A Bit Of A Do

I have not posted much in the last couple of weeks because I have been busy with so many other things. I was in the North of England - in Atherton until yesterday - where I have been for the last week. I was there to attend a wedding and to give away the bride - my niece, Lorraine. Her father died some ten years ago and I was acting on his behalf. The wedding took place on Saturday 22nd May, which was a very sunny day and turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far. Certainly, dressed in my new suit and wedding waistcoat with cravat/tie thing, it was a very suffocating experience. I am not a regular wedding attender; at my age, funerals are a more common occurrence. The organisation was done by my two nieces and, I have to say, the whole event went off like clockwork. A good time was had by all for the reception and afternoon meal and at the evening buffet and disco. The cake was made by my elder niece Carol, who is becoming quite skilled at making fancy cakes for weddings, birthdays and the like. It is only a bit of a hobby but she is very good. The cakes taste as good as they look.

The event took place at the Greyhound Hotel on the East Lancs Road in Leigh at the junction with Warrington Road. During the period of planning there were a few occasions when we had doubts about the organising abilities of the hotel group but we were quite wrong. They did an excellent job at every stage. The meal at the reception was of excellent quality for a bulk catering job like this and was much appreciated. They, also, were very complimentary about the wedding party. They had no complaints at all about anyone's behaviour. Something you would expect to be the norm - but, apparently not. The previous week they had a wedding which went far from smoothly. During the afternoon, the management discovered that a dozen or so young children had wandered off from the reception and had crossed the East Lancs Road to investigate a circus - or some such entertainment - on the other side. This was something potentially very dangerous but none of the guests seemed to have noticed. The staff rounded up all the children and then brought them back and tried to sort out which children belonged to which parent. This proved quite a task since no-one seemed very worried or even interested. Later in the day, there were disagreements and several fights ensued. I expect by Monday the bride and groom were round the divorce lawyers to try to unravel the whole thing. It makes our day seem so boring.

Watching the exchanging of vows and the swearing of everlasting bonds of love, only a cynic would want to point out that 50% of marriages end in divorce. Dr Johnson may have had no problems with a first marriage but he had grave doubts about the second marriage - "the triumph of hope over experience" - but at least Lorraine and Andy have been together for 16 years - which surely is enough of a trial run to be sure.

On Monday morning they went off for a short holiday in the Canaries and I found myself driving them to Liverpool Airport very early in the morning - we were there by 5.30 am. Not something I want to do every day - but it did seem to make time pass more slowly.

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