Last week, our eldest son got married!
Mum, a.k.a @Gills_Mum, has been doing quite a bit of writing recently and I thought you might enjoy her ‘take’ on Abi and Andrew’s wedding … and also an update on how Mum is getting on…
What an amazing week. Starting with the loveliest of weddings where everything was beribboned: the invitations, church pews and orders of service were all decorated with cream ribbons and pink and cream flowers. Not overdone, just very pretty, The bride’s dress was gorgeous, with a swirling short train and the bridegroom (my grandson), his best man and all the ushers wore grey tailcoats with unusual, striking waistcoats. The guests all played along with lovely dresses and one or two super hats. The church was centuries old, Norman in parts and the vicar, who was retired, came back specially because he knew the family. His sermon was marvellous too. Funny and thoughtful and not at all at the usual dry-as-dust, send-to-sleep sermon at so many weddings.
The reception was held at a very old converted manor house hotel attached to a converted barn. The living accommodation was in the original house – some with four poster beds! The actual reception was held in a marquee in the lovely grounds which, despite a visit from a near hurricane, stayed firmly on the ground and no one got wet!
Wine flowed and the speeches were very funny, despite having to contend with the aforesaid near hurricane. The tribute to the three lovely bridesmaids nearly got wiped out!
A very enjoyable wedding breakfast (more wine, of course) followed, then dancing and later a hog roast when more guests arrived!! It was so lovely to spend time with family and old friends, including Theresa who has been friends with Gill since they started secondary school aged 11 and used to spend so much time at our house when they were young. Another of Gill’s friends, Rosemary, made the wedding cake – it tasted as good as it looked! Eventually we all went to bed, tired out but immensely happy!
The second half of the week was quite different. It brought me down to earth again! I went to a lunch given by the people from whom I am buying a sheltered accommodation flat. I have been staying with Gill and her family since I had an accident three months. They have looked after me so well and I am feeling much better; now it is time to move on.
I met the people who are living in the flats and found them very nice and friendly. There is a dining room where lunch and tea are served every day, if required, at very reasonable cost. There is also a comfortable lounge, where they seem to hold lots of interesting activities, and also a pleasant little garden area. People were sitting in the lounge enjoying their coffee or tea and chatting to each other.
Everything is brand new, having only just been built and there are many helpful aids, such as bars along the walls to give support if needed. The flat is fairly big, as these places go, with the window giving onto a little patio – the only flat like it, it seems! All I have to do now is sell my own house and move in, and I am even being helped with this.
Big decision ahead though. What I can reasonably take from a big house to a small flat is not easy. Have to be quite ruthless, I suppose and I am not one for making big decisions!
Here goes!!!
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Whose Shoes? A catalyst for change in health and social care 
Delightful little blog, I always look forward to these Monday posts! Eloquently written with genuine feeling, almost feels like we were at the wedding too! Best wishes for the next exciting phase of your life – new surroundings, new friends but all the stability of a lifetime of dear family, memories and old friends to ease you into your lovely new flat. Lucky lady. X
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Thanks for your good wishes. All very nice. Lovely place, but a bit scary going somewhere new! Shall miss my old house.
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How lovely Gill. It is quite rare to view a wedding through the eyes of the generation above the parents of the couple (I’m trying to be so tactful) and it’s obviously an exciting and momentous time for your Mum. As always, a Monday morning treat.
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No need to be tactful! It is exciting. It is quite momentous but also a bit scary!
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I think a bit scary is sometimes a good thing! Hope everything is going well.
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Hi It’s Margaret, mother in law of Sandra. Why do I never receive Gills_mum,s blogs! I follow her but I have never received any. I read other peoples comments on how interesting they are and I feel envious. Please help.
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Hi Margaret. Mum’s blogs are always posted as guest blogs in my series. Subscribe to these and you will see them as soon as they are posted 🙂 X
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A lovely blog, thank you Gill’s mum. Glad you all had a fab time at the wedding! I wish you every happiness in your new home Gill’s mum. We are hoping to move this autumn and are trying to sort things out and decide what to take. Have discovered over the last few months why people say moving is one of the most stressful things you ever do! I’m sure your lovely, supportive family will make it as stress-free as possible for you though. I look forward to seeing Gill at Alz Europe Conf & Congress! x
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Thanks and good luck with your move too, Beth! Xx
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It sounds like it was a wonderful wedding. Congratulations to the newly weds 🙂
I think sharing stories is a wonderful way of holding onto things and I wondered if you might have any stories or images about things you might have to part with from your house…when you’ve made those tough decisions.
Wishing you lots of happiness in your new home.
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Thanks for your good wishes and what a great idea! Photos to follow 🙂 X
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Once again I need the Very Much Like button as Like simply doesn’t sum it up. I absolutely love weddings and can’t get enough of them nowadays. One of my first blogs earlier this year contained a little riff about a wedding that CH (current husband) and I went to back in February – such a sense of hope, the thrill of love and a lifetime over the horizon beyond the beribboned marquis. I’m a real old softy and thought you caught just the mood. Like Maureen, I felt I was almost there with you (can I just say how handsome your grandson looked and how very pretty his young bride). And then onto your new life in what sounds like a fabulous place – change always brings niggling anxieties but it seems as if you and your family (I’d love to meet some more of them one day, though I did briefly encounter your granddaughter in London and of course I’ve met Gill) have all bases covered. Good luck with it all Gill’s Mum – and please keep up with your glorious writing.
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Good morning Gill’s Mum. The wedding sounds wonderful. I love that feelgood feeling of getting family and friends together and celebrating new beginnings. What a sensible lady you are, to opt for sheltered accommodation. My Mum made the move a little over a year ago and loves it. She took a little while to adjust to living in a first floor flat (complete with balcony overlooking a delightful garden) but is now, despite initial misgivings, thoroughly enjoying being part of the community and has made lots of new friends. That mix of independence with care close by seems to be a great way of accepting reality without giving up on life. I wish you all the best and hope that once you’ve decided which are the truly important possessions you just can’t do without, you’ll have no problem fitting them in! Best wishes, Zoe
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