Clare and Adam’s Wedding (by sarah)

Saturday saw my cousin Adams wedding 🙂

We were staying at my brothers flat and so spent the morning getting ready - as this included the arduous task of waxing legs, washing waist length hair and painting nials - it took a while!

To my amazement I discovered my brother actually irony his suit trousers!

We kept Jeany entertianed by watching the first Harry Potter Film which she has been obsessed with ever since :/ The previous night I had discovered Alaric had double booked me and triple booked himself and there had been some confussion over a Frontline meet-up on the Friday which we consequently missed 🙁 But I had a lovely meal with David and Michelle and then we watched O'Brother Where Art Thou which has to be one of my favourites films ever 🙂

Anyway...

As I had feared there was the last minute panic when Mum and Dad weren't ready when Dave went to pick them up and the booster seat for Jean had been forgotten and her dress hadn't yet arrived and I had to be told off for panicking! So the norm before a wedding really!

I spent the time making the presant look nice and writing the card I'd made, unfortunatly there was no bride and groom wiggly pets as I just haven't been well enough but hope to be soon.

Eventually Jean's stuff arrived, she had been getting a bit worried as Mummy was Gizelle and Aunty Michelle was Gizelle too but she wasn't - we apparently were pretty princesses but when she put her dress on - she was definatly the Gizelle! (For the uninitiated Gizelle is a character/princess in a film called Enchanted she arrives in our world wearing a filly marangue of a dress...) Jean was very excited as there was a pose of gold and cream and sparkly shoes and even lacey socks!

We liturally shoved her into the dress and fled to the church. In the panic of seeing the bride arrive just before us I managed to leave my camera in the van and so all the actually ceromony stuff is on Al's camera phone! He also wore his recording glasses in the church - managing to look like my body guard half the time as he sat so ridgidly.

Claire did look fantastic and the church was aglow with golden bridesmaids and page boys in neat little grey outfits! The Vicar Dude was quiet funny too which made it an upbeat service!

I trotted off to get the camera as soon as we got outside - praying i wasn't going to miss the confetti and getting back just in time to be ordered into line for the official photos!

Outside the church after service

I had found some small bottles of bubble mix with doves on the top or shaped as champiagne bottles - I had these squirreled in my not large enough handbag and gave them out to all the kids - hoping I got them all!

In hind sight this was a bit risky - giving three year olds bubble mix when they are in finery! Jean poured her's all down the front of her :/

The boys - where trying not to photographed initially but soon caved in - two of these where my little page boys - hard to believe really! They are so big now!

I took general photos of mum and various people.

Finially I have a discent pic of Uncle David and with his boating insignia on his suit!

This is aunty Lizzy Adams Mother.

The Bride and Groom outside the church.

Rebecca and Rebecca and Rebecca and me 🙂 Rebecca was my chief Bridesmaids, she again managed to look fantastic! Other Rebecca (my other cousins fiance) had done her nails to match her dress with a burnished orange flowers at the tips of a french manicure.

Alaric and Ivan managed to look like they were being under cover agents of some sort - not quiet sure how they managed this!

Then it was Confetti Time!

Adam said he tried for the fire engine (Jez) but Claire wasn't having a bar of it 😉

The reception was at the Moby Dick pub where Claire works and they had decorated it in gold and cream again including a balloon arch! I just had to take photos of all the Candles and Balloons:

The Meal

Wedding cake - another Aunty Lizzy piece de la resistance! There was chocolate cake, maderia cake and rich fruit!

Presant time - Jeany got a lovely little bridesmaid bear for being a bridesmaid which she has been inseperable from - she even took it into pre-school for show and tell! Mum also got flowers for making the grown up bridesmaids dresses!

Outside in the Garden - the kids had a great time in their wedding outfits playing on the slides and swings!

Bridesmaids dancing

Later in the Evening

The First Dance!

Dancing in disco lights

Jean kept going for naps in the van and there were asleep children all over the place by the end of the evening! Alaric managed to drop our presant as he put it on the presant table so some of the glasses got smashed and my bow came undone etc... he was very sad about this!

I attempted to dance with Michelle and Sam but was very very tired by the end of the evening! It was great and Jean loved every minute of it (until she got grumpy tired towards the end but even then she didn't want to go!)

Lionel’s Parting Tea and Cakes (by sarah)

Friday we had to leave for Essex for my cosins wedding and were not sure weather we would get back in time to see Lionel on Sunday so at four o'clock we went for an 'early' tea with Barbara, Lionel and some of the neighbours. I had asked for tea to be early ie 3 o'clock but this was seen as far too early to have tea and cake :/

This cuased a few problems as it turned out Jean was supposed to have a finial fitting for her bridesmaids dress but I hadn't actually been told about this so didn't factor it into the equation.

Still the tea was interesting with Maureen T bringing along her victorian Lady's visiting cards holder that had the appearance of being quilted with mother of pearl and was really a very buetiful object - it's the sort of thing I could imagin keeping my business cards in and sparked my interest as a craft idea.

Lionel apparently had a few of these cases as a child to play with as he loved the finishes so but they were sold at some point.

Muareen was saying that there was a whole ettikette to laying your cards out at peoples houses and ways of saying if you were widowed and stuff!

Just as we were gearing up to leave the Shaw's arrived with some five year cualiflowers for me and Barbara which is intreging and I look forward to planting them and getting collies for five years from the same plant.

There were disgussions of wood work and boating and victorian psycics which was very interesting and I got abit involved and made us later in leaving that I had intented!

Barbara kept slipping Jean more cake when I had said no more and even hid Jean behind the kettle so I wouldn't see she had more cake - sigh ;/

Sorting things out (by sarah)

I'm currently sorting things out for a fun weekend of family wedding and meeting up with people - there have been a few hicups already ie getting the wronge weekend for the wedding in Al's diary and concequently issues with his dad's visit!

A friends just had a baby so I'm bring some things down for her as well and have made the wedding presant and card.

I have also been sorting out paper work and my craft supplies and through talking to the local arts and craft people have been instilled with the idea of selling the cards I've been making.

Generally I've had people saying I really should be displaying my art work and things but I just don't know how to do this and have no money to join anything or hire galleries etc...

As Alaric said in hind sight giving up the art classes and writing group to go back to my course right at the point lots of things fell to pieces for me (Alex dying, mum's last lot of cancer and the realisation that we had miss understood/miscalculated money issues plus the situation with being stuffed by my main client) was a bad trade off.

I'm not even sure if I blogged back in the autum that one of my pictures was on display locally thanks to the art teacher.

This is leading me to thinking though - I love science and geology and feel it is part of me but it is easier with pain flare ups and tummy stuff to be at home writing, making websites and doing arty things - but what will make me happy?

I have never react well to having to choose between the two Art and Science. They are not even distinct in my mind but then I have a slightly odd take on things and veiw it all as creative.

I want to try and finish at least the first year of my course but it means more money we don't have but on the other hand if I don't we loose that money already invested in it.

And then the art world is so uncertain - publishing is going through the mill at the moment - big changes the industry are failing to cope with and so traditional avenues are closed but I have noticed new ones opening up - but I am beginner at this game and have no idea how to muscel my way in.

I interact with an extended communitee of writers on twitter but mainly we discuess our kids and the like. I also have science friends on there and a healthy dose of computer people and a few arty crafties but this is only making my dissusions harder.

I am all of these things but modern society doesn't really allow for Jack of all trades especially one who has intermitent health. And so by not choosing I risk achieving nothing.

But I don't think I can choose - my life feels unbalance when I do not have a mix of things.

And at the same time I feel that the house and Jean are priority - I get sick even for a few days and the house descends into chaos and I can not really allow this and so I feel an instinct to nest build until it is all easy to maintain with out me looking over everyones shoulders all the time.

I started this post thinking I was going somewhere and that I had sorted part of my life out but realised as I was writing it that it is all still open questions and discuissions to be made.

The Dr pointed out that I was one person and one person only - I am trying to take this into account with what I plan to do next.

Of Giant Cheese Rolls and Mini Cheese Rolling (by sarah)

A truimphant Jean after Minni Cheese Rolling!

On Monday we went to the Cheese Rolling on Coopers Hill - this is a local event and one we've always ment to go to but between crutches and weddings have just never made it too!

I made us a picnic and after a slight confusion over when it actually started and Lionel not informing Barbara he'd found out it was 2 yrs earlier than they'd thought and her not having told him she'd invited a friend we got out only half an hour late!

We parked along a verge in the woods and walked up to the top of the hill - unfortunatly due to the previous day I started off so very tired and by the time we reached the top I had to rest. We had the picnic and discovered we couldn't actually see anything - from Barbara's recountings of it I was expecting a small rural event but that is not what we got!

The crowds were something to behold and we basically couldn't see anything :/ I had also forgotten the camera which always makes me grumpy but not as much as it makes poor Al grumpy when I steal his phone all the time to take photos on that!

Unfortunatly he's put them on the home server which I can't access so all the crowd pics will have to wait I'm afraid!

I did flake a bit and poor Al had to walk back up the hill to get the car on his own and meet us at the bottom - Jean was struggling a bit too!

But it was a nice outing with Lionel and Maureen and we have decided that next year we will try and arrive at like 9 in the morning with camping seats and try again - though I'm wondering if the organisers would allow me to sell Cheese Rolling Wiggly Pets to be honest!

Jeany got to see a cheese rolling though I had flaked and was sitting on the floor in the corner when this happened - we also got some Baby Bels to do our own Cheese Rolling - hence the pics we do have!

Jean was convinced we were going to see a giant cheese roll hence the title!

I have actually done a more extensive write up on the Cheese Rolling over on Salaric Cooking.

Local Explorations (by sarah)

Sunday Lionel (Alaric's Dad) took us out for lunch and an explore of the local area - it turned out that we have already discovered some of the attractions he'd wanted to show us like Hetty Peggler's Tump and the country park we like to hang out in! But we had a fun filled very sunny day.

It started with him and Alaric mowing in the morning as Barbara (Al's aunt wanted that done before we disappeared to enjoy our selved - I had gotten confused and thought we were all going out for a picnic).

Once mowing and the like had been completed we headed out to Sheepscomb - the neighbouring village to a Pub called the Butcher's Arms. We had attempted to go there once before but there had been no parking avaliable so this was a first. It was glorious weather and you can see across the valley - this is one of Lionels favourite views:

Alaric as always couldn't quiet leave work behind and so was found on the found for some of the pub visit!

But there were many shanagans involving Jean's pink hat!

It was pleasant waiting for the food which was really nice and we chatted about the local area and writing and things - I learnt some interesting things about a guest house that existed in Sheepscomb around the world wars but I'll disguess that on Salaric Cooking at some point in the future! But it did lead to a disgussion were I discovered our friends getting married next year! Yay!!!! 🙂

Jean made a friend called Emily and they bothed chased Alaric around loads and Lionel bumped into oour neighbour in the pub!

As always I had my carmera on me and so found things to photograph!

There was a humourous moment when just after announcing the fact there was a dog turd near our bench I almost knelt in it :/ Lionel then prodded it with a stick until it went away - though at one point this almost flicked it across the pub garden!

We then went on a drive about and he showed us where there is a Roman Well lurking though we didnt get out and walk down to it.

We eventually ended up at St Mary's Church Edgeworth mainly becuase Lionel likes the big mansion next to it (the place has its own steps into the church yard!) but I was in heaven with the photo oppurtunities!

There was a lovely lynch gate with sheep beyound!

Inside was fantastic with the blazing sun outside - the light coming in through the stain glass windows really was something to behold.

I found some interesting features on some of the gravestones - including a skull which I thought was interesting and got me thinking about a story line.

The entrance we came in was marked by this lantern which again just said something to me - I love the contrast with the blue sky and the day just seemed ripe to take pictures - even if I only have a happy snappy!

Jean loved exploring the graveyard and called it an adventure! She also announced that we were the Graveyard Girls - which I thought was a cute name for a girl goth band to be honest!

Lionel and Jean found some topary 'chickens' which they insisted on feeding - Lionel is of course obsessed with chickens so it seemed most apropraite.

We then got back in the car and continued driving - I was quiet tired at this point and begain to doze in the car which annoyed me as I wanted to take in where we were going and things.

Eventually we ended up in Cirencester (famed for its Roman roots), now we have explored this place but mainly just the main town bit as it was when I was still on crutches. Lionel took us to a great park/estate thing which appeared to have a castle at its gate!

Apparently the path goes on and on and is very french in the feel of it!

We would have gone futhure but as always - I needed the loo so we had to go on a toliet hunt! But I did take more pics on route!

I'm glad I did need the loo though becuase it ment we found a fantastic outdoors swimming pool which we plan to visit frequently (I think the helpfulness of the gate staff in telling us where they're loo was and not charging us anything really made me feel like this would be a nice place to spend sunny days!).

After that we headed back to the car for more driving about and being shown things - one of the things Lionel wanted to do was find a Ford he used to go over lots - we found something in the right sort of area and they asked me what I thought - I felt uneasy so Lionel got out to check and thought it looked a bit deep - this was becuase we were a road over from where we wanted to be and the nice lady in the house we were outside came and told us so and how to find the ford!

We found it and it had a white duck with orange beak on it that Jeany got a bit obsessed about! She's still talking about it now!

Lionel pointed out more road turnings with churches that are nice down them (not sure how much of it I will remember mind!). He took us to Syde Church purelly becuase it is titchy!

Syde Church

I'm sorry but the churchyard was a bit squished too and I couldn't get a good angle for the whole church.

But there was an excellent gate which I just had to take photos of:

There was a door that said Danger on it - and so naturally I came round the corner to find my family had climbed up the steps :/

Interestingly I then found another skull on a grave stone that looked somehow reminiscent of the one from the previous grave yard - this added fuel to my story idea.

And just as we were getting back in the car I noticed this fungus on a tree - anyone know what it is?

Off we went again and we headed towards a hill I have often seen and the Church that looks like its positioned where a fort should be - this is Churchdown and the Church is St Bartholomew's and it had a kissing gate which Jean learned the name off and then proceeded to enchant all the pensioners but informing them that it was a kissing gate :/

There is the most fantastic view over Cheltenham ever from here!

Again there was a mirrade of photo oppurtunities including some funky grave stones - though I didn't find any more skulls this time - there was however a sun dial which I thought was an interesting thing to have on a grave.

Jean and Lionel had fun investigating this fantastic bench!

There was also more interesting lanternage about which again lent a magical air to the day - I couldn't find anymore skull gravestones but as the evening service was about to start I didn't really have enough time to look!

Apparently the church is built on the site of a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter.

Thirsty we headed off to another pub me and Alaric have only seen the car park off - the Edgemore.

Again there was an impressive view:

It was a fantastic day even if I did spend alot of time fretting about not having sunblock - and guess who was burnt?!

Alaric argues that he wasn't burnt becuase it didn't hurt :/

Jean off course was fine! I was being hen peck mum and stuff making her sit in the shade and wear her hat all day!

I am actually really looking forward to exploring all the little churches around here - and think Alaric's going to be sad about the amount of space my photos take up on the server!