No.24

    You'd be amazed at how I miss seeing those little dried up contact lenses flicked about the bathroom or the myriad of toothpaste that seems to be splattered on every conceivable part of the sink.
   Cyrus,our golden lab, lies about the house looking dejected and it seems eerily quiet without the thud, thud thud of footsteps on the stairs at speed or the sound of a door being flung open and the roaring sound that usually follows.
    Yes folks, it's been three weeks since James headed off on his adventure to Ghana. Three weeks since I waved him off at Aberdeen Airport with his rucksack and his undisplaced fracture of the radial head of his left arm ( see blog no.19 for details!)

       The next 24 hours were a bit disjointed in communication, with a few whatsapps and a text message reassuring me that he had negotiated the terminals at Heathrow having picked up his case and was on track for his Turkish Airlines flight to Accra in Ghana.
           The next call was from his hotel in Accra where he had arrived safely but his bag, I'm afraid, had not! We made a speedy, executive descision, based on the fact that it was costing him £1.46 a minute to call home, that he should fly on to Timale in the North of the country, his final destination and let Turkish Airlines get his bag to him, not hang around in Accra. This proved a good move as his case didn't turn up for another 5 days and by then he was having a fantastic time with the folks in the Kings Village Project where he was to spend the next month.
          We've had a few texts with amusing stories of spider nests under his bed or waking at 5am to find he was covered in little black ants that also got in to his cereal. He's loving teaching the kids in the school guitar and helping them with their reading.
           He met another group of volunteers, on his first night there and unbelievably the team leader was from Fyvie and had a group from a church in Fraserburgh with him. I mean how far do you have to go to not meet folks from the North East of Scotland?.....

        Geraldine left the North East of Scotland over eleven years ago to start a new life with her children out in New Zealand. About five years ago she met Cliff and as their friendship developed to love he proposed on New year's eve 2013 right on the bells.
          Their story slowed down a bit after that as it seemed impossible for all the family to make it over for their wedding, until this year when a master plan was hatched.
   Geraldine's Mum, Christine was 70 years old yesterday and the family had decided to get together and have a surprise do at her son Jim and his partner Dee's house,in the countryside between Turriff and Foggie.
            Unfortunately Christine wasn't the only one to not know what was going on as Jim had changed his mobile number without telling his sisters as they were texting him their secret plans. Thankfully a week before the big birthday he bumped into one of them and they told him that the whole family were descending on them the next week and there was going to be a wedding!
   Geraldine and Cliff were coming over for the party and Christina, Geraldine's older sister had cleverly thought that a combined 70th and wedding would make everyone's day.
  As you know Robin had already committed to doing Mark and Michelle's nuptials ( see this mornings blog no.23), so the family said they would work round him, picking us up after the meal and having an evening ceremony.
            We arrived at the house as some of the party goers were having a clay pigeon shoot and were quickly wheeked into the livingroom, out of sight from Christine, to join the secret piper, Kevin, who had come along in full gear.
      The wedding cake was cup cakes, so I got a shot before we were moved to another secret location...

It was decided to have the ceremony outside as it was such a lovely evening and so a table was taken out and placed right under a huge Holly tree in the garden and there we all gathered. 

   Cliff came out to stand with Robin as Geraldine hid inside having asked her Mum to come through as she had something she wanted to speak to her about.

Robin of course had to initiate Cliff, who came from a Maori background, into the Scottish tradition of hip flask sharing!

           After Christine had recovered from firstly, seeing Geraldine in a dress (pretty much unheard of) and secondly being asked to give her away, they came out of the house as Kevin played 'All for Marie's wedding'.

The family stood round and watched, as this moment they thought they would never be able to witness, had arrived.

Robin told us their story. Geraldine was a road maintenance machine operator ( no messing with this girl) and Cliff was her boss. They became close and eventually Geraldine grew to love him and more importantly, trust him, something she felt she would never be able to do. Obviously the perfect partnership.

    

Cliff struggled with the emotion of it all, to say his vows, but then, in his beautiful New Zealand accent he made his promises and they said their I dos. The family stood beaming and is tears as they witnessed this very special event.

           The schedule was signed by them both and then Mum, who didn't know that she was going to be a witness ( thank goodness she agreed!) and Robin announced the new Mr and Mrs Manukau. Everyone cheered and celebrated, hugs all round.

I had a peek at the schedule to see the names of Cliff's parents and was fascinated to see that his Mum had been called Hiria Te Ahorawe Te Tureiti Green (Manukau) and his dad Te Tana London Manukau...wonderful, but not easy to shout out when you want them in for tea.

    Cliff and Geraldine both have very manual jobs that don't allow jewellry ,so decided to get their wedding rings tattooed on their fingers. Really clever. Geraldine also got the Gaelic for 'Love of my heart, Cliff' tattooed on the inside of her wrist. She said it was a bit painful, but worth every bit!

The final part of the ceremony was for both of them to have a first dance. They choose a Maori traditional song and wewatched as they dances and sang to each other...obviously very much in love.

The rest of our evening was spent enjoying great company as Jim brought out his £160 bottle of Aberlour and insisted on giving everyone a nip till 15 minutes later the bottle was empty!

     Steve the deer stalker had provided the meat for the barbeque, making all the sausages and burgers himself and a spit roasted Roe deer that Jim had hunted. He told us of a wedding he had been at last year down in England where he and the groom had been four and a half hours late for the wedding. They had got stuck in backlogged traffic caused by a bad car accident and only with the help of the police, managed to get to the Church with a police escort going at full pelt!

      The light faded and we sat enjoying the food and the company lit by tea lights and heated by the chiminea. 

       A minibus came to take those of us who lived out and about home and we said our farewells. I think we'll be back in the next year or so as Robin has had a few inquiries from family and friends looking for a simple service just like Cliff and Geraldine's.

                      Such a lovely evening and such a great bunch of people. Sometimes the simple things just work really well and I know from seeing Cliff and Geraldine's faces and those of their family, that they wouldn't have had it any other way. Wishing them all the best as they travel back to New Zealand  and look forward, as we stay in touch with the rest of the family, to hearing how life as Mr and Mrs Manukau goes from here. Much love the Minister and his Missus x

          

             
                   
       

         

No.23

     Our book group has been on the go for many years now and the membership ( we are very strict about who joins, the initiation ceremony is quite gruesome!) has changed over the years, with just a few of us hardliners who have been there since day one.
            The general rule is that one of us chooses a book for the next meeting and  Karen, our person on the inside at the library, sources multiple copies of the books and hands them out for us all to read.
          This has never been an easy task and I'm sure it is why Karen eventually got a job at the library, out of the huge number of people who applied. She had spent so much of her time there trying to sort out our book group dilemmas that she knew the whole system like the back of her hand.
     Of course reading the book is only a small part of  book group. The chance to catch up with friends we haven't seen for at least a month and have a glass of wine or cup of tea while enjoying a few snacks, takes up a huge amount of any of these evenings. Usually it's a few hours in that someone says,
" We really should speak about the book".
This is the point that at least a few of us confess that we haven't read it at all but gracefully listen as those who have, tell us their thoughts.
    At one of these meetings, last year, we got on to subject of singing. I love to sing, I have always sung in choirs, in musicals, in the shower, in the car and my particular favourite, the kitchen (mainly because there's room to dance and excruciatingly embarrass your kids). A few of the girls commented that they didn't have anywhere to go and sing communally. I was thinking how even though I know that going to church isn't part of most people's routine these days, that one of the joys of going is being able to sing with a group of people with no expectation of how tuneful you are.Something I have enjoyed since childhood and continue to do till this day.
      So why shouldn't we just get together and sing?
      I was appointed head honcho, mainly because we have a hall large enough to hold a group and an invitation was sent out to all of Face Book land, letting them know they could be a part of something really rather special.
    Initially about 30 people turned up and all looked expectantly at me, thinking that I would transform them into the Macduff version of Soldier's wives. It was fairly obvious from the off that I didn't have the God given gift that Gareth Malone has, no matter how hard I tried, so we morphed and tweaked as the weeks went by and the numbers dropped, taking on board what everyone wanted  and we settled on what is now known as 'Singing group'.
      We turn up, the kettle goes on, the karaoke machine that Alexander expertly navigates, is set up. We sit around for a while sipping tea and choosing what songs we fancy singing. Requests go in to the master DJ and the music starts.
       We sing ( together!), we dance, we laugh ( especially when one of us comes in at the wrong place), we belt out our all time favourites and we dance, sway and wiggle to our hearts content. There's no better therapy I can promise you than after a hard day's whatever, head banging along to 'Bohemian rhapsody' or feeling elated as you hold your arms outstretched  during 'Something inside so strong'.
    Music is always a huge part of any couple's big day and even though there isn't always an opportunity to sing, the music that is chosen, whether it be to walk in to or during the ceremony, always says a huge part about there journey together and what their dreams are for  life ahead.
       My outfit for this, my 23rd wedding attendance this year, was another e-bay find, paired with my patent black wedges and my ever faithful net slip I was very pleased with my £10 outfit.
      I asked Robin to photograph me, so this is my 'Could you get a move on' face.

                Mark and Michelle are from Keith so I was looking forward to joining them at the Springs as my opinion of folks from Keith couldn't be higher ( See blog no.1, Jill and Mike's).
     Mark was standing outside as we walked down towards the hotel entrance. It was a beautiful day and he was looking very smart. He had spent the night on his Mum's sofa , after a bit of a late night with the lads. The intention was for him to sleep on an inflatable bed, but it deflated through the night and he ended up moving and then deciding, as he was getting no sleep, to get up at six and get on with his wedding day.
     Walking in, I was pleasantly surprised to see pink everywhere, one of my favourite colours, so perfectly feminine and pretty. The room looked lovely, adorned with beautiful floral displays matching in with the chair bows and potted trees with pink roses that framed the aisle.

I popped myself down after taking a few pics and soon the guests came in under Jillian's careful direction, while the harpist played.

     We knew that there were quite a few functions on that afternoon in the hotel so she had to be careful not to guide one of the girls from the two hen parties that were going on, in to the wedding by accident!

         Only ten minutes late, the bridal party arrived, the two bridesmaids, Michelle's best friends, Charlotte and Laura looking quite stunning in deep purple off the shoulder long chiffon gowns. Michelle came in to ' Beautiful in white' by Westlife and as she walked up to Mark he reached over and gave her a kiss.

           She did indeed look beautiful in white.Her dress was strapless in wrapped satin with a beautiful lace bodice, matching glimpses of antique lace fabric were set into panels that flowed all the way down to her train. In her hair was a diamonte tiara to add a touch of sparkle and her veil finished the whole outfit of to a tee.

     I had been reading a psalm in the morning and the phrase " Be still and know that I am God" really struck me.Robin pointed out that one of the things Michelle had learned from being with Mark, over   the twelve years they have been together, was that 'Stressing about things gets you nowhere' and I thought, that just about sums it up.

  Mark said as he took his vows that he promised to follow Michelle's lead, apart from when  Chelsea was playing on a Sunday afternoon.

      Michelle spoke of  how Mickey without Minnie and Piglet without Pooh was like her without him and then promised to only sing songs if she truly knew that words to them. I almost stood up and shouted,

  "No,,,,sing those songs Michelle...we need more people like you"....

...... but I knew deep down in my heart that she would still keep on singing as he would keep watching the football, just learn to love that part of each other.

  Connor is their little boy and having him be part of the day was a huge thing. He jumped into his Dad's arms after they were pronounced Man and wife and wanted to sit with them as they signed the schedule. This became a bit problematic when he wanted to sign it himself!

   Eventually Michelle's Mum took him away and as she went to sit down he pulled her away to walk down the aisle saying, " Be right back" to everyone. 

    Outside he did stay still for a few photos with Mum and Dad and fellow page boy, Jake.

We were accosted in the foyer by two gorgeous ladies. Gemma, who is the face of the Banff Springs ( works on reception) is getting married to Jason in four weeks time and she and Sarah were adorned in sashes and dressed up to the nines for her henny. The rest of the gang, similarly attired, were in the Moray suite, after a lovely afternoon tea ( I use the word tea loosely!), getting ready for a bus to take them up to Inverness for Gemma's henny part two.

       I look forward to seeing her next week and hearing all about it. Poor Sarah is straight back to work today, so I hope it wasn't too raucous a night. Looking forward to wedding crashing that big day too...so watch this space.

    The harpist dashed past us all with her amazingly mobile harp, a bit stressed as she had booked to play at another wedding in Fyvie castle straight after Mark and Michelle's and thought she was going to be late.

       We laughed with Jillian as we commented on the stress of booking two things in one day. 

At this point  Robin had to confess that he had indeed booked to do another wedding that evening! Jillian looked at him asking if he was joking, but he really had!

      We were getting picked up at 7.15pm and taken to another destination for a totally different kind of wedding.....therein lies blog no.24.....now back to Mark and Michelle.

    The new Mr and Mrs Hector went away with the photographer to Duff House for photos and we had a chance to have a glass of Pimms (that's got to be one of your five a day) and a catchup with Paul and Gemma, Robin's 141st wedding last year. Mark was Paul's best man and now Paul was here in the role of groomsman a year later for Mark. We had seen their wedding photos during the year as the Springs had a photo book on display, for folks to browse, on the coffee tables in reception.

           The line up commenced and we had a chance to congratulate Mark and  Michelle and meet their folks, before finding our table.

              Beautifully decorated, Mark told us that his sister had done the table centres, what a great job she did.

The cake was also made by a friend and looked perfect, decorated with little pink marzipan flowers.

Michelle's Dad started the speeches saying how proud they were of Michelle for becoming a pharmacist but particularly happy that she had chosen Mark to spend the rest of her life with. Mainly because Mark works for the Chivas distillery company and pretty much guaranteed them cheap malt whiskey for the rest of their lives.

     Mark thanked all the people who had made such an effort to make their day so special. He especially thanked his parents for how they had brought him and his brother and sister up, bring a tear to most people's eyes as he spoke from his heart.

               There was an extra speech as Charlotte, the chief bridesmaid decided that in an effort to assert 'woman power' , she would stand and speak of her friendship for Michelle, that has been ongoing since P4.

          Kyle, Mark's best man, spoke well, flowing from amusing anecdotes to tears all in the space of a few minutes.

      Our meal started just after 6pm and we knew that time was of the essence as our lift was coming in just over an hour. I think Jillian was more worried than Robin about it as she made every effort to make sure that we had our full meal before we had to leave.

      We really enjoyed it and even got to see Michelle and Mark cut their cake, leaving us with a great image on which to slip away, after saying our farewells.

We were sorry that we couldn't see their first dance, but I'm sure that Michelle was singing all the words, with a few incorrect lyrics, right in Mark's ear and he loved every bit of it. 

Huge thanks for letting us be part of your day Mr and Mrs Hector, wishing you and of course Connor all the best for this new chapter in your story, or should I say musical!

  

             

 
 

No.22

        There was a girl at my school called Julia who didn't like me much and we sat together in chemistry, her , glowering at me over the bunsen burners as we listened to Mr McLeary drone on about different chemical equations.
    One day she threatened to fill my face in at lunch time and as wasn't really keen on the idea, I decided to talk her out of it. It took the whole of the chemistry double period, but I managed and the fight never happened, in fact we stayed on relatively good terms after that. Not that I still send her a Christmas card or anything ( I don't really send anyone Christmas cards anymore...but that's another blog entirely!), but that little encounter pretty much summed up the rest of my life.
       I'm emotionally quite even. I don't like arguments and I always feel that with a bit of reasoning, anything can be worked out..."but surely if you just sat down and talked about it?" should be written on my gravestone ( not that I want a gravestone, I want to be cremated and scattered off the Moray coast somewhere,on a non-windy day, hopefully not being blown back in to someone's face!).
         The one thing I have gradually lost control of over the years is when I cry. I remember realising that I must be pregnant with James, 19 years ago, as I sat crying over a Lassie film on TV, so rarely was it that I ever blubbed.
     These days, my children could tell you horrendous stories of me embarrassing them by sobbing uncontrollably over a seemingly minor event.
    When Ellie was leaving home, to go to university in Dundee, I thought I was holding it together quite well as we packed her stuff up. My friend Kathleen passed by as I was packing the car, having just taken her daughter Gemma to Edinburgh, she stopped to chat and we ended up sobbing on each other's shoulders.
    I pretty much cried for the next 24 hours, trying to hold it together for the journey down to Dundee.
This all went really well until we hit Turriff and 'Somewhere out there', from the film, 'An American Tail' (The Linda Ronstadt/ James Ingram version), came on the radio.....

  "....And even though I know how very far apart we are, it helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star.
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby, it helps to know we're sleeping underneath the same big sky....."

         ....Well, that was me off. I sobbed my way down the road, barely breaking to replenish the lost fluid and ignoring the horrified stares of Ellie and Jake.
           Strangely, once we said our goodbyes I did much better, much to the relief of Jake who I'm sure felt that he would have to get out and thumb a lift if I went on much longer.
     It's a great thing to have a good old cry, just such a shame that it makes you look so scary. Maybe if we all cried a lot more it would become much more normal to have that,'I just cried look' and nobody would bat an eyelid. I say, let's go for it folks, come on, grab that person beside you and have a good old sob on their shoulder...
      The day before Ellie and Conor's wedding I was running round like a headless chicken organising 'stuff' and I decided to text Ellie, referring to her as 'Miss Wiseman'. The realisation that this was the last day she would be a Wiseman, hit, and that was me off.
         Conor's parents, Lorna and Simon, who I had spoken to but never met in person, turned up with his brothers and sisters ( he's one of 5 too!). I welcomed them in to the house and Lorna asked how things were going. Yes, you've guessed it, I burst in to tears....well, at least they saw the real me early on!
            Wedding days can bring that out in you, I can tell you and I am so aware of this at each wedding I attend. Underneath the happiness and splendour of this amazing day, is a hotchpotch of emotions just waiting to get out.
     My dress for Clark and Gail's wedding was my, Mother-of-the-bride dress, that has only been worn once since Ellie and Conor's wedding in 2013. I got a bit emotional when I slipped back into it, as it brought back all those happy memories.

I was working till 12 and we had to leave at 12.45, so there wasn't much room for error in the getting ready process. Thankfully the dress behaved itself, though my tights didn't and I had to go raking for a spare pair after getting a ladder in pair one. I probably spend more on tights than I do on dresses, honestly!
Well here's the finished piece!

The invitation from Clark and Gail had arrived a while back with a strip of hessian sacking round it so I wasn't too surprised, when we walked in to the function suite at the Springs, to see hessian ties on the back of the chairs. The room looked lovely, the ties matching the decor of the hall exactly.

I wasn't sure if we would know any of the guests as Clark and Gail are from Turriff so I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted a few friendly faces, as the guests came in to take a seat. 

      The flower girls came in first,Gail and Clark's nieces holding the hand of Paige, their three year old daughter. They walked beautifully to the front dressed in cream with the eldest flower girl matching the bridesmaids in a pinky/purple. 

   In came the bridesmaids looking beautiful as they walked down the specially laid white carpet in the central aisle.

Gail came in with her Dad, Jim, to the traditional bridal march, looking wonderful in her  white silk strapless gown, delicately embroidered with crystal beading that flowed in gentle twists down to the hem and train. She stopped momentarily at the end of the carpet, realising that walking, holding your Dad's arm and a bouquet of pink gerbias was no easy task. So she asked Jim if he would hold up the front of her dress as they walked together down past their family and friends....perfect problem solving! 

     The ceremony began with the lighting of a candle, something a lot of couples do, in remembrance of those who couldn't be there whether through having passed away or being unable to attend. Robin spoke of how we are all 'surrounded by a cloud of witnesses' and can be reassured of the love and support of all our loved ones as their presence is felt on such a special day.

             Clark's Aunt Susan had written a special poem, which Robin read, telling of the lives of Gail and Clark and how they came to this special day.

      They said their vows, Clark promising ( vaguely) to not just step over folded piles of beautifully laundered clothes and actually put them away. Gail on the other hand promised ( ish) to stop nagging Clark about jobs that are needing done about the house.

    We all enjoyed a sip of cava from the quiaches despite Bob, one of the groomsmen, almost wiping out the whole front row of guests while opening a bottle and letting the cork go rogue.

    Soon, the new Mr and Mrs Hendry walked down the aisle to the traditional wedding finale piece and headed out in to the sunshine.

    I hung back to help Robin clear up and saw that the lighter used to light the candle was in the style of a bunsen burner...so I had to take a picture, just in case no one else knows what one looks like!

                As the guests filtered out I spotted a few more familiar faces and made a few connections. Gail's Mum, Ann is from a family of five sisters, who used to be 'Meechans' before aquiring different surnames through marriage. I have known Sandra for years and her sister Brenda also Linda and Mairi but this was my first time to meet Ann. It was lovely to see them all together and we sat with them out in the foyer enjoying a drink and the lovely snacks that the staff brought round.

        I realised that I had known Gail's Granda, Dad to the famous five, such a lovely man who would've loved to have enjoyed the day with the family and especially seeing all his girls together. We decided to take a photo of them all in their finery as the last group picture had been ten years before, so this was well overdue!

         I had driven over as Robin had woken up with a sore throat and feeling a bit off, so thought we might nip back home for a few hours mid afternoon if needs be. As we were enjoying the company so much, Brenda offered to follow us home and take us back again so we could enjoy a drink with our meal. 

     Soon it was time for the lineup and we hugged and kissed our way through to the hall, turned around beautifully by the hardworking staff while we had been sitting enjoying our afternoon. 

    We were at the top table named 'Heid bummers' and all the other tables had similarly Doric themed names. The Meechan girls ( apart from Ann of course) were at the 'Glaikit' table, much to their amusement ( generally means a bit thick and stupid!) and thankfully had already given their wedding presents to Clark and Gail or might've thought twice about what they gave them.

       The cake was sitting on a slice of log and all the name tags on matching pieces of wood. We thought we could gather them up at the end and use them for our wood burner, but apparently it all belonged to a wedding company and would have to be rescued for another day.

Jim, a Turriff postman, started the speeches off thanking Robin, a fellow postie and speaking  in very amusing terms about Gail and Clark and of course little Paige, who's wedding day it was too. He told us that Gail's favourite three words as a child weren't 'I love you' but 'Can I get?'

     Clark thanked everyone and for a man of few words, did really well. He handed over to his best man, Kevin, who spoke of his long lasting friendship with Clark, feeling that as he was so 'deep', he still felt like he didn't know everything about him. What he did know was that he has never been happier since having Gail and now Paige in his life ( told you I would cry!) .

              Our meal was delicious and I listened as Robin and Jim talked Postie talk. As Robin says 'Once a postie always a postie'.

   After 'A recht denner' ( a good meal) , we did our usual and sat out in the Foyer and put our feet up, so to speak.

    Clark and Gail came over for a chat and we watched as Paige ran about enjoying the space and so much company.

Laura, Robin's cousin, came in for the evening dance with Skylar and Riley her two little monkeys and we had a bit of a catchup. I'm looking forward to doing a Superblog on Laura and David's wedding in July 2017, so put it in your diary!

      Robin failed miserabley in getting us a taxi home and had to call on Pauline the manageress at the Springs to pull her weight ( not that she has much ) and  magic us a lift. Thankfully it worked and we headed off after our farewells, leaving everyone to enjoy their evening together with the band, 'Stone cold sober'.

        We spotted dolphins jumping in the harbour on the way home, what a perfect ending to a perfect day.

 Well there were a few tears, but mostly lots of laughter and love. Wishing the new Mr and Mrs Hendry all of the above for their life together and hope they'll be 'Fair tricket we themsels'  ( Happy) for the many years ahead. x

   

No.21

We get a reminder a couple of times a year that we are VIPs, very important people indeed. No, we haven't had an invite to a Royal Garden party, it's from the very kind people at Next, who on looking at our buying habits over the past year, have decided that we are their best bet to buy big in their sale.
       Our special invite came through last week, I booked my slot for 6am (!!) on Thursday morning and was up with the seagulls looking out for a bargain. Well it was a dream come true, the wonderful Speedo swimsuits, for the larger busted lady, were more than half price and I stuck two in my virtual shopping basket and headed for the checkout.
        There are a few things I love about swimming, first is I can fit it round my timetable. Second, I don't have to get dressed up to go. Third is, I get as long as I want in the shower and can pamper away to my heart's content
    . The best thing though about going to the pool is that we are all different shapes and sizes. Tall, lanky, short, chubby, pear shaped, apple shaped, tanned, ghostly white, smooth, bumpy, flabby or toned, yet we all have to get that piece of lycra enforced fabric on and walk round the poolside before dipping into the water and nobody is bothered at all.
      In my book I think I will have a section where we all have to walk about in our dookers ( swimwear) at work or school and just get used to the fact that, hey we're all different...now, who cares?
    Ellie lent me a book recently and there was a section in it about how ridiculously led by the media we are. We look at ourselves and judge what we see through the eyes of people who want to sell us stuff and constantly tell us if we were the perfect weight and size that we will be happy and contented...rubbish!
        I know that according to my bmi I am overweight, but not yet obese...phew, thank goodness for that, but hey, if I cut off my leg I could almost be the perfect weight and what happens if , like many amazing women I know, I needed to have a double mastectomy tomorrow, would that make me suddenly a healthier person because my weight dropped by 3 stone overnight?
    Truth is, it is actually much healthier to be a lot over your 'ideal' weight than it is to be 5% underweight. Fat protects your bones, keeps your hormone levels steady and isn't the all round baddie that the world makes it out to be.  
        As for looking amazing...you do! No really, how many people do you know that you care about how they look,fat or thin, if they are happy and smiling?
            I don't know any of my friend's that I would like any better for losing a stone in weight....I don't care.
          Do it if it's affecting your health and needs to be done, but otherwise, get on and lead a happy healthy life, full of fun, glasses of wine, occasional  sugar hits and whatever takes your fancy. Don't let your shape stop you from getting out there and enjoying life.When your weight stops you from doing the things you want to in life, or is effecting your health, then you should address it, but as a health issue , not an image one.
    On that note, I decide that David and Vanessa's wedding was the day to wear my 'Celebrate your luscious curves' dress that I got on-line a while back. I'm fifty next year and have never had any major health issues, so time to shine and make the most of what I've got. Fantastic hair, teeth that even my dentist has asked if he can use for advertising, no bingo wings ( apart from if I wave really wildly at someone across the room!), passable legs  that I can walk and dance with and a sense of humour that will take me far past fifty and into old age!

See, aren't I fab? Would you like me any better if I was super skinny? .....I think not!

          David and Vanessa live in Aberdeen, but Vanessa is from Banff, so they had settled on Duff House and the Springs for their day.

     It had been forecast earlier in the week for gale force winds and thunder storms, but thankfully despite a drizzley start to the day, it brightened up beautifully. We drove up to the house and I was thankful that I had sprayed a bit of extra hairspray on my locks as the wind was rushing through the trees as the leaves held tight. The Groom, David, his best man, brother Niall and four groomsmen were in the South drawing room going through the motions for 'operation going down the aisle'. Niall is a Sergeant in the army and took charge, knowing that as there were four bridesmaids and three flower girls to add to the bridal party that everything needed to go with military precision.

           The room was decorated with bird cage floral displays in vintage colours, very pretty.

    Chairs filled up as the guests arrived and we sat listening to the pianist play. Two o'clock came and went and still no sign of a bride. 35 minutes later, Robin came in an announced that she had indeed arrived but would be a few minutes yet. As she stepped out of the car her dress got caught in the wind and wrapped around the car tyre, so  a quick clean up was called for and the wedding could begin.

     The bridesmaids wore full length dusky grey chiffon dresses with lace bodices covered in silver sequins. the flower girls were in cream and as Vanessa came in on her Dad, Shaun's arm , she looked stunning in an antique cream lace, ruched dress, with a flowing lace veil trailing behind. Ethan, the page boy, decide he wanted to slip behind Vanessa to see his Granda and caught her veil on his way round creating a real 'Madonna' moment as Paul so adeptly put it later on. She recovered beautifully, veil intact..

     During the ceremony Robin spoke about a study that had been done over the life time of over 500 men in America, by a Dr George Valliant. They were from all walks of life and  examined every two years at least. 

       His conclusion was that, "warmth of relationships throughout life have the greatest positive impact on 'life satisfaction", or in other words..... Happiness is love. 

      Readings were read and hands were tied and soon the new Mr and Mrs Raeper walked down the aisle in perfect formation with all the bridal party.

    We had been asked to go outside and have a group photo on the steps outside the house and then climb the considerable number of stairs to the 'Long gallery' at the very top of Duff House for a well earned drink of home made lemonade.

I could go reminiscing about the little bottles they used and how we got our daily milk at school in them back in the 1970s, fighting for any left over bottles, enjoying the cream that had risen to the top and the warm milk underneath...ah, those were the days.

      I digress, as usual....Here's David and Vanessa coming down the main staircase in Duff House...

After our refreshments we went home......

     Well, we did and then we got a lift to the Springs with Paul and Karen who we've known for yonks. Karen has the most amazing camera with interchangeable lenses and often disappears while looking for that perfect shot. She's a woman after my own heart and came prepared for every eventuality. Her huge bag, just like mine, was packed with sewing kit, paracetamol and all sorts of 'what if' goodies. In fact she completely outshone me by bringing her coat in from the car as well as a pashmina.....I was speechless!

        Robin, yet again, was missed off the seating plan. The girl who did the stationary for it must've been an ex-girlfriend because she didn't give him a place setting card either. Thankfully Jillian spotted the faux pas and shoved an extra seat in for him at the top table..phew!

As we queued up to greet the happy couple we heard the piper playing and looked around to see where he was. No sign of him, so where was the music coming from? We came to the conclusion that he was playing in the gents and sure enough, after a few seconds, out he came, pipes in hand....answers on a postcard please!

 The cake fitted in with the birdcages that now graced the centre of the tables, placed on huge crystal candalabras. Once we were all seated ( even Robin), David and Vanessa cut the cake with a sword that Niall produced from behind the table.

    Favours were handed out by the flower girl, little packages of heart shaped shortbread biscuits and a personalised tea bag with D&V written on it. It momentarily took my by surprise before I realised that D&V stood for David and Vanessa, not something else that those of us in medical circles will recognise instantaneously!

             The speeches were well executed. Shaun telling us that as this was his third time doing a Father of the bride speech, that half the guests will have heard it before and the rest could get DVDs and change the name!

      David spoke well, thanking everyone for coming and those who contributed.

   Niall told us how brave Vanessa was to take on the surname Raeper ( pronounced 'raper'), a burden he and his family have borne for years. There was no potential for a relationship with his ex-flatmate 'Iona' and a brief relationship with a Czech girl called' Ivana' soon fizzled out. His desire for promotion has been dampened by the next post he would have, being 'Major'....very amusing. Vanessa is a teacher and is apparently keeping her maiden name at school.

              The meal was delicious, we were pleasantly surprised by having salmon for a main course, even though Robin had put down in the 'special dietary requirements' section of the reply that 'Lynda could eat a horse'...apparently he writes this on every reply! Vanessa had written back that she had asked Jillian and unfortunately the Springs wouldn't be supplying any Tesco meat....ah the joys of being the butt of your husband's jokes.

      We sat with Karen and Paul during the evening and watched as Vanessa came down form her room , her dress transformed with a  bejeweled neck piece and her hair beautifully redone on the side. They led off the Grand March and we even joined in this time as Jillian was sending us threatening looks!

 It was all well managed and soon it was time for their first dance. They had chosen 'Fall at your feet' by Crowded house which was a brilliant choice as that is exactly how they met. Vanessa tripped over and fell at David's feet in 'Club Tropicana' in Aberdeen ...and now look at them. Her friend Claire had come over and asked David if he liked her friend as he had been persistantly asking her to dance throughout the evening and when he said yes, she said, "Why, do you want to marry her?"

  When she tripped over, his persistence paid off and she decided to say yes to the dance and well...the rest is history.

 They did a few twirls and fancy moves and later in the evening the bride and her entourage did a dance routine to 'the stripper'....no clothing was removed and then the groom, with feather boa, and his posse did their version, just a little leg rubbing and a few sexy moves, nothing to traumatise the kids!

    Even I, the horse eater, had to draw the line when pies were brought out with the teas and coffees at 10pm, still trying to burn off the meal from hours before with some energetic dance moves.

     We left at 11 after a great day with great company.

Wishing the new Mr and Mrs Raeper a wonderful life together, may they never be held back from enjoying life as they did on their very special day yesterday. Just remember that where there is happiness, there is love and I know that's something they are not short of.

     

             

        

Bonus anniversary edition

My Mother-in-law walked into the kitchen with a huge bunch of flowers and a card in her hand, looking expectantly at me as she held them out.
"It's not our wedding anniversary is it?" I asked
She rolled her eyeballs in disgust and handed over the flowers, though I think she might've been tempted to hit me over the head with them.

Yes, yet another year that Robin and I have totally forgotten our anniversary. We actually thought it was the 17th of July for a few years until someone told us we were wrong and for some reason the correct date of the 16th doesn't seem to stick in either of our brains...Thank goodness for Grandma ( words that are said frequently in our house I can tell you!)
  It certainly doesn't feel like 23 years since that day. I remember being so relaxed and happy that it had finally arrived and we could get on with being Mr and Mrs Wiseman

.
     I was living with a wonderful couple, John and Mary Kerr, in Barrhead near Glasgow, at the time. Robin stayed in a caravan in their back garden and I moved into the house for the year we were engaged as we did everything together and travelling from my flat across town got a bit tedious.
         It rained constantly that morning  and I don't remember being worried at all about my hair or my dress or my mascara running. I decided after a morning of watching my Mum arrange the flowers in the church that I really should have a bath and do my hair, so 2 hours before I was to walk down the aisle I was lying the bath while everyone else was having a bite of lunch.
        I remember eventually walking down the stairs in the house to see everyone dressed up and ready to roll. Eventually they all headed off to the hall where the ceremony was taking place and I was left with my Dad in the living room, waiting for Simon, John and Mary's son-in-law to come and pick us up in his role as chauffeur for the day.
       I arrived pretty much on time and remember walking up the aisle past our friends and family and to Robin, dressed in tails. Yes, this was in the days before he had ventured to wear a kilt, now he's never out of one!
     John was marrying us and as I've mentioned before we have had the joy of staying in touch as after all these years his grandson, Conor, met our daughter Ellie and thought it would be a great idea to marry her so, two years ago we had the pleasure of John taking part in their wedding ceremony, 20 years after he did ours.
         We had a perfect day, the rain stopped, the ground dried up ( in fact there was steam rising up it was so hot). We had a small number for the wedding and the meal and then 150 for the ceilidh at night. I don't think I stopped dancing the whole night.
    The next day we headed off to London on the bus where we had booked a few nights at the Gatwick Hilton using Kellogg's crunchy nut cornflakes vouchers. We flummoxed the receptionist when we arrived and went to pay in cash...she had to go and get the manager as they weren't sure what to do with  the strange Scottish couple that didn't have a credit card!
   It's not often we actually get invited to a wedding that Robin isn't officiating at, so I was really looking forward to a fun night out with a kiltless Robin when we got an evening invitation to Meghan and Greg's wedding dance. Kirsteen, Meghan's Mum and I have worked together on and off for the last 15 years and it had been lovely to hear about all the preparations and excitement in the build up to this special day.
      I can't give Meghan and Greg a blog number, but thought I would blend them in with this special anniversary bonus edition.
   I don't know if you would remember buying magazines when we were younger. I used to get the 'Jackie' magazine as a teenager, every week. I also have memories of the Twinkle as well as the Dandy and Beano. Getting our pocket money and going off to  Frank Long's Supermarket ( only folks from Londonderry would remember that) and buying a Frostie ice pop and a magazine. During the summer holidays the publishers would bring out a summer special, extra reading for those days when you might just get bored over the school break.
    So this is a bit like a summer special in blog land!
We arrived at the Springs with Robin in the driving seat...yes folks, you heard right, Robin drove all the way from Macduff to Banff and actually volunteered! I think knowing he had to get up and write up a service early the next morning was the reason but I was quite happy to enjoy being driven about and have a glass of wine...what's not to like?
           The morning had started off just like our wedding day, constant rain, followed by heavier rain and then a small break for some more. I am an avid follower of the Met office and had seen that it was meant to dry up in the afternoon, but when I looked out the window at work, thinking of Kirsteen  and Meghan getting ready, I was wondered if the weather folks were actually going to be right.
    Well as usual they were and just like our day 23 years before, the rain stopped bang on 2pm when they were all going into the church and brightened up from there on in.
                As we walked up the steps towards the front door of the Springs we saw Kirsteen and Sean her husband out enjoying the evening sunshine with their friends and family. Kirsteen grabbed me to take a photo of her and her aunt  and despite the glut of photo bombers I managed to get one of her and Sean in all their finery.
                   

     We stayed outside for a while chatting and then decided to move inside to buy a drink. One of our top tips, if you are a wine drinker, is to buy a bottle of wine, when out at a hotel, as it is a lot cheaper than buying it by the glass and if you don't finish it you can always take it home at the end of the night. So we perused the wine list and settled on a nice Temapanillo which Beth kindly offered to keep behind the bar for me. All I would need to do was come back and get a top up whenever I liked and they would keep it safe for me. I was tempted to draw a line on the wine level, but had forgotten my Sharpie so just had to trust her! When I went back later in the evening for a refill, it was a different waitress, but she knew with just a nod from me which bottle to go for with barely a blink...professionals those girls!
                We enjoyed a seat in the foyer and had a chance to get to speak to Kirsteen's Dad, Stan, who had come up from Laurencekirk for the day with his wife, Morag. It was lovely to meet them after hearing Kirsteen speak about them over the years.
      Soon all the girl's from the practice came in and we moved through to the function suite where despite the huge numbers of guests, everyone seemed to get a seat. We all admired each other's outfits, always lovely to see folks you work with done up for an evening out and to meet their other halfs too.
         Hayley the piper piped Meghan and Greg in for the Grand march and we had a chance to see how beautiful she looked in her dress.

Soon all the guests took to the floor and with Jillian's careful guidance the hoards of dancers managed to complete the full Grand march in just under 10 minutes. Robin claims to have seen one that took 22 minutes, where the piper nearly passed out and had to be rescued by the band!

        For their first dance  Meghan  and Greg choose Photograph by Ed Sheeran and despite the crowds I managed to get a shot of them looking so happy and relaxed, as they had been all day according to the guests I spoke to.

We caught up with loads of friends and had a great evening, despite not dancing because we were talking so much!

    We left with our bottle of wine that had been guarded so carefully and Robin drove home with amazing talent.

      Well, I wish the new Mr and Mrs Hutcheon all the best for their life together, that they have the 23 years and more of wonderful married life as Robin and I have had, also that they remember their anniversary at least every couple of years...I know I probably will!