Going Home part 3 (the last bit) - The Wedding and then going home

Continuing our short trip to the UK. We survived London and Manchester and now headed down south to Wales.....There is a lot to chat about here, so we had best get started!

Everything that had happened so far was a bonus. we didn't actually go home to see London, spend time in Manchester, visit United or talk about oranges at 2.30 a.m. But we were lucky enough to have time to do all that AND get to the wedding in Wales too. We were actually lucky to be in the UK at all, as only a few months ago I only had 2 days of vacation left for the year and didn't think we would make it. But luckily. after one of our bosses retired at work, his taskings were allocated throughout the rest of the section and as part of that, I was able to negotiate an extra week off work!  Brilliant - just in time for my nephew's wedding! 

To add some context, the bloke getting married is Michael (Mikie), the oldest son of my big brother Gareth and his wife Tracey. Gareth joined the army 3 years before me. When we were both in the army, I would spend a lot of my time staying with Gareth, Tracey and the two kids Michael and James (James is the one who now works at United) I used to love staying at all their different houses and am very grateful that my older brother was so generous to let me stay so often. I always used to try to pay my way by buying beers or dinner, but I probably never said a real thank you - So very publicly now - Gareth and Tracey - thanks so so much for every time you let me stay. I absolutely loved every minute and I especially loved spending time with the kids. 

We had some fantastic times together with too many stories to tell here. But when Mikie (Now a fully grown adult) said he was getting married I would have done anything to be there for him, just as I will if Jimbo gets wed in the future too. 

So as we drove south from Manchester to deepest darkest Wales, it was with all this in mind. I hadn't actually seen Mikie since before I went travelling in 2010, so a long long long time ago. Luckily technology and particularly WhatsApp. with our very graphic and silly 'Man United' group that everyone chats on pretty often, we have kept in touch, but neither of us could remember the last time we actually saw each other.

I was very excited to arrive at Llantilio House  - the venue of the wedding and our accommodation for the next three nights. You see, everything was even more special than I have already mentioned. Not only were we invited, but our Hannah (Hannah 1) had been asked to be flower girl by Mikie Bride to be, who was also called Hannah (Hannah 2) and as we were the only people at the wedding with kids, we had been invited to stay at the venue with the bridal party and the parents of the happy couple. It was such a lovely gesture and one for which we cannot begin to express our utmost appreciation.

We drove across the cattle grid and along the driveway to the house to see Gareth and Tracey had just arrived ahead of us and Mike was there giving his parents a big hug. As soon as we got out of the car it was our turn as me and Buffy also got a huge hug from Mikie. It was the first of many many hugs over the next 3 days and absolutely lovely! Those missed years just melted away and Buffy who had never actually met Mikie before was immediately at ease and happy. We were all happy - It was great to be there!  

We came into the house and met Hannah2 and all the family before Hannah2 showed us up to the room we were staying in - a huge beautiful open plan room with so much space for the kids and an ensuite bathroom too. It was the start of a wonderful 3 days.   

That evening we sat around playing with the kids and had a couple of beers and pizza before a reasonably early night. Everyone was a little worn out and that combined with the clean clear Welsh countryside air wore us all out. Even so, we were still some of the last people up as most people got to bed before us in preparation for the wedding set up the next day.

On Friday we would have loved to get involved in the set-up of the wedding and stuff, but the kids were chomping at the bit to go out and do something and they would have just got in the way, so we decided to get out and see something..... First stop, a proper Welsh castle. 

I have definitely visited Raglan Castle before - probably about 40 years ago. We did a lot of castles as kids and having holidayed in this part of the county a few times, I am sure we have been here. But for our kids, it was a new experience - visiting a building that this over 100 years old is unusual, so seeing a castle that's between 600 and 800 years old was a bit special. They both surprised me here, being really interested in the castle and its history as well as loving finding the dungeons and the scary old tunnels that lead from room to room. Hannah also noticed the fireplaces in the walls up high and correctly assumed that the floors had gone. They also laughed at the soccer ball that was left in the moat as well as pretending the old wooded wheelbarrow was a racing car!  I think their favourite part was finding a treasure chest though!!

Before we had left the wedding venue Tracey had suggested a farm visit - apparently, there is a farm (also near Raglan) that has an indoor children's play area. So with the weather closing in, we thought we might as well give it a try. What a good decision that was. 

The play area was actually the size of most indoor playgrounds, with all the usual soft play stuff, slides and climbing nets. But there was more than one play area, there were 2, sorry3, sorry 5 different kids' soft play areas, all huge and all with separate trampolines and also animals to feed including goats m, donkeys and even Emu! There was also a chip shop/burger van inside for lunch. We didn't even get to the outdoor play area with even more trampolines a zip line and pedal go-karts. There was simply too much to do and the kids LOVED it. We had originally planned for about 45 minutes to an hour, but eventually stayed 2 hours and had to physically drag the kids away from the play stuff and a new friend that they made while playing,  so we could get back to the venue for the evening! What a great find - thanks for the heads up, Tracey!

Back at the venue Mikie and Hannah2 had arranged for caterers to bring some food for everyone staying as well as a few close friends and family who were staying over in Abergavenny. It was a nice night but the kids were being a bit crazy and noisy and I think a few people wanted a quieter evening, so there were two groups of people - one group in the lounge enjoying a quiet drink and the rest of us in the kitchen having a bit more of a rowdy time. The kids weren't really being allowed into the lounge to play area and Hannah at just 5 years old was a little sad and actually made a sign and stuck it on the door after being asked to not go in there.  In her own writing, it basically said' Not allowed to stop kids in here' or something like that. She then stuck it on the closed door to the lounge! Everyone mellowed out by the next morning, so it was all good, but I think it would have been nice to be able to mix a little more on that evening. I think everyone had a good time though. We did have a lot of fun though and I even managed a few minutes with Mikie outside later in the evening. It was a beautiful evening and there were stars everywhere, so we spent a little while watching them and just chatting  - it was lovely to spend some time together!

Wedding day!

The next day was fabulous. Buffy and Hannah went into town first thing to get their hair done - Hannah's first trip to a salon! Ollie and I wandered around Abergavenny and had a bit of breakfast from Greggs as well as making friends with locals and having a dance in Poundland!

Then back to the venue and time to get changed. Hannah as a flower girl had been invited to get ready with the Bride and Bridesmaids and she loved it. It more than made up for last night's misunderstandings and she was treated like a princess! Ollie and I got ready together upstairs  - donning our matching shirts and bow ties. 

Hannah stayed with the bridal party until the wedding started while there's of us mingled with family and friends in the beautiful old stable and the gardens, playing a bit of croquet and other games whilst enjoying a cocktail and drinks before the ceremony started.   

When the ceremony started we couldn't be more proud. Hannah cam in holdionh hands with Fi, one of the bridesmaids and did a great job as flower girl. Then the ceremony started and it was beautiful. The wonderful venue was decorated with soooooo many flowers and it looked stunning. The bride and groom are so obviously in love and they both looked amazing as did everyone! It was a lovely warm and wonderful ceremony. Everything was just perfect. 

After the ceremony, there was plenty of time for everyone to mingle, and have a drink, photos were taken of everyone and there were lots of games to play as well as a male voice choir and a harpist. The kids made friends with everyone and were actually pretty well-behaved, which was nice!

The good vibes continued into dinner which was just delicious! Probably the nicest wedding food I have ever had and lots of it!    

There was loads of time to relax and mellow out, so we took the kids upstairs for a little while for a break and to get a bit of a rest before the dancing began - and there was a LOT of dancing!

The first dance was really nice - and we were all invited onto the dancefloor to join the happy couple. I don't think there were more than 5 minutes in eth whole night where either us or the kids weren't dancing. It was a really great night. Absolutely everyone danced with both our kids at some time but I have to mention Jordan, who had a special little bond with Ollie as they messed about together copying each other's breakdance moves. He is expecting a little on of his own and he is going to be a great dad! There are too many photos and videos to post but here are a few highlights.... 

The next morning was our last one with the family. We all felt a little sad that the trip to UK was coming to an end. We packed our stuff and spent a long time in the car park of the venue chatting with friends and family. I don't think that anyone really wanted to leave and it took a long tie for goodbyes to be said alongside photos and hugs. It had been a great wedding and it was now over and time to head home. 

After our 4th or 5th goodbye and hug we finally jumped into the car and headed back west towards London.

Our last afternoon and evening were still pretty good. Sad though we were we made the best of it by stopping for a couple of hours in Windsor, to see the castle, feed the swans and have some fish and chips. 

Then once we had moved into our hotel for the night my old Army mate Dan, popped by to say hello. He had travelled down for the evening on the train and we spent a great couple of hours having dinner and catching up in eth hotel bar/restaurant/ play area. Luckily we had picked a good hotel where there was plenty of room to play and things for the kids to play with, so we used the photo booth, played some fussball, tried to steal the fluffy pillows and had the usual game of hide and seek - Dan really got involved with all of it and after the kids finally went to bed we had time for a couple more peaceful drinks before he got into an Uber and made his way back home. All that was left was for me to head up to bed and set an alarm for the morning. 

The trip back to Canada went entirely as planned, a little to well top be honest as we had expected more delays and queues, but the airports were clear and we had an easy trip. The kids liked playing at the play area in Heathrow but not so much at eth pretty terrible one in Toronto. There was a lot of hanging around during which time the painter's tape came out and Buffy built a race track for Ollies cars while Hannah drew and played.  All too soon (17 hours from stat to finish) the wheels were hitting the runway at Winnipeg at about the same time as Ollie finally fell asleep. 

Back Home

Susan was there to meet u and after a short trip home it was time for bed and to dream about the good times we had just had. It was worth all the hassle, work and expense - If you have a little bit of cash lying around, don't buy something you don't need   - go do something - take a holiday like we did. It was bloody brilliant.  I miss my brothers more now than ever, I miss pubs, chippies and small houses. But we are home and we are happy with good memories and soft beds. Winter is coming, so that's got to be dealt with, but we have a lot of plans for the next few months, so keep an eye open on here for updates soon!