So.....we are now into our second week in bonnie Scotlandshire and Bob has now arrived in Kilbarchan to start the granny visiting that is Tuesday! First stop - Inverkip Hotel to meet with Dad and Gran F, enjoy some stories about missing earrings, tired and weary spiders and to eat a good portion of fish and chips. Gran was looking well and was full of chat. Next stop, Gran and Papa Macadam in Skelmorlie. Arriving unannounced was not a good idea with the first half hour a little bit hectic but once everything had calmed down, we had a wee cup of tea and a chinwag. Gran was especially keen to see my hen photo album and to hear about the hen night itself. Aunt Anne dropped in to contribute to such hen stories. Everyone was well, or as well as can be. Final stop, Granny Barr in Kilmarnock. A full on spread of sandwiches, cakes and Tunnocks Teacakes - oh how I missed them. Lots of wedding chat and general catching up. Grannies........done!
Wednesday was the day for wedding ring shopping! Off to Glasgow we toddled, to try on some rings in the Argyll Arcade. First stop, Mappin & Webb. We were greeted by a footman at the door and offered coffee before being ushered to a desk in the corner. Immediately knew we were never going to afford the rings in here but thought we'd go along with it anyway! Had a nice chat to the girl about her brother's 15 course chinese wedding dinner before making a sharp exit and heading to a more affordable jewellers! Lewis Grant it was. Perfect service, lovely rings chosen, off to the Rogano to celebrate. I'd never been to the Rogano before and so we were pleased to see it wasn't too pricey and the food was delicious. Wee glass of wine too just to top it off. It was superb, even if we did have to listen to wee Jeannie at the next table telling lots of terribly uninteresting stories! Got to love Glaswegian ladies who lunch....
Thursday we had to take another trip through to Edinburgh to hand in our documents to the marriage registrar - all done and dusted, the wedding is now official! Eek. Back to Glasgow to meet up with my aunt and uncle for a quick coffee - enjoyed hearing what my cousins were up to and happy to share our Australian and wedding stories with them. We headed to Ashton Lane later that evening, to catch up with Andy (running late as usual!) and Denise in the Ashoka, oh yes for curry, our favourite. We could've stayed out for a few cocktails etc but to be honest, by 9.30pm Bob and I were falling asleep at the table - poor effort! Plenty of stories shared and we asked Denise to do a reading at the wedding, which she accepted, hurrah.
Friday, we were off to Belfast for the Huggan/Hunter wedding, where Bob was best man. I think he was expecting to be in charge of the rings and present a funny speech but he was kept rather busy during the day!! I saw him for the odd sausage on a stick and a sip of fizz before he was whisked away for another task. His particular favourite was holding the umbrella above the photographer for the whole 2.5 hour long photo shoot......he was also particularly good at acting as compere for the day, as well as being the shout for the ceilidh. A grand job was done, well done Bob. Must admit, it was nice on the Friday before the wedding to have a few hours to myself while we was performing best man duties with Dave. Bliss! Even if I did get caught in the rain walking back from Belfast city centre to the apartments. Oops, didn't plan that very well.
Friday night, we were very kindly taken out for dinner by Dave's parents, Ian and Liz, along with Dave, his brother Paul and his new wife Caroline. Lovely company, a few laughs, and a small fit of road rage by a slightly stressed out groom (breathe, Dave, breathe). Off to the pub for a few drinks and to meet some family and friends before heading back to the apartments to meet up with Grant and Anna, and Brian and Polly for a nightcap.
Saturday - The Wedding Day - let the fun begin! Bob headed off to Dave's room for 11.45am and I caught the bus with the other 4 peeps to get us to the church for 1pm. A lovely service at which I nearly cried when Vicky walked down the aisle (this does not bode well for our wedding....oh dear) and Bob was looking rather dashing in his best man kilted atire. Despite the rain, we managed to make it to the bus without looking like drowned rats (I seem to remember getting squished by big girls Grant and Brian so they wouldn't get their hair wet) - we unfortunately had a lengthy wait on the bus so we sent Grant off to the bakery for a pie - fab!
The venue for the reception was beautiful - all fairly lights and stable barns, bricked walls and a wedding cake tree! Very fairytale like. A few glasses of fizz and a sausage on a stick, and we were all set for the dinner. Speeches were first, with the father of the bride starting, followed by the father of the groom, Dave the groom and finishing with Bob, the best man. What a brilliant job he did - he started off a little nervously with the cards but once he had gotten his first laugh, there was no stopping him! Star of the show. The food was great, the company was good and the ceilidh dancing was a success with the Irish folks. Our rendition of "You're the one that I want" just showcased our talents, and the lovely slow dance by Bob and Brian was delightful. As usual, can't beat a good old knees up to Runrig Loch Lomond, followed by the Belle of Belfast City for Vicky. Much fun had by all - next wedding will be ours! Eek!
And that pretty much sums up our visit home. It was lovely to see everyone and we can't wait until we are back in 10 weeks time. I think my locum physio who was taking my place at the clinic while I was away, was a little bit of a character and so I was greeted by a big bunch of balloons and a welcome home banner on my first day back at work. Not sure whether they really missed me or whether the locum physio was just really really bad.......either way, I'll milk it for a few days! See you all soon xxxxx
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