Journal – September 2015 (Guernsey Best Man)

This month has seen a big event that I’ve been looking forward to for a while – my best mate’s wedding in Guernsey, where I was one of two best men with his cousin. It was a wonderful occasion in a beautiful location, and it’s the first time I’ve given a public speech as well. So this post is mainly about that, but I also met another friend the week before, I’ve posted my first ever vlog on Youtube, and there have been one or two things to mention from home too.

So I hope you enjoy going through everything here, including some of the photos and video footage that I was able to capture on my new iPhone 6, and a few other photos that people took of me.

Saturday September 12, 2015

Just one week to go until SM and TB’s big day, it’s soon come around. So I wanted to add a few updates before then.

Firstly, our builder finally came around and did some work on the roof – seems miracles do happen! He came over on Bank Holiday Monday (31st August) and spent all morning on it, including cutting down new slates and putting them up.

I don’t think it’s fully fixed the problem though, but it’s hard to tell at this stage. We need a decent amount of heavy rain to test it out. Last night was the first time we’d had some rain, and it was fairly heavy. The bottom corner of the window remained dry, but there was a bit of dampness in the bit at the top. But it wasn’t dripping, so maybe it’s not as bad as it was, and it might be something we can get away with. We’ll have to wait for bigger showers to make sure though.

If it does start dripping again, then that would suggest it’s running down from somewhere else, rather than the source being near the window, which could mean getting more or all of the roof replaced. Which we’d rather not do, but then we might not have much choice. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that, but at the speed things have been going with this, it wouldn’t surprise me.

Last Saturday afternoon I met up with AB in Paignton. Which came as a complete surprise, because we hadn’t arranged anything. She was going to meet another friend but they couldn’t make it. So she invited me over to her Dad’s house for a bit. He was there too, as were a couple of other people. It turns out he likes to wind-up sales callers, by putting on a different accent and trying to sell them things in return, which was quite amusing to listen to. And AB’s baby is doing well too, though they’re still not totally sure exactly what disabilities she’ll grow up with, as they’re still having scans and tests done. AB and I took her out for a couple of hours, as we went down to the shops near the seafront. We also went into a bar there to have tea, or a late lunch for AB, each of us having a tasty foot-long hot dog with bacon and barbecue sauce. And we got a couple of cards, one from each of us, for SM and TB, so I can take them up next weekend.

That Saturday morning I had also got a new strap for my watch, as having a tatty one for the wedding wouldn’t have looked very good. Likewise, I went up to Clarks in Torquay today and got myself a new pair of black shoes, as my work ones are showing their age as well. It took a while to find the right pair in the right size – I think I tried on at least 5 or 6 before the helpful lady and I found what was most suitable, as many of them were loose around the heel and tended to rub a bit. For my trainers I’m a size 11, but I actually measure at a size 10 (or 10G to be precise), as we found when she measured me. The shoes I eventually got have a relatively pointed front rather than a round one, but they still look nice and feel comfortable, and were only £50.

When I came out, I rang Mum to let her know I was on my way back – which was actually the first time I’ve ever rung her on my new iPhone 6 that I got for my birthday last month. Vocally telling Siri to “Call Mum” worked perfectly, and it turns out the noise cancellation in the phone is very effective too. Although buses and noisy cars came past me, Mum could only hear me, as if I was on my own somewhere, unlike on my old phone where it would all have come through. So that’s some very clever technology, and makes phone calls much easier. Incidentally, I’ve also bought some cleaner to keep the screen clean with (as I’ve found screen protectors are a pain to get on), and a couple of cables (a lightning cable and a HDMI cable) so I can bring up the phone’s display on my TV, which is cool.

Anyway, the journey back home today wasn’t so simple. I walked further down the high street to wait for a bus, only to start hearing – after waiting for at least 20-30 minutes – that a woman had fallen in the road. She hadn’t been hit, she’d just collapsed. An old lady, who was chatting to other old people at the bus stop with us, said she had offered to help the lady, but apparently the injured woman had had back surgery only 3 weeks ago, and had now fallen on her back in this instance, so they couldn’t just move her. And it took a surprising amount of time for an ambulance to get to her.

All of which ultimately meant the buses were stuck behind her. So I ended up walking down to the Strand by the harbour and phoning for a taxi instead. Even without the accident, which was disrupting all traffic in the town, including taxis, it was already unusually busy according to the taxi driver anyway, compared to the previous weekend which was quiet. Still, I got home in the end, and Mum and I had our lunch at 2pm.

So the week ahead should be interesting and fun. I’ll be flying out on Thursday, but won’t be meeting with SM until Friday, as Thursday is his and TB’s anniversary, so they’re going out for a meal that evening, which is fair enough. Friday evening is the wedding rehearsal, so I don’t know what we’ll be doing during the day. Then Saturday’s the big event itself, followed by a relaxing day on Sunday before flying back home on Monday. I’ve booked the Tuesday off as well then, so I can relax before going back to work on Wednesday. So it should be a good week – here’s hoping the weather holds out!

Thursday September 17, 2015

Today’s been eventful for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I’ve posted a Youtube video for the first time! Given that our plans to move to London are hopefully getting closer, I’ve been trying to figure out how I might connect with new people, as it’s naturally more difficult when you’re visually impaired. And in looking around, I’ve come across the online community of disabled bloggers and vloggers, which I was vaguely aware existed but had never bothered looking into before. But I’ve found many interesting posts and videos that I can easily relate to. Some are by a lady called Emily on a channel called Fashioneyesta, for example, she makes excellent videos about disability.

It’s been great to see people raising awareness and educating others about their disabilities in that way, and they seem to be getting very positive responses, especially from those in similar circumstances who welcome the support. And it has also made me think more closely about my own disability and how it affects me, as it’s easy to go through most days almost on auto-pilot when you’re so used to it. What I experience effectively feels normal to me, and it’s relatively minor to what many others go through, yet to some people it can seem anything but normal.

So I’ve been tempted to try doing something like that, to add another small voice of support to those discussing conditions like mine, and there’s no harm in giving it a go in case it generates even one or two new connections I can make use of. So I’ve dipped my toes in the water, in response to Scope’s End The Awkward campaign, by making a video and writing a blog post about interacting with disabled people. It’s quite strange doing something like that, and it’s not something I’d be comfortable doing a lot. I don’t want want it to come across as a sob story or a plea for pity either, I’m just adding my voice to the wider crowd. But we’ll see if it gets any reaction. If nobody likes it, there’s no harm done.

Apart from that, meanwhile, I’ve also flown over to Guernsey today for SM’s wedding. The flight was nice and easy as usual, and I got a taxi from the airport to La Fregate Hotel. It’s a very nice hotel, and my room – number 102, just round the corner from reception – is also very nice. Quite small, but the view towards the harbour is beautiful, and there’s plenty in the room.

By the bed there’s a bedside table with 2 deep drawers, a lamp, the phone, and even a few magazines (a couple of business ones and a Guernsey one). The TV’s hanging on the wall over the desk – not lots of channels, and not the best quality on some of them either, but I doubt I’ll be watching much of it anyway. Under that is a desk, with a long drawer containing information about the hotel, a phone directory, a little box containing a sewing kit, and a Gideon bible. On the desk there’s also a little glass tray containing a few imperial mints on one end of the desk, and an alarm clock at the other end. Shelves to the right of that contain tea and coffee facilities plus a couple of bottles of water – one still and one sparkling. The small closet has a long mirror on the inside of the door – though not tall enough for me – along with a pair of slippers, and iron and ironing board, a hairdryer, a trouser press, and 3 hangers. There’s an ensuite bathroom as well, with toilet, sink, bath, shower and towelling. They’ve also supplied tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion, and even a rubber duck!

So all in all, it’s very nice. A bit warm maybe, but should be comfortable to sleep in. There’s a bit of noise outside sometimes, but nothing distracting. The hotel also has free wi-fi, which my phone seems able to connect to with the password, yet beyond that I can’t seem to do anything. So I’ll have to use my mobile data sparingly instead.

SM’s cousin SP had already exchanged messages with me on Facebook before I left, as we’d arranged to meet up for a meal this evening to discuss our speeches. He was going to ring me when he was on his way, but couldn’t get through, so just turned up at the hotel at the arranged time instead, and reception rang my room. So that was fine. He drove us down to the coast and we went to a place called La Perla. They do a deal where you get 3 courses for £10.99 – so I had garlic bread with cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and sticky toffee pudding. All of which was very good, and with generously sized portions too.

SP was very impressed with the speech I’d written and sent to him, as was his wife who he’d also shown it to. I didn’t mind him doing that, as it was good to have those couple of votes of confidence. SP read me his speech as well, which was also very good. I’ve basically done things relating to the school and the UK side of things, while SP is doing the Guernsey and family aspects. We agreed to do the speech as a ‘sandwich’ – so I would do my opening and a few stories about SM, then SP would do all of his, then I would come in again to pass on messages from people who couldn’t be there and do the heartfelt conclusion. I’ve had a lot of messages from people at the school, but have only picked a couple to read out, as they basically say what everyone else is saying, and it’ll bore the audience to read them all. So I haven’t had to make many changes to the speech – just take out references to SM’s academic achievements, which SP is dealing with, and make sure I pass over to him at the appropriate point.

After that, we came back to my hotel. SP had brought my suit with him so I could try on the trousers and waistcoat to make sure they still fit, which they did. He then took them away with him, so he can bring both of our suits around on Saturday.

Friday September 18, 2015

Today started off with a colleague from work getting hold of me on Facebook Messenger, as they were trying to get hold of me and couldn’t ring me. Someone needed us to add a letter to their bills, and had been kind enough to give only one day’s notice. And, of course, it was the one thing in the notes I’d left behind that I hadn’t covered, which is typical. So I ended up speaking to my colleague a couple of times during the day, when he was able to rang me to make sure he was doing the right thing.

I rang EE‘s customer services to find out why nobody could call me – as I was able to call out (having rung Mum last night) and send and receive texts (even if a test text from SP took a long time to reach me). It turns out that my iPhone had defaulted to the wrong network – Airtel-Vodafone – which EE isn’t compatible with for roaming. Hence anyone who tried to ring me was getting a message saying I wasn’t on the network. So I had to turn off automatic carrier selection and choose Sure instead.

Once that was sorted, I used Google Maps to show me the way to SM’s flat. That worked really well, because the map is clear on the screen, and it talks to let you know when to turn. It took me to the top end of SM’s road, which made me realise just how long his road is when walking all the way down to his place!

After meeting SM and TB at his flat, we went down to the café by Trinity Church, where we also met SP with his wife and kids, plus an old workmate of TB’s called KE, who’s very chatty and has a similar sense of humour to me, so we got on well. I had hot chocolate, a bacon and brie panini and a slice of chocolate cake, which was very nice, as it always is there.

SM and TB then went back to their flat to sort out some final bits and pieces, so I went for a walk along the breakwater and then around the seafront, which killed off a couple of hours nicely, and allowed me to get some nice photos and video footage.

I then met SM and TB again at the Dix Neuf restaurant, where they had rosé wine to drink, and I had a Coke. The three of us then went to the chippy, where I had cod and chips, and they each had a chicken burger, SM having chips with his.

They were very happy that afternoon, because TB had got an offer on her flat. The first offer was too low, but TB suggested a higher offer of £120,000 that they accepted. So that was great for them to find that out the day before the wedding – here’s hoping it all goes through and they don’t pull out later. In addition to that, the couple that had moved into SM’s gran’s old flat are now moving out, so SM’s going to be moving in there – renting it, not buying it of course.

So it looks like they’ll be able to stay in Guernsey after all, without SM having to come over to the UK first, as had been the assumption for a while. He has to give his current landlord two months notice, so he’s looking to move out around the end of November. TB also has to give her current employer two months notice – but they also have their most busy period in December and January, so she doesn’t want to leave them in the lurch there. She’ll then try and look for work in Guernsey before she actually moves over – which nobody thinks will take her very long, given her qualifications, experience and the good references she’ll get. So she could end up moving over in February or March if things go really well. TB is still studying for some of her qualifications, but she’ll be able to continue them with a different company in Guernsey. And as she’s marrying a Guernsey local, she’ll also be classed as a Guernsey local, so she’ll be eligible to live there.

At 6pm we went to Trinity Church for the wedding rehearsal. The vicar talked us through the whole ceremony, and went through the whole vows with SM and TB, so we were all clear about what was happening. SM was sounding a bit emotional when doing the vows – TB seems to hold herself together much better than him, though she clearly felt as happy and nervous as him. This was also the first time in a little while that I got to see SM’s parents and other members of his family, and the first time ever that I’ve got to see TB’s parents and other members of her family, so that was good.

After that, TB, along with both sets of parents and others, went along to the recemption venue to set things up for tomorrow. And while they did that, SM, myself, TB’s brother, and a couple of TB’s other relations, all went along to Harvey’s Bar for the meat draw and a few drinks. I was the only winner out of SM and myself, with me winning him a whole chicken and a breakfast pack (sausages, bacon and black pudding). SM and I had 4 ciders each there – 2 Strongbow and 2 Orchard Gold.

HB, a friend of SM’s from university, also joined us. She works in HR for her local council, and studied media and communication. She seems very nice too. She’s only over in Guernsey on a flying visit – arriving on Friday and going back on Sunday – but is clearly loving it and wishes she could stay for longer to check out the place more thoroughly.

TB and her Mum then joined us as well, along with TB’s brother’s wife, at which point we all went down to a cocktail bar, where we had just one drink. SM picked my cocktail for me, which was nice, even if I can’t remember what was in it.

At the end of that, I walked HB back to her hotel to make sure she was safe, then got a taxi back from there to mine, as it was too dark to walk there even though it was a short distance. So I eventually got back just after midnight.

Saturday September 19, 2015

Finally, after being friends with TB for a decade, and officially dating her for 3 years, the big day for SM has finally arrived. I made my way to his flat shortly after 10am this morning, with SP arriving about 10:30am with the suits for him and myself. We all went out for breakfast at a local café – £3 getting us bacon, sausage, beans, egg and toast, which was very good value, and very nice too, setting us up nicely for the day ahead. We then went back to SM’s flat and had a glass of some French cider that he’d bought at a recent cider tasting event, which was also very nice.

We all then got changed into our suits, SP helping SM and I to ensure we looked the part. SM had also bought cufflinks for SP and I, to thank us for being his best men. SM had got Star Trek ones for himself, and had got personalised ones for us too – Tardis cufflinks for me, and electric guitar cufflinks for SP, so we were both very happy.

The suits felt very comfortable too, and remained comfortable all day – as did my new shoes that I’d bought the previous week, so it had been worth making the effort to get those right.

We took a few photos before we left as well, including a couple of selfies on SP’s phone, and I took a couple of SM on mine. I’d made sure my iPhone was fully charged and completely in airplane mode, with no mobile, wifi or bluetooth running to drain the battery more than necessary. And it worked, because by the end of the day I’d taken nearly 400 photos and shot about 80 minutes worth of video, and had about 5% charge left by the end. I’m glad I got the 64Gb model as well, as the 16Gb would have filled up far too quickly! A couple of the kids were taking photos on the day as well, which they evidently enjoyed doing, and their official photographer was a family friend, but I was capturing a lot of video for the happy couple.

Anyway, we headed down to Trinity Church shortly after 12pm, so we were able to greet some people as they arrived and the photographer got in a few snaps of us. Then we got out of the way and went to our seats when the bridal party started to arrive.

The ceremony went perfectly, as one would expect. TB – looking incredibly beautiful and happy in her bridal dress – entered to a song called A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, which was featured in the Twilight films. I’ve never heard it before, but it’s very beautiful.

SP and I were stood a short way behind SM, so we weren’t in the way, but close enough to place a ring each onto the vicar’s book when he turned our way. After giving the rings, we were then able to sit back down.

There were a few hymns sung during the service, for which there was a band present to play the music, and the words were projected up on to a screen. I couldn’t see them of course, so just politely mouthed along. There was a reading from the bible, and a speech by one of SM’s relatives as well. And they signed the register while the band played You Had Me From Hello by Bon Jovi. Then at the end, the newlyweds walked out to the theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation! Had to be, right?

Everyone then gathered in the café area next door for drinks and home-made cakes. As well as congratulating SM and TB, I also chatted to another old school friend and her fiancé. It was good to see her after all this time – she’s still doing customer service for a local bus company, which she’s been doing about 10 years now, about as long as I’ve been doing my job. Her fiancé works in tax, so he’s doing alright for himself as well. They both met on a dating site, and seem very happy together.

I also got chatting to HB, and we hung around each other for much of the day in fact. We were in the last taxi that took us from the church to the reception venue, so we got to watch the wedding car depart from the church first. SM and TB and a few others went down to the breakwater at the harbour, so they could get pictures with the island of Sark in the background, while the rest of us went on to the next venue.

The reception was held at Les Cotils, and it’s a beautiful place. With the weather being so perfect that day, the lawn really looked gorgeous in the sunshine. So those of us that were there had some champagne, chatted and took some photos of each other and the scenery.

Then SM and TB arrived, and the big photo session started. There’s a nicely placed bench on the lawn which was ideal for taking photos on, and this process obviously took a while because there were lots of different combinations of people that needed to have photos taken with the couple – including myself and SP of course, who had a best men photo with SM, so it’ll be interesting to see how that came out. Having photos while looking into the sunshine really isn’t ideal, so I can only hope I wasn’t squinting too much! The few photos I’ve seen of me (HB took a couple of me on my phone for instance) seem to be ok at least. There was also a photo taken from the balcony of the Les Cotils building looking down on us all as one big group, which should look pretty cool. And throughout the afternoon on the lawn, I took plenty of photos and video footage myself of what was going on, at least half an hour’s worth there alone.

After that, we all went inside for the meal. The tables had paper swans that had been put together by TB’s family – very painstakingly as well, I must say, given all the little bits of paper involved in putting them together. The tables were spread around the room in a sort of D shape, with the top table at the centre of the straight line of the D, by the windows. The top table had the bride and groom, both sets of parents, and myself and SP. I was sat between SP and TB’s Mum.

And the meal was delicious. The menu consisted of:

Starter:

• My choice – Farmhouse garden leek and white potato velouté (soup), double cream, scallions and bruschetta sippets.
• Golden fried French camembert, cranberry relish, peppered rocket and lamb leaves.
• Frosted seasonal melon assiette, shaved cave dried Parma ham, parmesan shards, balsamic drizzle.

Main Course:

• My choice – Pan scorched, aged Angus steak, au poivre with a choice of Diane or peppercorn sauce.
• Flame grilled York gammon ham steak, caramelised sweet pineapple.
• Open French style wild mushroom and toast shallot tart, crème fraiche and vintage cheese.

All of those main courses came with chunky cut fries, minted new seasons baby potatoes and market fresh vegetables.

Dessert: 

• My choice – Guernsey dairy ice creams, vanilla, dark chocolate and minted flavours, crisp water biscuit.
• Autumn twisted orchard fruit, vanilla bean gâché melee, clotted cream and English custard sauce.
• Italian tiramisu, café crème, amaretto mascarpone and chocolate shavings.

The steak was amazing, it tasted perfect and was a very generous size too – not just in width or length, but also thickness! The ice-cream was actually a scoop of mint, with chocolate pieces inserted, and a scoop of vanilla, and a wafer biscuit stuck in the top.

Between the main course and dessert were a couple of speeches. The father of the bride gave a very short speech. He was clearly not someone who enjoyed public speaking, so just kept it to a very brief thank you and congratulations. Then it was SM’s turn and, though clearly nervous and needing a little prompting from TB, did very well.

The best men speeches were then saved until after dessert, so people didn’t have to sit through too many at once. In the run-up to this, SP revealed to me that he’d managed to grab SM’s Starship Enterprise hat (that he’d worn at the stag do) from the flat this morning, and had been able to sneak it into the reception room. That meant that, after expressing compliments to TB during my opening remarks, I was able to say that SM’s outfit was incomplete, and we gave him the hat to wear during our speeches! We had teased him during dessert that we had a visual aid for him, and he hadn’t figured out what it would be, which was great.

Our speeches went very well too. Like others during the day, we fluffed things a little bit, but it went across very nicely. The jokes I’d written worked really well, especially the opening one, which got a big laugh and applause:

Tonight I am proud to celebrate a very special and lucky man. An intelligent guy who has made the most of his time, through sheer hard work, a keen desire to help others and a refusal to give up. A happy, humorous, dare I say even handsome chap, who has travelled widely and made countless friends, the most special of all being the beautiful lady he has by his side.

It really is a great joy and a relief to see that, finally, after all the waiting and the build-up and excitement, and knowing full well it was going to happen eventually… that Doctor Who is back for a new series tonight!

As I went through that joke, people in the audience clearly thought I was being really sweet about the bride and groom, which meant the twist at the end was very satisfying, even more so when I got a round of applause for it.

I also like the joke I followed it with, as again did the crowd. The word ‘we’ at the start refers to the groom, the other Best Man and myself.

Talking of TV, we were all a bit nervous at the groom’s flat this morning, so I was going to suggest that we play a video game to pass the time and relax.

In particular, I was going to suggest a wrestling game that we like playing. But it occurred to me that was inappropriate. Not because of the nature of the game as such – I just felt that walking through a crowd to get into a ring, so you can publicly surrender everything to someone fitter and stronger than you, was probably on the groom’s mind enough already…

I had other jokes and heartfelt stuff too, all of which was well received. SP was clearly a bit more nervous than me, and read from his notes more, but still did a very good job with his speech as the other best man. And we both got lots of compliments from people on our speeches during the evening.

So then, after the dinner, it was time for the socialising and dancing. There was a small dance floor where the top table had been, and on the other side of the room SM’s laptop was on top of the grand piano, connected to the room’s speaker system, with a preset playlist that could be shuffled through. The only limitation here was that, if the laptop was plugged in, then there would be feedback through the speakers for some reason. So it had be used on battery power only – which thankfully worked quite well anyway.

As well as socialising and having a few drinks, I also took plenty of photos and video here too. The wedding cake definitely deserved a few pictures, as it was so very well made. Instead of a tiered wedding cake, a lady had created a cake in the shape of the Starship Enterprise, which was very cool! Apparently she often does things like that, having baked cakes in the shape of chess boards (with individual pieces), crosswords, etc. It tasted very nice too. I missed the actual cutting of the cake, as HB and I were getting a drink at the time, thinking we had longer than we did. But that didn’t matter.

Shortly after that, SM and TB asked me to get everyone’s attention so I could announce their first dance, which was quite an honour. And they asked me to video it too, which I did. Their first dance was to Set You Free by N-Trance. More upbeat than you’d expect perhaps, and not a song anyone else had predicted, but a very good choice. That was one of the good things about the whole day, that they’d put a lot of thought into it and made it really personal, rather than following every tradition to the letter.

The playlist then went back to shuffle mode after that, and the next song was Starlight by Muse, which TB and SM also stayed on the floor to dance for. I also got a video of them dancing to Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror a bit later. I also danced with HB a couple of times as well, with SM and TB joining in too, one of the songs being Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer.

SM and TB were almost the last people to leave at the end of the night. HB was going to tag along with us as her hotel was also en route, but ended up being invited out for a drink by a couple of other people. But I saw SM and TB off on their way to the Duke of Richmond hotel for the night. I was going to walk back to the La Fregate hotel on my own as it was just around the corner, but got a bit lost, so found my way back up the path to the venue and asked one of the remaining relatives waiting for a lift home to walk me down there.

Once I got back to my hotel, I posted a few pictures on Facebook for people from the school to see, then got to bed shortly after midnight. I’m so glad the day went so well for SM and TB, with the weather being perfect and everything happening exactly as they’d hoped for. They deserved a really special day and they got it.

Sunday September 20, 2015

I was thinking about having breakfast in the hotel this morning to try out the food by getting some room service. But in the end I couldn’t be bothered, preferring to have a lie-in instead. I then went down to SM and TB’s flat at about midday, meeting SM’s parents there as well, as they were dropping off cards and presents for them. And we had a piece of wedding cake each as well – TB hadn’t actually had the chance to have a piece the night before. They’d enjoyed their stay in the Duke of Richmond hotel too.

SM’s parents then went away to do other things, while SM and TB went through all their cards. They got plenty of money mainly – including £50 from me – which they’re going to put towards the honeymoon and some Premium Bonds. But they did get a few presents as well, my favourites being the Enterprise-shaped pizza cutter, and cookie cutters shaped in Star Trek themed ways too. There was also a framed picture and some kind of friendship ‘ball’ as well. They were very happy with everything they had anyway. I also included a copy of the messages from people at the school in my card.

At about 3pm, we walked down into the town and got a bus to another part of the coast. We didn’t go all the way to our eventual destination, because we wanted to walk some of it. So we had about an hour’s walk along the coast in the end, which was very nice given that the weather was again beautiful. This was so we could meet SM’s family and relatives for chips, as is tradition for them. There’s a chippy on the other side of the road from the beach, so we went in there – I had jumbo battered sausage and chips, with a Fanta to drink, which was lovely.

After that, we got a bus back into town, and popped into Harvey’s Bar for a drink, where we happened to meet TB’s cousin, who had helped me get back to my hotel last night. So we had a nice chat to him. He very kindly bought drinks for all us, so I had an Orchard Gold cider.

I then went back to the flat with SM and TB, and SM ordered a taxi for me to get back to the hotel, as again it was dark by that point. I took the big bag to put my suit back into, so I can return it to them tomorrow (SP will then pick them up and take them back), and also took a couple of slices of wedding cake wrapped up in foil, so I can share some with Mum when I get home.

Monday September 21, 2015

I got to SM’s flat shortly before 11am this morning, after checking out of my hotel (they allowed me to leave my case with reception, so I could come back and get it later). I carried my suit back to SM’s flat in its bag, and we had breakfast there, using the breakfast pack he’d won the other night. We then went down to the bus stop so that SM could take TB to the airport for her 2:30pm flight home. She’s going back to work for a few days, then SM’s flying over to her on Friday, and they’re flying out to Barcelona for their week-long cruise from Sunday, then SM’s staying with her for a week after that.

While they were gone, I walked back up to my hotel for my bag, and then walked back down to the town with it, so that used up over an hour of time nicely. Unfortunately it was raining, so I got rather wet as well, but I didn’t mind that too much. SM then met back up with me and we went to the Dix Neuf restaurant again, this time having a hot chocolate and a steak baguette and chips, followed by a Coke each to wash everything down. We bumped into TB’s parents while we were there, as they were getting ready to go home as well.

SM then took me down to the airport on the bus and saw me off. The flight was again comfortable and on time, and I ultimately got home shortly before 9pm. After my tea, I checked to see if the wedding cake had survived being in my case for 24 hours, and it turns out it had, so Mum and I were able to have a piece each.

And that’s it. I’ve started to sort out my photos and videos, so they’re organised on my computer and so I can start uploading stuff to Facebook for others to see. SM’s Mum and sister have already been posting some lovely pictures, in addition to the ones I posted on Saturday night. So there’s going to be lots of lovely memories to look at. When TB and SM then get back from their honeymoon, I’ll sort out sending them my photos and videos. I hope they enjoy their trip. After such a perfect wedding, they deserve a perfect holiday, as they’re such a perfect couple. I’m so glad it worked out so well for them.