Hello.
So I promised to blog and then I kept putting it off, but that just leads to bad habits! I also couldn't be sure I'd remember everything, so I'm doing this separate to my "June-atron" blog. Here we go...
Ok, so the main event of this blog is that Izzie and Chris got married! But this also coincided with my first visit to Soton in nearly a year and my first visit to the mighty Playzone! On with the tale!
Train via Waterloo to Soton, met Tom at Waterloo. Ruth picked us up in her car(!) from the new, improved, shiny Southampton Airport Parkway and we headed straight off to Netley Beach via a Fish n Chip shop! We ate our dinner of various fish and chips on the grass over-looking the water, which was lovely, and then took a stroll along the little pebbley beach. There was a man water-skiing which was fun to watch, especially as he was towing someone on a rubber ring! We sat on the beach for a while and threw some stones - I once again proved that I am a weedy girl cos I can't reach the water with most stones I throw!
After the beach we hopped back in to the car and headed down the motorway to Portsmouth and to Playzone! We don't have any photos of there, cos there's nowhere safe to put a camera etc. But this is what happened...
Its basically like a big childrens play centre, with all of the typical features that I have no idea of the name of... Well massive slides for a start, split levels, rope bridges, rollers, the list goes on. We were there from 8pm til 11pm when they shut!
Basically, don't ever wear anything more than a vest top and shorts (and the obligatory socks!) there cos you get well hot with all of the running up and down and around the place! We also got through about 2 bottles of drink each!
The middle of Playzone is dominated by 2 massive slides; blue and red. The blue has a crest in the middle, but the red is just sheer drop and has two heights!! It took me at least 5mins to get up the courage to do the blue one, but afterwards I was hooked! As for the red one, it was my idea to actually try it, and I lead the way, but then I chickened out and had to go down with a someone I'd never met before holding my hand. Good times! I spent a lot of time on the blue slide, it was my fav, and at the end of it you crash in to massive foam blocks to stop you.
Tom and I also got in to trouble for climbing up the other slide. This one is very bumpy and you go down it on a sack, so its not that steep! We climbed up and then got told off, but our "punishment" was to put our socks back on and slide back down.
Basically we had lots of fun running around, taking turns in leading, climbing up and down, resting, drinking, observing our fellow patrons: one of which ripped his trousers open in a rather revealing place and others of which (girls) were falling out of their tops! All in all a very enjoyable evening and a great way to spend my first evening back in Soton with Gill and Gray.
On to the day of the wedding... Before that, a word about our sleeping arrangements: Tom was sleeping in Ruth's room @ No31 and Ruth and I were sleeping at No11 where Ruth's friends live (one of which, Helen, was away for the weekend and very kindly allowed us the use of her room!).
Ruth and I were up around 7am and headed straight up to No31. I showered and then got some food for our brekkie at One Stop. Meanwhile Ruth cooked some bacon and had her own shower. When we'd done that, we woke Tom and had bacon sarnies for brekkie. Tom then showered while I got dressed in my dress and did hair/make-up/handbag etc. Ruth very kindly drove us to the church and the service began at 12.30pm, before kick off we had a good chance to see and catch up with people which was very niceeee!
Service was lovely of course. The Church looked lovely too, I loved the flowers throughout. I also totally loved the purple/pink/silver theme that was everywhere inc invites, decorations, bridesmaids' dresses etc. Chris was wearing a purple tartan kilt and that looked very effective indeed against the rest of the coloured backdrop! Paul Alcock did the whole srvice and Andrew Page did the Address. It was really sweet to see bride and groom very emotional as they took their vows!
After the service, it was up to the top hall at ABC for a lovely cream tea, and a good old chat/chinwag etc with everybody you haven't seen for ages! Everything tasted amazing and it was a really nice part of the day!
Then it was over to the park accross the road for the wedding photos, before we headed to the Wedding Breakfast at Otterbourne Village Hall. Tom and I were lucky to get a lift from Hannah, so after the photos, we headed back to West Quay to the cars. Once we had made sure that Lydia had her boot down(!) we headed off.
The Wedding Breakfast and Reception were both at Otterbourne Village Hall, and we got there around 4pm, got glasses of bucks fizz and adjourned to the gardens for even more chatting etc and hearing all about the jobs that people have got now/their married lives together/other important news: Emma being pregnant and Rachel being poorly and not able to make it :-( More bucks fizz flowed - as did the conversation - as we waited to be called in to sit down to eat. This happened at 5pm and I have to say that the tables were decorated amazingly!! Lovely little trees with flowers in, set on a mirror plate, were in the middle. Around the outside of this were scattered hundreds of little gems in purple, pink and clear. The favours were tiny gift boxes of purple or silver, filled with heart-shaped jelly beans. Place cards, chair ribbons and the like, all fitted the theme!
We had a lovely wine selection on the table, as well as OJ and water, and the food was wonderful. Chicken in bacon, with a cheese sauce was the main course - followed by a choice for dessert of cheesecake or profiteroles! Awesome. Then there was tea/coffee and mints
and then there were the speaches! Izzie's Dad went first, followed by the Best Man and then the Groom. Speaches are great, cos you really get to hear people speak from the heart on what is a very emotional day!
Lastly, the cake was cut! Again this was so cool - a work of art by a couple from ABC, as so much of the other work had been too. By this time, the rest of the people had arrived for the evening reception, so we headed back outside while the room was transformed in to the disco! Outside, we took it in turns to write in the Guest Book, which is an absolutely brilliant idea, and must have been wonderful for Izzie and Chris to read together! My own message of course, referenced Mandy's 21st, where I was rather a spare wheel, as sparks began to fly between the two of them!
Disco time followed, with all of the old favourites, and some more modern ones that fitted very well. The first dance was just great to see and then everyone got in on the act as more people arrived and the dancing got underway. Us Uni singles (mostly girls!) formed a big circle to dance in, which took up half the floor! We danced a lot, had a drink or two, had a laugh together and just enjoyed the company. Lastly, it came time for the happy couple to leave and we created a tunnel for them, armed with confetti and party poppers! They got in to a car full of balloons and headed off to honeymoon in Pembrookeshire. Phew what a tiring day, and that's just as a guest!
Ruth, being the star that she is, came to pick us up just after 11pm and we got back to Sirdar eventually (roadworks meant we took a major scenic route!) and fell in to bed. Before that though, I made myself sort out my clothes/bag/stuff so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning - as we were working on a tight schedule! So that brings me to the 3rd day of my whirlwind visit to Soton! Sunday. Right. Another early start for Ruth and I whilst Tom had a lie in. We headed off to the ABC 9.15 service with the girls from No11, this was great to be back in, seeing lots of people, hearing AP preaching etc.
Then it was back to No31 to get Tom up and I headed over to Mayfield to see Ellie! I was going to meet up with Harriet, but she was ill, so that was sad, but I suppose my schedule, to get to the airport etc was quite tight! So I had a lovely drink and a chat with Ellie and we chewed the general cud over job opportunities/the PGCE/future plans and all of our news. We had gorgeous sunshine - as we had had for the entire weekend thankfully - so we sat outside. Eliie then took me to the station, which was very nice of her, and I headed off home. Muchos :-(
There ended the weekend! It was very full, very fun and long overdue to be back in Soton and so I really enjoyed it and I wish Izzie and Chris all the best for their new life together.
