We finally got there – this weekend was my brother’s wedding to the lovely Becca. I didn’t get off to a good start on Wednesday when I’d put my car in the garage for a service and MOT before driving down to my parents house in Blackpool. A couple of hours I thought, and I’ll be on my way by lunchtime. Not so unfortunately, five hours later, £350 lighter of pocket, and with a car that still hadn’t passed its MOT I set off! A good drive home though, despite the low level of worry in the back of my mind due to the fact that one of the MOT failure points was ‘excessively corroded brake pipes’ and they still hadn’t been fixed. Now I don’t know much about cars but brake pipes sound pretty essential to making, well, the brakes work.
As you can probably tell I didn’t crash and die (unless I’m writing this from beyond the grave, in which case call Norris McWhirter because surely that’s some sort of record) and on Thursday I drove (or rather was driven in the back of my Mum & Dad’s car feeling like a 10 year old going on holiday again) down to Derbyshire where it was all happening. After a wedding rehearsal made more fun by misquoting the vicar in the style of Stewart Lee we headed back to the hotel for some dinner and, despite my best efforts, a medium amount of booze.
I’d love to say Friday morning dawned bright and clear. But I’d be lying. It was pissing it down – the worst possibly kind of wedding weather. But I had my shiny new plastic umbrella – you know the kind that’s like half a sphere that comes right down to your shoulders? I’ve always wanted one and now I have one, and it kept me good and dry. The wedding itself was lovely – if a bit too much about God for my liking – and I remembered all my reading. My brother actually looked smart for once and the bride and bridesmaids looked lovely too.
And – thank the Lord – the rain stopped long enough for us all to get out of the church, get some photos taken, get back to the hotel (Mark & Becca in their open top Cadillac) and get some more photos in the gardens before the heavens opened again.
Then followed the usual hanging about while we waited to be fed. The food was very nice followed by some funny but not too risqué speeches. After some further hanging about and mingling with plenty of folks that I’ve not seen for years; which was ace, the band started. And they were brilliant! Everything you could wish for in a wedding band, good tunes, good banter and a reasonably sexy lead singer who flirts with you and lets you play his tambourine! Although I still have a sore wrist and bruised hand from the overenthusiastic tambourine playing!!
I didn’t make it to breakfast on Sunday morning. My raging hangover saw to that, and after struggling not to throw up for the first few hours of the day, I slept most of the way home – but recovered enough for pizza and Eurovision in the evening!
So there we go – much fun was had, I got pretty drunk, but not so drunk I forgot any of it, did lots of dancing and although I didn’t get much chance to really talk to them, I’m fairly sure Mark & Becs had an amazing day. And so did everyone else. And maybe now my mum will talk about something else every once in a while. On second thoughts she better make the most of this one – I think it may be some time before she sees her other child get married. Unless I get swept off my feet in a whirlwind romance. You never know – stranger things have happened.
In other news – I didn’t get an interview on the teacher training course I applied to in Edinburgh, and I’m still waiting for feedback to find out why. So I resubmitted my application to the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow…..and I’ve got an interview in ten days. Eek! I’m not sure whether I actually want to commute to Glasgow every day but if it means starting the course in August then I’ll definitely be thinking long and hard before I make a decision. I just need to get in first!
Wish me luck.