Wedding cake – part 1

Granny was getting concerned; the fruit cake layer of the cake should be made and maturing by now.

So last week, Gran and Richard set about it....

The kitchen at Number 10 was filled with the whiff of sherry (Granny didn’t have any brandy in the house) and a few pounds in weight of currents, sultanas, ground almonds, apricots and spices.

The main ingredient though was love. 

Granny has very sore and painful legs and knees at the moment, and Richard had been suffering with a cold all week. However, they both put their health issues to one side and with lots of hand washing, they set about making layer one of the three for the wedding cake of the year. 

While they were baking, I was working in a room nearby so went in from time to time to see how they were progressing. 

It was so lovely to see my Mum and Richard who have been baking together since Richard was old enough to hold a wooden spoon, keeping each other right about the traditional Bero recipe. 

Richard had a relapse when the dishes needed doing, but the end result was very successful.

The next task is to make the Victoria sponge layer, and a chocolate sponge layer – these will be made much nearer the time. Although as my daughter, the Bride reminds me it’s not long now.

A chariot awaits?

One area of the colour coded spreadsheet which hasn’t seen much action has been transport to and from the Abbey. This is because it has been sorted out since before the spreadsheet was born.

Lucy and Mark didn’t want a horse drawn carriage or a vintage classic car they wanted Mel, Chief Bridesmaid to Princess Lucy, Rachel’s Dad .  

“Daddy Mel” as Lucy affectionately calls Mel has driven his Jaguar and Volvo as a taxi in Tynedale for many a year,  and on numerous occasions when Lucy and Rachel needed a lift home, Mel was always there.

So almost as soon as they had set the date, the happy couple asked Mel if he would drive them.

Mel answered the phone (as Lucy's number comes up on his phone!) “Hiya Juicy” his affectionate name for the Bride. The main question was – would Mark ( given his height) and Lucy ( given her princess dress) fit in? So they went for a test ride and good news – they fit.

https://sites.google.com/site/melstaxis/home

Home Sweet Home – part 2 known as part empty nest syndrome!

I found this poem on the “interweb”. It pretty much sums the last week or so.

Although she is moving out

She'll never be far away

She'll always live here with me
In my heart each day

Hopefully I taught her
The right things along the way
To help her make the right decisions
Each and every day

It's so very hard to let her go
But I know that I must
I have so much faith in her
And a world of trust

I know she's smart enough
To make it on her own (with Mark)
It's hard to admit
My little girl has finally grown

I hope she knows in her heart
Just how much I care
Because every time she needed me
I always tried to be there

I hope she knows if life gets tough
And she should need a friend
That she can always count on me
Until the very end

It's never very easy
Watching someone you love leave
I know that I must be strong
But silently I'll grieve

Someone who's been around
Morning, noon and night
No longer having her here
Just will not seem right

But she knows I love her
With all of my heart
And it's that love
That will never let us part

And so we packed up ALL of Lucy’s belongings last Friday , it took a whole day – all for one room. 

We laughed a lot, sometimes uncontrollably – and then sometimes we both cried - uncontrollably.  We both know that she wants to go, and we know that she will be so happy in her new house with Mark. So as MOTB, I salute  my beautiful daughter and her husband to be, as they start the next phase of their lives together. 

Lucy did warn Richard that once she’d gone, he should prepare to be smothered for a while! As if....

The move weekend was spent with various family members helping both Lucy and Mark out – from electrical jobs to gardening, to washing pots and pans and putting curtains up. There was a time on Sunday when I looked around – Mark was assembling a wooden table, John – Mark’s dad was tackling the overgrown garden, my Neil was hanging pictures (with his trusty spirit level ) Avril, Mark’s Mum was washing china before putting it away in kitchen cupboards, Lucy and I were threading curtain hooks in to the freshly washed curtains ( mended by Granny) – and I felt a real sense of family. Neil’s Mum and Dad had offered to host a buffet tea so we could all get on and look forward later to tea waiting for us. Everyone supporting the “young ones” to set up their first home together. 

Mind you, I have to say while I had thought in my head while moving Lucy’s stuff out on Friday, and them emptying it out again that I for one will NEVER move house ( god willing) 

Mark actually said out loud “ I am never moving AGAIN”. And we all paused and agreed, the moments silence only broken by the temporary clothes rail upstairs crumpling under the weight of Lucy’s clothes collection.....Such fun.

Home Sweet Home - part 1

After months of keeping things under wraps, Lucy and Mark finally got the keys to their new home. A lovely house in the glorious Tyne Valley in Prudhoe (meaning Proud Heights) .

Mark has really shown his skills in all the negotiation to ensure it all went through smoothly. Lucy read the mortgage documents commenting that there were no pictures! Then she dutifully signed the dull contractual papers.

They have a few weeks now of decoration and cleaning and will move in the next week or so. They came back from Ikea last weekend with the beginnings of accessorising their new home including items such as doormats, tea and coffee canisters, 4 mugs and 2 beer glasses. Sounds like they have all they need. It is such an exciting time for them. And nice to do this now before the wedding flurry of activity starts in earnest. 

My Mum and Dad gave Lucy and Mark an excellent house warming gift. Two potatoes and a tin of beans. As Mam explained, if you have that you can always have a meal. They also gave them a sign to hang somewhere special. You will see it is perfect for Lucy.

It’s been all hands on deck, as all the immediate family have been to have a look at the new place, and then started to help them in the decoration/cleaning and odd jobs. Very exciting times.

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

THE dress is in!

Loud shrieks apparently were heard in the Newburn area transmitted via the telephone line  , when A and J rang Lucy to tell her that THE dress had arrived.

So “we” tootled down to their original shop on the main street in Newburn ( if you remember when we first visited them they were temporarily housed in the former Warmseal unit) So we oh’d and ah’d as we progressed through their real home base. It’s a very good set up and every bit as welcoming as our first visit.

Lucy then asked if I wanted to see her in THE dress – or did I want the full reveal on THE day. I think/know there’s going to be so much emotion on THE day that it was best for me to have an idea of what my beautiful daughter is going to look like. That said there are some alterations to be made so I would not be seeing the final version until THE day.

Alison and Julie were just a delightful as we remembered, and quickly took Lucy behind the lush curtain screen to begin undressing/dressing her.  As MOTB,  I waited patiently on the quiet side of the screen. I was entertained by the usual comments about pop up on the step, tucking Lucy’s boobs in and tying her up tight! I heard Julie saying, “Lucy it is so pretty, no it’s not just pretty it’s amazing! And not just the dress – YOU are so pretty.” I admit I had a tear.

The Bride peeped through a narrow gap in the curtains with a very wide smile.

And then the silver curtains parted and there she was. A sparkling vision. I was blown away. I could remember the dress from January but this was the real deal. This is the one she will actually walk down Hexham Abbey aisle in, the one she will say I do in...the one she will boogie on down in. I had another quick emotional wobble and then went for a tour around the dress. It is so beautiful. I won’t say any more best not to give anything away.

One of the conversations, once Lucy was into the dress, was about the use of a framed petticoat. Apparently it stops your legs getting tangled in the layers of the dress so Brides don’t have to kick the material forward to walk, and it stops the layers riding up generally making it much easier to walk/glide in. So Lucy was fitted with such a petticoat and sure enough, she found it much easier to glide. As Alison told us, for the big day - no one goes out of here kicking and hitching!

So what’s next? The dress goes to a local dressmaker for the few alterations. The Bridesmaids have to learn how to fasten Lucy into it. And then about a week THE big day, we need to collect it.

A by product of this very exciting visit, was that I turned into Cinderella. Hard to believe but hold that thought. As previous blog I mentioned my funny feet, and how finding my shoes could be an issue. Both my daughter and honest advisor Jeanette have told me in no uncertain terms, “you don’t want to look like a frump”. Thanks!

Well, beautifully displayed in A&J Bridalwear is a section of shoes, bags , tiaras and other wedding day accessories. I was encouraged to try on some of the “most comfortable, best sellers” . A proper shoe (!) with a little heel that has MOTB comfort built in. The shoes can be dyed any colour to match and compliment the outfit. While I was testing them around the shop floor, I spied some handbags which were the same i.e you can have them dyed. So there you have it – what a successful morning. Lucy’s dress is here, and I got my shoes and bag sorted. Where is that spreadsheet? What’s next!

A Choir of Angels

Today is my Mum’s 75^th Birthday, not that you would know that was her age from looking at her!

My Mum had organised to celebrate her birthday morning with a gathering of her closest friends at a tearoom on Hadrian’s Wall called St Oswalds, near Heavenfield. http://www.roman-britain.org/places/heavenfield.htm

Lucy and I were invited too and thoroughly enjoyed the morning with all the ladies. 

At one point the ladies decided to all sing Happy Birthday, and the other unsuspecting Hadrian’s Wall trail walkers who were sheltering from the rain, enjoying refreshments – all joined in.

Several of the ladies “choir” are actually members of a real choir – and it was certainly a memorable rendition of Happy Birthday.

Long ago in the planning stages of Lucy and Mark’s wedding, Lucy told her Gran that she would love to have her Gran’s friends come to join us at the Abbey for the wedding service. And we have organised to send out a special invitation nearer the time.

Almost all of this delightful community of my Mum’s friends have know of me and Lucy for all our lives and have been through every stage of our lives– discussed over many cups of tea and coffee over the past approaching 50 years. There is a very special feeling when you realise you are part of this kind of fellowship. They have supported and loved us both through my Mum.

Here are a couple of photos from my Mum's birthdays, when Lucy was three and then when she was 15!

I  love all three of these photographs. They show such a connection between a Grandma and her Grand daughter. We have such special times together. And we do enjoy and appreciate them all.

So when we heard the choir of angels singing Happy Birthday (Very appropriate being near Heavenfield) Lucy and I went round the groups afterwards making sure they all know they are all welcome to come to the Abbey in November. Our “Auntie” Sylvia – (not our real Auntie but a lovely lady who lived on the estate where we grew up in Acomb) even commented when she left that they would have to get together for a few choir practices! Such fun..

Auriole B

I have been a bit troubled hence the lack of posts ... I have to admit I have been putting off looking for my MOTB outfit!

A wedding etiquette site helpfully advises,

“Although it’s your daughter’s special day, as mother of the bride you’ll also get lots of attention. Choosing an wedding outfit is a complex process – do you dress to stand out or to blend in? Which hat should you wear? What length should the dress be? So many questions, so here's a few answers for all your mothers of the bride:”

http://www.getwed.com/articles/10-top-tips-for-the-mother-of-the-bride-s-outfit-gb-en/

I am always rather hopeful that I will lose some weight, and one would have thought that with the wedding looming that would have motivated me. But I am what I am, I love food , and I do believe that we are not just our physical bodies, we are our soul and all that! So I have had to face up to the fact that I do need to sort out a MOTB outfit.

Copying my soon to be son in law – I multi task sometimes while sport is on the TV on an evening, and have looked at many MOTB outfits. It became very clear that I know what I don’t like better than what I do like! The one thing I do know is that I would like to wear the biggest, boldest hat I can, to almost fill the aisle in Hexham Abbey as walk Lucy down!!

 I actually hate shopping, and the thought of dragging round shops looking for a very special outfit really doesn’t inspire me!

So it was with great delight that I happened on a very interesting conversation recently with Debra at Hands On about a local dressmaker Auriole B. Auriole created Debra a stunning outfit for a society wedding at Hexham “Cathedral” which a certain Pippa Middleton attended.

So a week or so ago, on a glorious sunny day, now that I am back at the wheel ( carefully!)  “we” have our initial meeting. My Mum and Lucy came too – as “we” do...

We talked through styles, colours, fabric etc.

We left an hour later happy in a choice of a dress and jacket which Auriole will make a soft cotton mock up to see the style suits me. We left Auriole to work out how many whale bones she needs to order in – for the corsetry!! My friend Brenda has kindly offered to come with me next time as she operates a style company called Prasanna, her motto being "Dressing the inner woman".

I promise that as the project progresses; there will be further blog posts.