EVERY NOW AND THEN*I KNOW

Well its been almost, but not quite a week since Pats arrival home, safe and sound, I could relax…PHEW!!! thought I.

Having said that he has just this evening arrived back from a cousins wedding in Ireland… Well to be factual it was a wedding reception without the wedding as the bride called off 3 days prior to the actual day of the union..I have to add I admire her for making a very brave decision, but also acknowledge it will have caused a great deal of heartache and problems for both families. 

Anyway the reception went ahead for  the grooms family which is enormous, Pats father is one of 15 children and all the accompanying children can make for quite a gathering.

A good time was had by all despite the cancellation, and Patrick enjoyed his weekend away.  Today it was he who was making his way down the stairs, me the one coming through the door having just finished work.  ‘Was that a limp’ thought I….or has the dog done a doo doo on the carpet, not that she does, but one never knows….

Sure enough it was a limp, he told me he had hurt his leg fooling around,the I banged into a door story ( good as any ) then procedes to show me his leg, ( its the first time Ive seen his legs in years I think).  To my shock and horror his left knee is swollen to the size of a balloon, he can neither straighten nor bend it. so tommorrow I take the wounded soldier up to casualty..

Thats life………..LOL

Gosh!!! Doesnt time fly, it doesnt seem like two weeks ago when everyone basked in sunshine, excited, smiling, waiting for the arrival of the bride.. and isnt she beautiful, as all brides are, radiant and happy with her Dad by her side. 

 The weather was perfect and Lorraine and Mark ( the happy couple) had picked a ceremony with a difference.  They had chosen a humanistic minister to perform the marraige ceremony, but it was so personal with the couple, writing their own vows, which was very moving and brought a lump to my throat and sitting behind Alan I could see him take a deep breathe and swallow hard. 

 We sang Bring me Sunshine, which I must admit took everyone by surprise given the association with Morcambe and Wise, yet everyone was swaying and really enjoying the moment, and the words perhaps say a lot about what we should bring one another through union.

Lorraine, Mark and the flower girls Nicole and Natasha and page boy Alex who really were stars and performed their duties with a real sense of ceremony. Beautiful couple, beautiful children and a beautiful setting

I sat with Alans brother and sister and family so it was a nice relaxing day, as you can see too much talking, not enough eating means I was last to finish as usual….Lol.  The food was kept simple and it was delicious…..every last mouthful.

There was a live group to entertain the wedding party, so lots of silly dancing, you know the Slush and the ones that find you down on the floor rowing imaginary boats to the blast of Hawai 50, not so easy to get back up off the floor after one too many glasses of champagne etc etc….But good fun non the less, lots of laughter into the early hours.

I have to admit to being one of the first to surrender to the call of that soft,soft pillow Im sure I heard call my name at around 3am….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

More Than Words
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Nick has a good voice so he would sing as he played, but the temptation to join in was to irresistable for us all and I smile at the memories of it turning into the cats chorus, but the enjoyment was all that really mattered.  Some quite high notes in that song, but we gave it our all with real passion and gusto.. I wonder now what the neighbours thought? The last time I heard him play this was christmas.

Today the song has a different meaning with the wedding just 5 days away and Alan still to finish his father of the bride speech.  Many times over the past few months Ive looked into those puppy dog eyes, pleading, the look thats says ” Please do this for me” Ive been tempted, yet held out, as I said to him all those months ago, ” This is such a unique and special occassion for both you and your daughter, it needs to be YOUR WORDS not mine… I have promised however to draw together what he has got and pull it all together, its been soooooooo hard not to do it for him and watch him struggle, but he will thank me at the end of the day ( Hopefully

It will be a big day for him and we are both oh so looking forward to it, after a get together on the Sunday, we head off for 10 days roaming round Cornwall http://www.jfhols.co.uk/widemouth.htm. We stayed at a similar caravan park a couple of years ago, the best part was the evening swims after a long days exploring looe and the surrounding areas, then finding somewhere to eat with lots of vino……on second thoughts its a close call for the best part…….swim……vino…???

Last time we visited the Eden Project http://www.edenproject.com/ and may visit again to see if there are many changes, I really enjoyed this place, so much variety.  Little driftwood sculptures dotted around amid all the wonderful plants, Im unsure if this is the sculptor but Ive added this site because I find it so amazing what this woman manages to create with driftwood http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk/small%20driftwood%20pieces.htm, I love her work and came upon it some time ago when looking for the possibilities for the artworks I had seen at Eden.

 Normally if Im working a sleepover I just want to get home for a nap as I usually dont sleep too well on overnights, however today was different.  The sun shone brightly and work for me this morning involved a lovely walk to the beach to sit sipping coffee outside a cafe overlooking the sea, this is one of the better aspects of my job, as it means Im out of the office more often in the summertime.

I managed to sneak away a little early and later in the afternoon Alan and I met up with his daugter and her fiance and family to have a dry run, so to speak, before the big day.  This is the hotel where they will be married, it has a lovely river bank setting, and is very peaceful and tranquil.

We enjoyed a drink and a round of sandwiches, before the flowergirl and page boy to be arrived.

Natasha and Alex looking for fairies in the magic wood and fountain, Grandad said they might see them if they were really quiet and patient. Whilst Natashas eyes were all agog and she was absorbed in the story, Alex raised his eyebrows upwards and gave a knowing smile and sigh, Silly girls I heard him say..lol

Honey came too of course and this is her enjoying a bask in the sunshine, that is until her highly honed dog sniffing skills came upon this fairy wandering around, well thats what he answered too… 

Alex remains unconvinced however.

Im off to Glasgow tommorrow for a full days training, so its a six o’clock start and a long day ahead, but well worth the journey as the facilitators are absolutely inspiring and the course itself is the follow on to a five day residential we did some eighteen months ago, so it will be good to catch up with some old friends again