No.20

    The last few months have been a bit hectic in the Wiseman household, and we are holding Phoebe totally responsible. If ever there was a joiner-in in life it's Phoebe, so if you are looking for a plus one, she's up for grabs.
    Phoebe was a tree this year, as well as a munchkin, in the Banff Academy's production of 'The Wizard of Oz'.

We went along on Friday night to watch the opening performance and were amazed by the talent that all the kids displayed ( and quite a few of the adults too!). It was well worth all the stress of the picking up, dropping off, pack lunch making etc. of the last weeks. At the end, Robin and Caleb went home with Evelyn and, as I waited for the cast to de-brief and congratulate themselves on a fantastic night's work ,before I took Phoebe away, my phone went off. It was Robin texting.... and this was the message....
"There's no place like home...there's no place like home".......

       "I've changed my mind", are not the words I really wanted to hear from my daughter Ellie about six months before she and Conor were to tie the knot. My initial panic was replaced with a smile when she explained that it was the venue she was talking about. Originally we thought that the camp where they had met down near Greenoch, was a great choice, plenty of accommodation, huge living spaces and the perfect scenery with rolling hills for an outdoor service.
     But there really is no place like home, so the plan changed and Mr and Mrs Woods got married in the Mausoleum in Duff house woods, with all their family and friends in attendance. Meg, Conor's sister and her friend, Sarah, sang a beautiful song, as the schedule was being signed, called 'Feels like home', by Edwina Hayes.
Here are some of the words

Feels like home to me

Feels like I'm all the way back where

I come from

Feels like home to me

Feels like home to me

Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

Being home isn't always about a place, it's about people too, finding that perfect person that you feel comfortable with, you can relax with, be yourself with, that you miss when you are away from them  for any length of time.That person who loves you in your pyjamas as much as when you are dressed up to the nine's for that special night out...that's home.

            I have a dress that is 'home' to me, I love it with a passion. I first wore it Barry and Kelly McIntosh's wedding ( Robin's 18th) at the Fife lodge in Banff in 2009. I felt so good in it, that I was amazed that people didn't turn and stare or congratulate Robin on his wife's wonderful taste. It is dark brown dip dyed silk ruched chiffon, over a silk slip and is so comfortable to wear I can't tell you. It glides over any unforgiving lumps and bumps and if I could get off with it I would wear it to every wedding as it washes like a dream and irons up perfectly.

 We drove up to Duff house and parked in the outer car park as the one close to the house was totally choc-a-bloc with cars, we had hit on a day when there was a picnic with loads of families, bouncy castles and activities. Thankfully the weather, which had been a bit dodgy in the morning was clearing up nicely and it was a perfect day for them.

     Allan, the groom , was standing at the bottom of the magnificent stairs that lead up to the house with Bob, his best man and older brother and his two groomsmen.

           Robin's best man at our wedding almost 23 years ago was a Bob too, so I immediately warmed to him. Everyone should have a Bob in their lives and ours is still a huge support to Robin all these years later. And me, I've just had a message from him on FB helping me out with a problem!)

       Duff house is a wonderful asset in our area, owned by Historic Scotland, it homes some magnificent artifacts and is used as an art gallery as well. As I've mentioned before, we have done the house tour many times and attended exhibitions and functions in it's beautiful rooms, always spotting something new that we've missed before and revisiting favourite pieces like the Famille rose frog that I love dearly.

The room where the ceremony was taking place is called the South Drawing room and hosts the most amazing tapestries on it's walls and magnificent chandelier as it's centre piece.

In the windows were ornate antique flower arrangements of cream and dusky pink roses.

You may think that this would be reason enough to enjoy a wedding at Duff House, but an extra pleasure for me is that Stephen, the pianist, is a complete joy to listen to as he tinkers away on the grand piano in the drawing room and as I come in to the room he is practicing for the arrival of the guests. He floats seamlessly from one tune to the other hardly needing to look at the music and even when the pipes started playing to pipe the groom and his groomsmen in, he manages to find the key and play along softly as an accompaniment. I would pay good money to sit and listen to him, anytime.

            

     The two bridesmaids proceeded the bride wearing dusky lilac full length dresses in ruched chiffon ( who's in style now then?). Emma walked in on her Dad's arm, to Stephen playing Canon in D, looking beautiful in her white strapless ruched silk dress that fitted tightly down to her thighs and flared out in a swirl of organza. In her hair and on her waist were diamonds and pearls giving a small touch of perfectly placed sparkle.

            Robin spoke of their long romance over the last eleven years and how they have now decided the time was right to move in together to the home they bought at the beginning of this year and have been doing up with much help from Emma's Dad.. This would be such a special time for them, to come home from honeymoon and start this new stage in their lives together as Mr and Mrs Hale.

       Robin also used an analogy that he often speaks of, from the book of Ecclesiastes, that a three fold cord is hard to break. Using the picture of two people together being a stronger than one, but a three fold cord being stronger still. When you've found someone you love, that brings a support and  strength to your lives, but a third element, whether it be faith or family and friends is even stronger still. 

       We tried to photo bomb Emma and Allan's first photos as man and wife as we came down the steps of the house, and after a quick congratulations we headed off to post the schedule through the door of the registry office and drop the car home, heading back to the Springs in a JJs taxi for stage two of our day.

        My phone made a little noise as I walk through the foyer welcoming me to the Banff Springs and asked if I wanted to connect to the wifi. Made me feel like part of the family in a comforting kind of way, I'm there so often, it knows my every move!

     Jillian came up to say hi and she and Robin discuss who's doing what during the meal.Jillian says she'll compare if Robin does grace, so thankfully we didn't need a Harry Hill 'fight' scenario to work that one out! 

     We're invited through by the lovely Nikita, for a welcome drink of prosecco  and a mini clotted cream and strawberry scone ...or is that 'scowne'.... we relaxed on the fabulous sofas reading a Knock news as guests enjoyed the unusually warm and calm day and took advantage of the cast iron table and chair sets that are just outside the main door on the new patio areas.

     Jillian ushered us all through for a chance to congratulate Allan and Emma again in their line up. They were both so relaxed, really enjoying seeing all their guests and making me feel very welcome as their wedding crasher.

Emma's Dad gave a heartfelt speech, thanking everyone and saying how loath he was to give Emma away and he hoped that she would be as good a wife as she was a daughter. Allan spoke really well and as he turned to Emma to tell her how much she meant to him, we all got a bit caught by surprise by how emotional it all was.

Bob took his turn and asked us all to open the envelopes on our tables that held a photo of Allan as a baby, just to show us that he did have a double chin at one stage. 

Brothers as best men are extra special. They know each other inside out and have been through a lot of ups and downs together. I always admire those who take the opportunity to say things that otherwise might be left unsaid for a lifetime and yet, mean so much once they are 'out there'. Bob did this beautifully leading us perfectly in to our meal together.

                 We had prawn cocktail or fruit and then soup. I'm afraid I decided to give the soup a miss as I knew I wouldn't enjoy my main course. I had forgotten there was a vegetarian option and was pleasantly surprised by my delicious plate of stir fry veg and noodles.

        We had a bit of a shock when one of the poor waitresses , who had been feeling a bit out of sorts but like a trouper kept on working, passed out on the floor next to our table. We rushed over and Jillian decided that it was best to phone an ambulance as she was conscious  but in some pain. The ambulance came amazingly quickly, within a few minutes and reassuringly, she looked as though she was going to be alright. I was very impressed by how caring all the staff at the Springs were to her, reassuring her and making her feel comfortable. 

             Getting back to my seat, Jillian handed Robin his jacket that had been used for a pillow (well, he has to have his uses) and I found that pudding had been served by the remaining efficient staff. Missing soup had been a great idea, as I managed my sticky toffee pudding with gusto!

     We retired to the foyer for a stretch out and a chance to watch all the guests who were coming in for the evening dance. Emma came over for a chat and allowed me to take a full length photo of her in her dress. Wasn't she stunning...did I describe her correctly?

Emma told me that she and Allan will be heading off to Mexico on Monday for a few weeks of hard earned chill out, something they were both really looking forward to. We joked that they would have nothing left to talk about as their main topic of conversation had been 'The wedding' for the past two years. This would be especially true with Emma's Mum, Moira, who had done a huge amount of the planning and organising.

   Lost in music are a band I have never heard of, so when Emma told me they had booked them to come up from Dundee, I did a quick google and found their website. They are an all singing all dancing group of musicians who will do whatever you want. As large as eleven members or as small as you like, they will do themed gigs with multi changes of costume in between.

     We heard the music start and went through to watch the grand march, nearly all the guests joining in, it was a great start to the evening.

Allan and Emma danced to 'The one' by Kodaline and I snapped away like Macduff paparazzi, trying to get that perfect picture.

We had a great day and met some lovely people, of course surrounded by our Springs family that make our lives so easy when we attend a wedding there.

    For me, my home is where Robin is, but more importantly because of our faith, it's where God puts us and enjoying the relationships with all these wonderful people  that He brings in to our lives. 

     I know that Allan and Emma have found a home in each other and I wish them so much happiness as they move in together and a new found strength for the good times and hard times ahead.

  Because, as Dorothy says,

         "There's no place like home...there's no place like home".

    

               

       

       

No.19

"Mum, I've hurt my arm" were not the words I really wanted to hear the evening before we were going to be away from the kids for two days. It wouldn't be so bad if James was actually standing in front of me but he was calling from Aberdeen, a few hours before he was to play guitar, in an Aberdeen pub, with his band. Their first big gig.
        James is eighteen , he picked up a guitar many moons ago and has never really put it down. Having taught himself to play from watching You tube clips and sheer perseverance,  he only started taking lessons when he started college last year.
     He gets his resilience from his Dad that's for sure. When Robin sets his heart on something, he will wait and chip away until it finally happens.
    We own a small Brethren hall in Macduff, called, unsurprisingly...'The Brethren Hall'. This is where we meet with friends on a Sunday morning for 'church'. It's probably not what most people would define as church, as we sit in a semi circle and share what's on our hearts, sing a bit, pray a bit, break bread together and drink lots of tea and coffee. It doesn't matter who turns up, everyone is free to come and go, but there is a core of us who meet regularly and have become more like family over these past few years.
    Fifteen years ago Robin and I  belonged to a larger church, but both felt that the pressure of attending meetings was actually getting in the way of how we lived our lives as Christians. We went back to basics and and had a small family time of breaking bread on a Sunday with the kids, doing this for years before some friends came and joined us. Robin felt that having another space would make things a lot easier, so he set about searching the halls of Macduff and landed on 'The Brethren Hall, in Carny street, just a stone's throw away from our house.
   At the time, the hall was being sold by a church group, who simply didn't need it anymore and it was under offer by a property developer, who was willing to pay the asking price of £42,000 to knock it down and use the space to build a house. The folks who owned the hall were really saddened by this, but felt they had no option as no-one else was interested. No-one except Robin that is but he didn't have that kind of money.
      To cut a long story short, the buyer pulled out when the credit crunch hit and after a lot of meetings and a  prayer Robin came to the owners and offered them what he could muster up, £12,000. They looked at him and said....
           "We'll let you have it for £10,000"
   All those years ago and now we have a thriving little hub where anyone who wants can use it, if it's free. We have drum lessons, Piano lessons, craft group, bible studies, parties, musical evenings and on a Sunday we have church.
    When we have a Sunday wedding it means that we don't get to meet with everyone, but they know that life can be like that for us and hey, they know where the kettle is, so church goes on.
    Craig and Sammy are from Old meldrum and have been together on and off for the last 6 years. As Craig said in his speech, it was the times apart that made him realise that he couldn't live without her. All their family knew that they were meant to be together and it was his Aunt that said to him one day "For goodness sake, just marry the girl"!
     So we drove up the road from Fettercairn after a relaxing morning of Robin writing up his service for Craig and Sammy and me furiously writing up my blog from the day before, having a constant fight with the poor wifi connection in our hotel...I mean, how long does it take to upload one photo! We ended up sitting downstairs in the main reception area where presumably the wifi hub was and also a lovely writing desk for Robin to sit at.
       My outfit choice was a bit limited as I knew if I was hauling it about over a few days it would need to be fairly robust and not need to be ironed. So I decide on an M&Co dress that I had got in the sale a few months before , with my lacy black shoes and matching pashmina. I even got away with not having to wash my hair again, twisting it into an alright updo style.

We arrived at Meldrum house in plenty of time, despite a few calls to and from home. James had managed to play his gig the night before with the aid of painkillers and some alcohol ( How very rock and roll!), now, in the light of morning, he thought that he maybe should get it checked out. Thank goodness for Robin's Mum, Evelyn, who took him to A&E and bought him more pain killers for over the weekend , when he would have to return for an Xray on Monday morning to find out what the damage was.
        The sun was splitting the sky as we drew up and I noticed that the rhododendrons had started to blossom since we were last there.

Craig and Sammy were getting married in the converted stable area, which I love. It has underfloor heating, perfect for slipping your shoes off and enjoying a bit of hot stone therapy. We were met by Sarah, the wedding coordinator who made sure that everything was as it should be.
    At Colin and Sara Sutherland's wedding in 2013 ( Robin's 95th), there was an altogether different wedding coordinator who didn't have the ease of manner that Sarah did. When we arrived he marched through to the hall ahead of us and asked Robin how long the service would be. Robin said...
 "Well, if you take in to account that the bride will be ten minutes late, then the service should be about thirty minutes"
"Late...late? The bride will not be late" He exclaimed, in shock, " This is my hotel and the bride will be on time."
      Well forty minutes after she should've appeared, Sara walked down the aisle, looking quite stunning. She and the bridesmaids hadn't listened to the lesson that is, 'How to lace up the back of a corseted dress' and had got in to a bit of a fix. I think the poor guy probably had kittens by that time. It didn't spoil what was a lovely day, by any stretch of the imagination.......
    The flowers on the table, in the stables, were cream roses with pink gerberas, surrounded by gypsophila and I wondered if the colours would be similar to the wedding the day before.
           

      Craig seemed quite relaxed as Robin introduced us, happy to stand and wait with his best man Callum, for his bride to arrive.
     As 'I don't want to miss a thing' by Aerosmith played, the bridesmaids came in, not wearing pink, as I has guessed but a slate grey silk, what a surprise but they looked great. Sammy came in on her Dad, Kenny's, arm looking beautiful and totally chilled.She wore a strapless ruched silk dress with a glittering waist band of diamante and pearls that matched her tiara. As she came along side Craig, he reached out a reassuring hand and gave her a kiss on her lips, such a lovely little gesture, but it said so much to me about the two of them.
      During the ceremony they both looked quite happy, though Craig shed a few tears as Robin pronounced them 'Man and wife'. They kissed and led the way out in to the sunshine as the new Mr and Mrs Allan.
   

    We went inside to enjoy a drink and some canapes and the staff, as helpful as always, brought me a cup of tea as I was starting to lag a bit after the pace of the weekend and needed a bit of sustenance! We decided to enjoy the afternoon as photos were being taken by taking a 'turn about the gardens' as they say in Pride and prejudice.
       The grounds of Meldrum house are wonderfully maintained. We have such a wealth of beautiful places in the North East of Scotland, to enjoy and for people to choose from to have their special day. Next to the house are Highland cows that graze away seemingly quite happy to stand between the hotel and  the golfers on the other side, who enjoy the spectacular course. The lake in the grounds has a few fountains and the house itself has a spectacular water feature that we noticed was a great draw to jackdaws, coming for a drink on a particularly hot day.

      Kenny, the father of the bride, sat down for a chat and told us about his work at the Glen Garioch distillery near Inverurie. Apparently living just across the road from your work isn't the best idea when the machinery starts to act up. Anyway, he made it to the wedding and he and Sharon, Sammy's Mum made us feel very welcome indeed.
         Entering the huge marquee, the whole place looked fabulous with tables named after all the local distilleries and men's favours being a minature of 12 year old Glen Garioch while the ladies got a badge with a donation to cancer research. Inside our name cards Sammy and Craig had written a personal note of thanks for coming along.

 We had a bit of a panic when looking for our place at the table on not being able to find Robin's name. We were pretty sure he had been invited, but it looked as though I was the only one eating!

           
      Thankfully when we got to the table, there was, indeed, a space for him and name card...whew!!
All the speeches went well with Craig welling up quite a bit as he spoke of his love for Sammy and Callum telling us how Craig hadn't actually made his own Stag do as he had been so unwell from overindulging the night before!
     Our meal was great and yet again we had a lovely bunch of folks to enjoy it with. I had decided to take the vegetarian option of Goat's cheese wellington as it's not that often that I get the choice. All the main courses were served with beautifully steamed veg, really delicious.
        We knew by the end of the meal that we were going to have to head home soon. A visit to casualty beckoned in the morning and  I was pretty sure that there would be a bit of fall out for having left the kids alone for almost 48 hours.
         We said our farewells as 'The limit' were setting up and I was disappointed that we really couldn't stay for a few dances, as I know how good they are.
   Cake cutting was being left till the evening, so I missed one of my favourite photo shots , but still got a snap of it when it was whole....pretty spectacular eh?

     Farewells were said and my heels slipped off, to be replaced with my driving trainers.
     We reached home and the house was still in one piece, having survived being tidied by the kids under James' direction, with only one arm!
     After a quick scoot round, putting washes on , filling the dishwasher in the correct fashion ,making sure uniform was ready for the morning and catching up on everyone's weekend, we assessed the injured arm.
     It didn't look too bad and he wasn't in too much pain, so I was hopeful that the Xray would be clear and his plans to travel to Ghana in two weeks could go ahead.
        Well, the Xray said different, the arm is fractured at the distal radius ( elbow), but thankfully if he behaves himself he can still go on his adventure.
      I know that Craig and Sammy's adventure is just beginning and they won't let anyone deter them from enjoying it fully.
       
         

No.18

   I can't remember the details accurately, but the stapler incident was one of a few times that Robin has stared at me as I rolled around on the floor in hysterics. One of those moments when you start to laugh and it escalates into tears streaming down your cheeks and the more you try to stop, the worse it gets. It's only when your sides get too sore that you eventually manage to reign it in.
   We had only been going out for a few months when it happened. To fill you in a bit, we met at Bible college in Glasgow and were in a lot of the same classes. I can't remember which class involved me having a stapler, but I did and for some reason Robin and I were sitting together having a bit of flirtatious banter when I decided to snap at him with the stapler....well, who would've thought I would have such good aim?
    I managed to catch the very edge of his left eyelid and the outer skin of his eyebrow  fixing them together with, what can only be described as the most amazing skill, leaving Robin with a startled , yet stunned expression!
   You can imagine how funny it was (well, for me) and how difficult it was to get the staple out , with me laughing so hard it hurt and Robin freaking out. I mean it's not like I got his eye or anything! Men, really, such wimps!
   People love Robin, not as much as I do, but then, they've never shared these kind of intimate moments with him like I have. You'd imagine that him being a solid Christian type bloke, would learn to forgive and forget....I mean that's what it says in the Bible....'As far as the East is form the West, that's how far I have removed your transgressions form you' or ' For if you forgive men (Lynda) their tresspasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you'.
       I watched a clip of a psychologist speaking to a group of people, explaining that men and woman have totally different brains. Women's brains are like a mass of wires with every wire representing some area of their lives, all constantly connecting and  touching each other. Men on the other hand have brains made up of little boxes,each one containing an area of their lives like, 'wife' or 'kids' or finances'...and one box is never allowed to touch another.
    Well, Robin has a box in his brain that is labelled ' Lynda's evil deeds' and he has decided to bring it out for a good old airing this weekend ,to exact his revenge for my past sins!
     When Graeme and Jennifer asked Robin to do their wedding down in Fettercairn, a good two hours away from Macduff, they kindly offered to put us up for the night and I was really looking forward to a romantic night away. That was until I overheard Robin on the phone to another couple who were asking him to do their wedding on the very next day after Graeme and Jennifers. 'Surely he can't say yes', I thought to myself as I saw him scan his magic book of dates, only to hear him say.
   'Well I am doing a wedding the day before in Fettercairn, but we could easy stop off on the way back up on the Sunday for your wedding at Meldrum House".
   Oh yes, all well and good for him, all he has to do is take a change of shirt and a toothbrush...what about me??! Full makeup bag, selection of dresses, diffuser, hair styling products, shoes, multi pack of tights...the list goes on. Also , how am I going to write my blog on the Sunday morning while getting myself ready for another wedding and driving up the road to Old Meldrum...I mean...I ask you!
    Revenge must be indeed sweet!

We managed to set off at 10am, armed with our huge amount of luggage, having been reassured by the folks at the Ramsay arms , where we were staying, that we could get into our room a bit early to get ready. The journey was fairly uneventful with only a few wrong turns and we arrived in Fettercairn at 12.

     As we checked in, Robin asked the receptionist how far it was to Fasque house where the wedding was being held. This was a great time to find out that we couldn’t really walk it and would need a taxi. Problem number  two, we had no cash on us, so on asking where the nearest ATM was and she smiled and said, “Oh, we don’t have a bank here in Fettercairn, the nearest place you can get cash is Laurencekirk”….four miles away! Apparently all this information had been on the wedding invite, but as ours had been verbal we missed out on these crucial little titbits of information.

   So quick dump of the bags, back in the car and off to Laurencekirk to find a cash machine. When we returned we had 30 minutes to get ready before the taxi came, but as you know this is no problem to us and we found ourselves in the taxi at 1.30pm heading up the spectacular driveway of Fasque House.

    Graeme and his groomsmen and ushers were all waiting at the main door, enjoying the spectacular view and despite the fact that it had been raining pretty much all the way down the road for us, the weather in Fettercairn was dull and dry, perfect.

        Robin had done Graeme’s sister, Leanne’s wedding to Mark a while back and his groomsman Paul’s to Jill, so there were a lot of familiar faces and catching up to do.

We walked through the huge glazed doors and straight in to the main hall where the wedding would take place, it was breath taking! The main room led to a huge double staircase that led up the stairs to where all the wedding party had stayed the night before.

    Jen and her Mum had put a huge amount if planning in to all the little details of the day and at the door was a little chest containing beautiful cotton  hankies for  guests to take and mop their happy tears.

A string quartet were playing, at the foot of the stairs, as guests started to arrive, playing a lovely selection of oldies .

At this point Robin was doing his usual, setting up the quaiches , making sure that the schedule was in the right place and chatting to the wedding party, making sure that they were all on the same page.

We noticed that a very conscientious member of staff had decided , in his kilt, to give the spectacular stair case a last minute hoover ( or Henry  as the case was). Unfortunately he had plugged it in right beside the table with all the wedding ‘stuff on it’ and the cable was stretched across the hallway. Robin walked round the corner and caught the cable with his foot, not just unplugging the vacuum cleaner, but actually pulling the whole socket out of the wall in the process, with a huge amount of plaster board!

  There was a silence, as the quartet stopped playing and gasped, the ‘Henry’ died and Robin stood looking at the loose plaster over the beautifully varnished floor.

     Completely nonplussed the kilted cleaner went over, shoved the socket back in it’s hole, took the plug and plugged it in over at the other side of the hall and continued his job, only coming back to sweep up the plaster after the stairs were finished.

       I sat at the back with a lovely couple from Lanark, where Jen’s parent’s live, called Beth and George and we had a chance to get to know each other before the ceremony began. We watched as the quartet played the theme from the ‘Hamlet cigar ad’, is the only way I can remember it, and the bridesmaids came down the staircase, looking beautiful in powder pink with the page boys and little flower girl, Hannah, in cream.

      Jen made a wonderful entrance slowly walking down the stairs on her Dad’s arm. Her dress was strapless , the bodice encrusted with pearls and diamante , a flowing train with swathes of veil flowing behind her. She held a bouquet of pink and cream peony roses surrounded by hydrangea flowers, matched by the flowers throughout the room. Totally beautiful.

       We were reassured afterwards that  folks not from the North East of Scotland, had managed to decipher Robin’s Doric tongue,  all enjoyed how well it went and how much it echoed the lives of Jen and Graeme. The hankies were certainly handy as Jen is Joan and Jim’s only daughter and as hard as it is to give any of your children away, your only child makes it an especially  emotional day.

     Slinky , their saugage dog, was definitely not to be forgotten. With a few name checks in the ceremony and a little photo of him with a gift for fellow dogs that couldn’t make it, sitting on the table as we went through after the ceremony.

      We enjoyed a drink of champagne through in one of the many livingrooms that Fasque House has to offer. Being specially set up for functions  it has a bar and facilities to accommodate a huge number of guests. I was particularly impressed with the toilets after being told by Sarann  to go check them out.

Little rolled up towels in a holder were available to dry your hands and plenty of space to freshen up. Something Sarann appreciated more than the rest of us as she and her husband , Austin, are expecting their second baby in three weeks time. We enjoyed witting with them as waiters floated around with refills of champagne and canapés. Robin and Austin found their common love of football while Sarann and I had plenty to talk about, babies being the main topic.

                  We were guided up the main stair to the dining room, at the end of a lovely afternoon where Graeme had generously provided a free bar and found ourselves surrounded by spectacular vintage place settings , our favours being  vintage tea cups with scented candles . All the tables were beautifully dressed with cream and pink peony roses and vintage candelabras draped with pearls.
    We were sitting with a group of Jen's friends and I had a lovely time chatting to Neil and Alison who were spending their first night away from their little girl Ella who was eight and a half months old.While swapping our main courses I was impressed that Neil had given up his job as a sound engineer with STV to start all over again with a job as a train driver. I always think that it is wonderful to hear how people follow their hearts to find contentment in life. Jen's Dad told us in his speech how they had been bowled over when Jen had decided on a career in nursing after a few years of indecision and now she is a very successful and well loved practitioner.

After a fantastic meal in great company, we went downstairs and the band had begun to play. They were called 'House arrest' and had a great sound, but don't go looking for them for a booking, as we were told that they have recently split up and are just honouring their commitments before going their separate ways...such is show business eh?
    Jen and Graeme did their first dance to 'Nothing's going to stop us now', by Starship....great choice Jen!

Then all the single ladies gathered round and Jen threw her bouquet...it was so lovely to this this old tradition, something I haven't seen in a long time. My dear friend Eileen caught my bouquet at my wedding and sure enough she met Jim a few years later and the rest is history. I hope the catchee of Jen's bouquet will be as happy.

We danced to a few catchy numbers and phoned for a taxi as we knew we had to do it all again, but in a totally different way with a totally different group of people, the next day.
          Well, Jen and Graeme are heading off to a surprise honeymoon location in a little while and the break will be well earned after all the organising that went into their special day.
   I'd like to thank them for allowing us to come and be a part of it all, even if Robin did try to single handedly destroy the place. Look forward to seeing them again and maybe even Slinky , when they come back from abroad.
    Thanks Mr and Mrs Cowie....