A nice break

We actually had a proper 'weekend' for the first time in ages! The occasion was the wedding of an old friend of Ian's in the New Forest. We decided to make a little break of it and stay in a hotel on Saturday night. Unable to find a reasonably priced bed and breakfast in the area we decided to look further afield and ended up doing an Internet search for hotel rooms in Bournemouth. We were amazed to find a very good deal at The Chine Hotel in Boscombe, where we got a room and breakfast for two for £52.95. It was almost too good to believe and we turned up expecting a catch and expecting one of the poorer rooms in the hotel but too our surprise, this was the view from our window.

 

The service was good, the room comfortable, the breakfast was good and all  in all we were very satisfied.

Ian used to live in Boscombe in the 1980s and had a small house there. It was his first house, he had no money, and learnt most of his D.I.Y skills renovating it. We couldn't resist driving by to have a look and Ian was surprised to see that the gate that he repaired 23 years ago was still there!



Ian remembered Boscombe as being the rougher end of Bournemouth and was surprised to see how much improved it was. The beach is a surfers paradise (but colder and greyer!) and the seafront itself quite unspoilt.

The weekend concluded with a visit to a friend on Ian's in Wimborne and a pub lunch. All in all a much appreciated break from D.I.Y.!

A second French wedding

When we arrived the temperature was comfortable, reaching 22-25 degrees during the day and 12-13 at night. This was just right for working in. However, for the last few days the temperature has crept up into the mid 30s, reaching 39 degrees yesterday afternoon and not going down much below 26 at night. This has been pretty uncomfortable and made us reassess the need for some portable air conditioning for the bedroom!

Yesterday we went to the wedding of the farmer's son. Ian visits the farmer (M Mulatier) often and talks about tractors and machines. His son has two children and he and his partner were not married so I guess eventually the presuure to conform got to them, or it felt like now or never in terms of timing! In fact, it was a double ceremony with their wedding and the baptism of their second child. I hope it was a buy one, get one free deal!

This was the second French wedding that I have been two. As France is a secular state everyone must marry first at the Marie. So, following the trail of hedge clippings laid that morning (a tradition) we headed up to the Marie in Thenac in our Tranist van, with the air conditioning on full blast. In due course, the procession of cars arrived, with lights flashing and horns blaring. Following up behind was this tractor, decked in flowers and various banners!

The banner reads " convoy of happy angels".

Nothing was quiet about the arrival; there was lots of shouting and cheering and the wedding was conducted by the local Mayor. The bride and groom say "oui" and then the Mayor reads out a long list of relevant French legislation and law, things are signed and everyone leaves, heading for the proper ceremony in the church.

The church in Puyguihelm is spectacular in that it is perched right on top of the hill, with the doors opening onto the most wonderful panorama over the vineyards of the Duras region.

The searing heat make it look more washed out than it actually is.

Fortunately the ceremony was not a full Mass. As in the UK no one but the priest knew the words or the tune of the hymn but at least he had a wonderful voice! Being a dual event the service was still quite long and by the time it finished I was soaked in perspiration and longing for a cool drink.

As the couple left the church for the obligatory photos their friends had a special guard of honour with hard hats for her (she is the manager of a building site) and toy tractors for him. This was accompanied by heart shaped confetti (with no one complaining about who was going to sweep it up, the priest just being relieved that he had managed to save two more souls!).

The day finished with a 'Vin d'honor' in our village hall where I thought I was drinking grapefruit juice but alas it was a local cocktail containing something very alcoholic! I was served in a refridgerated fountain which meant that we all drank more than we should. However, I noted again the phenomenon that alcohol improves my French!

A French wedding

We had a very quick trip to France at the weekend to attend the wedding of Ian's friends Jacques-Paul and Madeline. Ian had only ever been to one wedding before in France and I had never been so it was a new experience for us.

We arrived at our hotel after lunch and checked in. We settled down to watch the penultimate stage of the Tour de France from the bed, showering and changing in the ad breaks. It was probably the most crucial stage but the Mairie was calling us and we could not be late so reluctantly we left half an hour before the end to make our way to Jacques-Paul's village. We arrived at his house just in time to join them in their 100 metre walk to the Mairie.

There was only room for about 20 people in the room so most of us stood outside while the Maire conducted the official ceremony and then we all escorted the couple back to their house.

After the signing of the papers (very important in France) the children appeared with carrier bags full of confetti, which they proceeded to throw over everything, with great relish, leaving a carpet of coloured paper all over the pavement.

There then followed something called a 'vin d'honneur', where we had champagne, sangria, brioche and sort of sweet chou pastry buns. This went on for about 2 hours with no drying up of the bar and then in true French fashion those that were invited to the meal got in their cars and drove to the 'Salle de fetes' (village hall) 4 km away. Well they had to drive since most were too drunk to walk!

There was then more drink and a few snacks and then a bit of a hiatus in the proceedings due to the non-arrival of the caterer with all the food! We never did find out what happened but when he eventually arrived at 10.00pm we were all relieved. A 5 course meal commenced with each course interspersed by dancing. Most people danced themselves sober. Unfortunately we let the side down and had to give up and return to the hotel before the cheese course at 2.30 a.m! Desert and cake were still to come!

The big day

Yesterday was my sister's wedding so I am quite tired today (read a little hung over)... We spent the night in the guest room at my mother's apartment block, which was extremely comfortable and good value at £15.00 per night for Windsor during Ascot. Getting ourselves and my mother ready proved to be no easy task! My mother is not one to enjoy dressing up and even at her own wedding insisted on removing her headdress and washing out her set hair an hour beforehand. She was happy enough in the trousers but insistent that the hat had to go! We were under strict instructions from my sister to make sure she wore it so there was a bit of a battle with the hat coming on and off several times. In the end she wore it for some photos and to go into and out of the Guildhall and then managed to abandon it for the rest of the evening!


My sister looked very happy and my new brother-in-law's parting words were "and don't put this on your blog". So I won't.. just a few unrelated pictures and stories! (The picture is of Ian, me and my mother in the communal room at her place. Several of the ladies had come out to see the rare sight of my mother dressed up!)

The wedding approaches

The day of my sister's wedding is approaching and we have all been given our roles. As well as reading something at the wedding my job is to look after my mother. She is a bit of a reluctant 'mother of the the bride'. She is not really comfortable with fuss and attention and once told me that if it wasn't for family pressures she and my father would have had a plain civil wedding. On her wedding morning she returned from a trip to the hairdressers and stuck her head under the tap to wash out what she considered a far too fussy hairstyle. Age has not moderated her views and the other day she said to me

"I hope you're not planning to get married soon. I don't want another one to go to!"

I looked up wedding etiquette in Lady Behave: A guide to modern manners (written in 1956, the year before my mother got married). In relation to the bride's mother, it says

" She is no longer required to dress up in any more than she would if she were going to a friend's formal wedding. The days of grey chiffon and a bouquet for her have gone.The smartest of brides' mothers we have seen usually wear a tailored silk frock or suit, not black, possibly a buttonhole and a rather gay hat and gloves".

Help needed

I need some help! My sister has asked me to do a short reading at her wedding. It is a civil ceremony so whatever it is must be secular in nature. I don't know quite how this is decided. Is an Apache blessing secular? I guess it depends on your point of view! Having searched Google with terms like 'wedding readings'; poems for a wedding' etc to me it seems that the dividing line between spiritual and religious is quite wavy. Anyway, if any of you have any suggestions then do pass them on! I will then get them down to a short list and let my sister and her husband-to-be make the final choice.

She was quite exited today as she bought her dress; a Versace number. All I know is that she said it is so tight she won't be able to wear any knickers under it!