The Big Day, July 2, 2016

The Wedding Day can be viewed as a piece of theatre. It is staged, formally presented, prepared and rehearsed (at least in our minds) for days, weeks, and months. And it is presented to an audience, who in this case pays with their time and attention and affection.

This day began with an Act 1 that involved an early rise from bed, many showers for Darlene and the "boys", which used up all the hot water. Ad Darlene getting her make-up on.

We then all went off for the men's shave and Darlene's hair setting/blowing. This was on Hatton Row, a jewelry area in downtown London. Darlene was dropped and we went around the corner to our barber shop. We entered, and there was a woman doing the cleaning and setup for the day. She spoke little English, but it was clear that nothing else was happening. We waited...and waited...and waited. At ten, an hour after we were apparently scheduled, we left in frustration, and headed back to the flat. So this Act had a closing scene of sadness and disappointment. But something had to go wrong on this day, so perhaps this was it.

Act 2, in the flat on Abbey Street, was one of dressing. Getting the suits and the dresses on, getting the ties tied, tiepins on. What they call button-holes here (boutonnières), and corsage for Darlene were all set out and put on where appropriate. The photographer came and started her work with us.














The men had decided that we would try to walk the distance to Trinity House: it is not more than a km or so. But it started to rain, so we took a few more photos and set off in cabs. By the time we got to Trinity House, the sun had come back out. So Act 2 ends with a smile.

Act 3: getting ready at the Trinity House. There was a string trio in the gallery, and the room was set up from the previous day, with seats assigned and programs on the seats. Dan and Katy had to meet separately with the Registrar, to verify their credentials, they said (?!). Then, as people began to assemble, we got ready to accompany Dan into the room. I had expected Darlene to get a bit teary at this point; I was startled to be aware of my own teariness as we got ready for the ceremony to begin. Our boy was entering into an adult, formal, mature relationship. And yes, it doesn't matter and changes nothing; but yes, it matters a whole lot and changes everything.

We got him safely to the front of the room, and then turned around to watch as Jim and Claire accompanied Katy.

Act 4: The Wedding ceremony went off as programmed. Readings from Darlene and I went well; that from Claire was well-done, but the mike was poorly placed, so we didn't hear her as well. But all was done according to protocol, and they were truly married.






























Time for intermingling in the larger room of the House, then we went out and the confetti was thrown, we took some more pictures, and we headed off for the reception at Maltby Market. This is, of course, the dramatic climax.

Act 5: Reception. Most of the guests went from Trinity House to the Market by old-fashioned double-decker bus. (It was delayed due to an anti-Brexit demo.The rest of us got to the Market by taxi, and actually arrived after the bus had got there. There was some final setting up at the Market to do, but overall, it went quite well. Lots of people, an obvious affection for our Dan, and a large number of family for Katy. A lot of mixing, a lot of noise. There were pictures projected onto a wall, a bunch of cards and well wishes in a bucket for them, flowers (local) in many places. All inside what is usually an antique store, closed and re-purposed for the wedding reception.

The Maltby Market is a high-class market, open on weekends only and serving a variety of gourmet food from various cultures (as well as alcohol, pastries, and so on). Some of the vendors had been commissioned to be there to ply their wares to us. And a photo booth in a microbus parked on the street. So lots to do, and enjoy. And the weather cooperated, with only one fairly hard rain at the start of the evening.

Speeches followed. Jim Bennett, in contradistinction to his earlier statements, made a wonderful and sincere speech to thank folks for being there. Dan then made his speech, timed and constrained by Siv (since Dan is known by all to go on longer than anyone else). Then I gave my speech, and finally Katy gave her speech.

And then it was to the cake cutting. Since Katy does not like sweets that much, they had a "cheese cake" made up of rounds of cheese, as well as a more traditional sweet cake. Both were delicious.

And the final scene of this act was a happy time dancing.

Act 6: The Epilogue: By now, I was bushed, as was Darlene. We decided we would go home, and did so. But the other revellers lit Tiki torches, and marched down the street to The Grange Pub, where they continued to drink and dance until 1 AM. Dan and Katy headed off to the Shard for their fancy night on the 47th floor room of the tallest building in the city. We learned the next day that they had swum in the pool on the 52nd floor, an infinity pool which goes close to the edge of the building, and looks out over the city.

I slept the sleep of the dead.

If all this world's a stage, these players did their jobs well, and the play was a success.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Abbey Street,London,United Kingdom

Pre-Wedding Times

Our time here prior to the actual wedding was not too planned out. We had a few tasks to do for the "couple", but they were only a few and not too onerous. So the Tuesday was spent reading, walking a bit, sleeping some more, and eating. It was a weather-challenged day (they seem to have a number of these here!-do they not know it is summer!). So after a fair time at the flat, we went over to Dan's place and hung out there, chatting and so on. Jamie was the good one, going for a 7 mile walkabout in downtown London, and visiting a few museums along the way. The rest of us were just lazy. And after supper, when Darlene and I went to bed, Shane was off to his Mosque downtown for a midnight mass. In truth, he also hoped to meet some women there that he knew.

But Wednesday was even more lazy from our point of view. It was quite windy, cool, spitting rain: a good November day. I was up through the night, but the both Darlene and I slept until almost noon. The boys at this point were already up and ready to go out to meet up with the women that Shane had met the night before. And Jamie, unfortunately, was there as well; unfortunate because he had wanted to go down to Portsmouth by train, had gotten up and gone to the station, only to find that the trains were all cancelled for the morning. He gave up and returned to the apartment.

They went out for the day, Darlene and I stayed around the flat mostly, going out to do some shopping nearby. We had a fancy supper planned with Dan and Katy, Jim and Claire at a restaurant called "Hibiscus", which is Michelin-starred. It was a rush for both Dan and Katy to get there, but we managed to meet down there, and had a wonderful tasting meal which included pigeon, eel, lots of interesting veggie arrangements, paired wines, and excellent service. Very nice, and much appreciated. Katy and Dan were doing this as a "thank-you" to the parents for their support and work, and we feel well-thanked.

It is interesting to share the flat we are in with two or three other males. Pat is a constant, as is Shane (Dan's very good friend from Guelph days). Jamie (a good friend from Parkside days) is with us until Thursday, and is also a neat guy, working in a welding shop at present, still living in Dundas, and enjoying his first trip to the UK. On Wednesday, Jamie took a long walk from here, over the London ridge to the downtown area, back to the Tower and over the Tower Bridge, then home: seven miles in total. (They measure distance in miles here, for some strange reason.) Wednesday, Pat and Shane went to have lunch with some women that Shane had met when he went to his mosque for the Ramadan services on Tuesday night. They ended up walking about 15 km, going to Hyde Park, having lunch, and so on, and had a good day ins pit of the rain.

Thursday was a day of kind of hanging around for Pat and us. Shane went off to Oxford to see a girl friend of his who is at school there. We hung around this flat for a while, then went over to Dan and Katy's flat and hung around there. There were a few jobs to do. Darlene and Pat went to the Borough Market to buy food for supper (a beef roast that couldn't be beat; some wonderful veggies), and I went out to get some prescriptions filled for them, and to get some keys cut. Katy, unfortunately, had to spend her last day of work before the wedding at a talk well out of town, so got home late-ish. But supper was ready, and we settled into a fine evening. Both Katy and Dan had arranged to have Friday off, to get ready for the wedding.

And that day—Friday—was full of running around for them. They had access to Trinity House, and used this to get the flowers set up, and the programs put out. We cleaned their flat, and got our flat ready for Dan to come over for the evening. Pat and Shane worked on getting the shoes shone, and the flat tidy.






Katy and her clan were gathering at their place for that final evening, and went to the Grange for supper (I think). We had a late supper here at our flat, and went to bed early for the wedding night. Some good omens came in the form of a double rainbow, and some spectacular views from out 15th floor flat over the town.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Abbey Street,London,United Kingdom