when I was finished with it.
Ford could have given me a job remodelling Fiestas, as I reshaped it with bumps and bangs while I was a learner. But we all have to start somewhere and go through all those embarrassing moments on the learning curve.
Skill
Eventually I developed the skill and the confidence whizzing around Sligo and this year I finally passed my driving test.
I have so many dream cars I'd love to own, you just wouldn't believe it. But I know how lucky I am to be able to afford a new BMW. The thrill and excitement was just like walking out on stage in front of a Westlife audience when I picked up the BMW from Martin Reilly in Sligo on Thursday afternoon. Putting the key in the ignition and powering it up was just amazing. It has a beautiful beige leather interior and every mod-con, including a five-CD player.
Sticking on a few CDs and heading out on to the open road was a dream trip for me. The black BMW caught my eye in Martin's garage a month ago and I thought, 'I have to get that.' I had originally set my heart on a Porsche Boxter, but I prefer the BMW for the moment. The Porsche is something to dream about for another day.
I'VE had a hectic time in Westlife since our last column. We did a show last Sunday at the Dome in London for Japanese TV. On Monday night we went to a big fashion show, as it's Fashion Week in London, so we saw some pretty amazing looking people there.
And we also finished off the last three tracks on our new album, Coast To Coast. Now it's all done and dusted and it'll be going into the shops on Friday, November 3.
The British papers have been full of stories about us complaining of being tired and those stories have been blown out of proportion. We aren't tired. We're excited about our new single and our new album. Everyone is fine. Everyone is in good form. Everyone is healthy and nobody is tired.
CHECK the new video for our new single, My Love, which is now live on our website at http://www.westlife.co.uk