(no subject)

I went to my cousin Jason's wedding yesterday – and a loud, raucous affair it was too (and when I say raucous, I mean kilted best men mooning guests and then doing the full monty at the disco!); Jason and Emma had an absolute blast. It's been a long time coming! They've been engaged for donkey's years now, but every time they started planning a wedding, Emma fell pregnant again, so they kept putting it off and putting it off…four kids later, they've finally made it.

Jason used to stay with us regularly when we were kids. His brother Gavin was in and out of hospital constantly because his kidneys didn't work, so my parents would have Jason to stay for weeks at a time and he'd go everywhere with us. We've drifted apart as we grew up, but still it was lovely to be there for his special day and to see him so happy.

We arrived at the registry office just as a goth wedding was coming out (black as far as the eye could see, except for the bride's pink hair) and a hell's angel wedding was going in (all leather, studs and tattoos) and that kinda set the tone for the day ahead… For a small-scale registry office do, it was a big affair – eight bridesmaids, five page boys, three best men and two different wedding dresses over the course of the day! Jason and Emma both have big, brash personalities and the wedding reflected that! They've been together 17 years, since they were 19 and 15 respectively, have been through some difficult, turbulent times, but they've come through it all together – there can't be many kids from council estates who fall pregnant at 16 and then manage to go the distance as a couple. And their kids are gorgeous.



This is me with the Not-So-Small One, having a meal in our local Harvester in between the wedding and disco (there were 13 of us altogether, absolutely famished, but enjoying the chance to get together as a family)


Deb and Ray were down for the wedding and stayed with me for a few days, dog in tow. Months later, Deb is still feeling the effects of the viral meningitis – headaches and balance issues and inability to recognise certain sounds and tastes (she kept saying everything tasted of lemon, and we couldn't work out if the problem was that her taste buds were registering everything as lemon or if she's got muddled and is remembering the wrong taste as lemon, if that makes sense). And she keeps forgetting weird things, like how to use a tin opener or fold an ironing board, or will go to the fridge to get milk and then not know what she's looking for (not that she's forgotten what she wanted, she won't recognise it when she sees it). She is a lot better than she was, though, especially now she is no longer teaching – she's had to call a day on her career, after 17 years teaching special needs, because she just isn't well enough any more. Hopefully her health will continue to improve now, though.

(no subject)

I went to my cousin Jason's wedding yesterday – and a loud, raucous affair it was too (and when I say raucous, I mean kilted best men mooning guests and then doing the full monty at the disco!); Jason and Emma had an absolute blast. It's been a long time coming! They've been engaged for donkey's years now, but every time they started planning a wedding, Emma fell pregnant again, so they kept putting it off and putting it off…four kids later, they've finally made it.

Jason used to stay with us regularly when we were kids. His brother Gavin was in and out of hospital constantly because his kidneys didn't work, so my parents would have Jason to stay for weeks at a time and he'd go everywhere with us. We've drifted apart as we grew up, but still it was lovely to be there for his special day and to see him so happy.

We arrived at the registry office just as a goth wedding was coming out (black as far as the eye could see, except for the bride's pink hair) and a hell's angel wedding was going in (all leather, studs and tattoos) and that kinda set the tone for the day ahead… For a small-scale registry office do, it was a big affair – eight bridesmaids, five page boys, three best men and two different wedding dresses over the course of the day! Jason and Emma both have big, brash personalities and the wedding reflected that! They've been together 17 years, since they were 19 and 15 respectively, have been through some difficult, turbulent times, but they've come through it all together – there can't be many kids from council estates who fall pregnant at 16 and then manage to go the distance as a couple. And their kids are gorgeous.



This is me with the Not-So-Small One, having a meal in our local Harvester in between the wedding and disco (there were 13 of us altogether, absolutely famished, but enjoying the chance to get together as a family)


Deb and Ray were down for the wedding and stayed with me for a few days, dog in tow. Months later, Deb is still feeling the effects of the viral meningitis – headaches and balance issues and inability to recognise certain sounds and tastes (she kept saying everything tasted of lemon, and we couldn't work out if the problem was that her taste buds were registering everything as lemon or if she's got muddled and is remembering the wrong taste as lemon, if that makes sense). And she keeps forgetting weird things, like how to use a tin opener or fold an ironing board, or will go to the fridge to get milk and then not know what she's looking for (not that she's forgotten what she wanted, she won't recognise it when she sees it). She is a lot better than she was, though, especially now she is no longer teaching – she's had to call a day on her career, after 17 years teaching special needs, because she just isn't well enough any more. Hopefully her health will continue to improve now, though.