Further adventures of Nanaya & Alextiefling
On Saturday morning, we all had a restorative breakfast of porridge & juice. Then I tried putting up my hair without hairspray, as ever. It's tricky, but I'm happy to report that BUMPITS [NB Noisy site] actually do work! Even if they do have a daft name. 
feanelwa was wearing an actual home-made dress created out of a sari, and it was very pretty. We were all running a bit late and managed to get on our COACH with only seconds to spare! Too much excitement. I read my new copy of FILAMENT and tried to relax. Unfortunately, there were massive, massive tailbacks caused by the DUXFORD AIR SHOW being incredibly popular. This meant we got in 40 minutes late to Cambridge, but we did get the see the RED ARROWS from our window, so free entertainment there; it was quite a dissonant sort of entertainment mind you, I was torn between disapproving of the environmental irresponsibility of it all and being 8 years old again, going "Planes! Pretty!".
Arrived too late for proper lunch, so we shovelled sandwiches into our gobs as we raced up to the wedding door, greeting other guests with enthusiastic crumb-spluttering. I am absolutely not going to attempt to list all the super PEOPLE I saw there, some of whom for the first time ever, because the guest list was quite staggering. Suffice it to say there were lots of PEOPLE and they were lovely both individually and en masse. There was a slightly surprising number of BABIES, who were all over the place! One baby had particularly impressive hair, a fluffy spiky mop. Which, of course, just made me think of this:
The service was at a 650-year-old CHURCH (small but pretty) and was a carefully-crafted event, with some interesting choices of reading & hymns and truly glorious performances by the hard-working CHOIR. They were superlative. borusa & the_alchemist both looked lovely. the_alchemist had a cream & gold dress + coat outfit with an enormous draping train (highlight of the afternoon was watching her stop traffic, literally, at the lights as she and 3 train-carrying assistants proceeded to cross) and a dainty CROWN. There was lots of enthusiastic PARTICIPATION from everyone. After a breather in the church garden, we all went to the Guildhall for the reception. Food was fabulous - there was a phenomenal amount of choice for vegan, dairy- & gluten-avoiding people. Mains were a range of delicious Indian dishes, and the CAKES tiers were each a different cake filling. How the caterers had managed to do quite such a moist and delicious chocolate cake both gluten-free and vegan, I do not know but I want to find out! The BAR was under the auspices of timeplease, of course, and his diligent staff were quite keen to help us imbibe. Then there was a lovely long MUSICAL PERFORMANCE BY THE OYSTERBAND, later involving a CEILIDH. I sat that out, because I know the relative risk of injury from such activities! Everyone seemed to be having good fun with it, though. It all wrapped up a little bit after midnight, with a last singalong for all and general bonhomie. We got a lift from the very kind
sashagoblin, who put us up at her parents' house, which was ridiculously pretty and very comfortable.
On Sunday, we had a very nice breakfast with
sashagoblin where we got to meet her parents, who were also very nice (not to mention hospitable) and found out about her brother's subcultural fame. Then we headed into Cambridge to meet
alextiefling's BROTHERS over more VEGAN CAKE at the Rainbow Cafe. Sadly, D. had recently had his bike stolen :-( but otherwise all was good. G. & I appear to be in significant agreement about environmental issues, and it turns out that this is the reason we're both keen on ED MILIBAND FOR LABOUR LEADER, although I admit that my predominant feeling about the whole thing is basically "anyone but Ed Fucking Balls". I like Diane a lot, but I worry she might get too much of the wrong sort of press attention, and of course she'll have a lot less freedom to speak her mind than she now does, which I also enjoy. And Andy Burnham, of course, has SAD SAD EYES ;-) while DMil is, well, DMil. Anyway, I can think of worse things to do with a pleasant breezy morning than to agree about politics, so I vote for that. Therefore, brunch was a success, even if I didn't get any GUANABANA JUICE, boooooo. One of the wedding barmen was behind the counter in Fopp and recognised us when he overheard muttered remarks about moving cake to make space for purchases.
In the afternoon, we went over to xanna & J's house, where she fed us delicious FENNEL RISOTTO and BUTTER-FREE FLAPJACKS. Yay for her, she is lovely. We all chatted about gardens and admired her lovely apple trees, flourishing brambles and magical tumble-down grotto/shed. GARDENING is brilliant. It was lovely to site and talk properly for a while about all the various important and unimportant things which came to mind, don't do that often enough. The evening was only slightly marred by a massive ALTERCATION with completely power-tripping National Express coach drivers who insisted they'd sold our pre-paid tickets to other people because we were 'late' (the coach hadn't left - it was due on the hour and that's when we got there - and they cheerfully sat there watching us run up, so they could shut the door in our faces). It got rather exciting as they threatened to call the police and I cheerfully told them to go right ahead. Cue an angry phonecall to the NE call-centre, a wait in a perfectly nice pub (mm CHIPS) and a very terse written complaint from us about how their conditions don't actually say what their drivers claim they do, oh and we'd like some compensation for all our wasted time, kthx. Our hosts were very good about the whole things, so I wasn't too worried. We got into London very late, of course, and didn't get anything done at home, but I feel it was all worth it, even if we didn't actually get to meet up with a couple of people as intended. Still, lovely weekend. Read final 'Scott Pilgrim' book on my way home, most instructional.
On Monday, I went back to WORK. Yay work! Slightly less yay as I had almost 25 visits lined up for me...and I almost fell asleep on my desk mid-afternoon. Still, other than all the exam questions from colleagues, it was quite cheering to be back. I LIKE WORK, can you tell? After work, we went to wish marnameow a HAPPY BIRTHDAY by going to the Royal Oak with chocolate in tow. I bought a BOOK about Cary Grant from the charity shelf! It is form the early 1970s, so I suspect it may lack much of Teh Queer, but still, hurrah! For pubs with REAL CIDER on tap and second-hand books, and for the entertainment derived from these things in conjunction with enthusiastic friends (
roz_mclure gave us an empassioned reading of the blurb from several romance novels, which is always welcome). Tube strike and absolute downpour had a small effect on our journey but we got home OK, despite another late night caused by the temptation of company.
On Tuesday, I got in alright except for the ridiculous levels of congestion. I stayed late to make up that time and more, and finally wrote up a bunch of very, very overdue things which had been hanging round for months, depressing me. Gone! Well, some may come back, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I'd had an incredibly PAINful right leg all day, and the usual Tuesday massage therapist (the cheerful hippy one) couldn't make it in, so I just had to grit my teeth. After work, A & I went for dinner in 'Saf' with
sashagoblin and OM NOM NOM. The rhubarb cocktail and the chocolate orange marble torte were probably my favourite things, although the strawberries in sugar on the cheese platter were damn good too. Not sure about the crazy 'quiche' but eh, can't win 'em all. I really need to go there for just desserts (literally and metaphorically) some time soon. Another late night spent in excellent company, what a hard life, eh? We managed to get home on the last train anyway, so it's within the acceptable limits of mid-week late nights as long as it's only occasional, or that's my take at any rate.
Today, I have still had much pain in the right leg but have otherwise been in good spirits. Did my first visits since my return, sorted out an Extenuating Circumstances form, went to doctors and got up-to-date letter, came home and made CLEAN-ALL-THE-THINGS ROTA with
tajasel. Plus, I have still had Chinese leftovers *and* chocolate to feed my laziness with! Now it's time for a soothing bath and then bed, considering I passed out on my bed a few hours ago. Sleep/viking time. Bring it on soon, please.
This entry was originally posted at http://nanaya.dreamwidth.org/327362.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
feanelwa was wearing an actual home-made dress created out of a sari, and it was very pretty. We were all running a bit late and managed to get on our COACH with only seconds to spare! Too much excitement. I read my new copy of FILAMENT and tried to relax. Unfortunately, there were massive, massive tailbacks caused by the DUXFORD AIR SHOW being incredibly popular. This meant we got in 40 minutes late to Cambridge, but we did get the see the RED ARROWS from our window, so free entertainment there; it was quite a dissonant sort of entertainment mind you, I was torn between disapproving of the environmental irresponsibility of it all and being 8 years old again, going "Planes! Pretty!".
Arrived too late for proper lunch, so we shovelled sandwiches into our gobs as we raced up to the wedding door, greeting other guests with enthusiastic crumb-spluttering. I am absolutely not going to attempt to list all the super PEOPLE I saw there, some of whom for the first time ever, because the guest list was quite staggering. Suffice it to say there were lots of PEOPLE and they were lovely both individually and en masse. There was a slightly surprising number of BABIES, who were all over the place! One baby had particularly impressive hair, a fluffy spiky mop. Which, of course, just made me think of this:
The service was at a 650-year-old CHURCH (small but pretty) and was a carefully-crafted event, with some interesting choices of reading & hymns and truly glorious performances by the hard-working CHOIR. They were superlative. borusa & the_alchemist both looked lovely. the_alchemist had a cream & gold dress + coat outfit with an enormous draping train (highlight of the afternoon was watching her stop traffic, literally, at the lights as she and 3 train-carrying assistants proceeded to cross) and a dainty CROWN. There was lots of enthusiastic PARTICIPATION from everyone. After a breather in the church garden, we all went to the Guildhall for the reception. Food was fabulous - there was a phenomenal amount of choice for vegan, dairy- & gluten-avoiding people. Mains were a range of delicious Indian dishes, and the CAKES tiers were each a different cake filling. How the caterers had managed to do quite such a moist and delicious chocolate cake both gluten-free and vegan, I do not know but I want to find out! The BAR was under the auspices of timeplease, of course, and his diligent staff were quite keen to help us imbibe. Then there was a lovely long MUSICAL PERFORMANCE BY THE OYSTERBAND, later involving a CEILIDH. I sat that out, because I know the relative risk of injury from such activities! Everyone seemed to be having good fun with it, though. It all wrapped up a little bit after midnight, with a last singalong for all and general bonhomie. We got a lift from the very kind
sashagoblin, who put us up at her parents' house, which was ridiculously pretty and very comfortable.
On Sunday, we had a very nice breakfast with
sashagoblin where we got to meet her parents, who were also very nice (not to mention hospitable) and found out about her brother's subcultural fame. Then we headed into Cambridge to meet
alextiefling's BROTHERS over more VEGAN CAKE at the Rainbow Cafe. Sadly, D. had recently had his bike stolen :-( but otherwise all was good. G. & I appear to be in significant agreement about environmental issues, and it turns out that this is the reason we're both keen on ED MILIBAND FOR LABOUR LEADER, although I admit that my predominant feeling about the whole thing is basically "anyone but Ed Fucking Balls". I like Diane a lot, but I worry she might get too much of the wrong sort of press attention, and of course she'll have a lot less freedom to speak her mind than she now does, which I also enjoy. And Andy Burnham, of course, has SAD SAD EYES ;-) while DMil is, well, DMil. Anyway, I can think of worse things to do with a pleasant breezy morning than to agree about politics, so I vote for that. Therefore, brunch was a success, even if I didn't get any GUANABANA JUICE, boooooo. One of the wedding barmen was behind the counter in Fopp and recognised us when he overheard muttered remarks about moving cake to make space for purchases.
In the afternoon, we went over to xanna & J's house, where she fed us delicious FENNEL RISOTTO and BUTTER-FREE FLAPJACKS. Yay for her, she is lovely. We all chatted about gardens and admired her lovely apple trees, flourishing brambles and magical tumble-down grotto/shed. GARDENING is brilliant. It was lovely to site and talk properly for a while about all the various important and unimportant things which came to mind, don't do that often enough. The evening was only slightly marred by a massive ALTERCATION with completely power-tripping National Express coach drivers who insisted they'd sold our pre-paid tickets to other people because we were 'late' (the coach hadn't left - it was due on the hour and that's when we got there - and they cheerfully sat there watching us run up, so they could shut the door in our faces). It got rather exciting as they threatened to call the police and I cheerfully told them to go right ahead. Cue an angry phonecall to the NE call-centre, a wait in a perfectly nice pub (mm CHIPS) and a very terse written complaint from us about how their conditions don't actually say what their drivers claim they do, oh and we'd like some compensation for all our wasted time, kthx. Our hosts were very good about the whole things, so I wasn't too worried. We got into London very late, of course, and didn't get anything done at home, but I feel it was all worth it, even if we didn't actually get to meet up with a couple of people as intended. Still, lovely weekend. Read final 'Scott Pilgrim' book on my way home, most instructional.
On Monday, I went back to WORK. Yay work! Slightly less yay as I had almost 25 visits lined up for me...and I almost fell asleep on my desk mid-afternoon. Still, other than all the exam questions from colleagues, it was quite cheering to be back. I LIKE WORK, can you tell? After work, we went to wish marnameow a HAPPY BIRTHDAY by going to the Royal Oak with chocolate in tow. I bought a BOOK about Cary Grant from the charity shelf! It is form the early 1970s, so I suspect it may lack much of Teh Queer, but still, hurrah! For pubs with REAL CIDER on tap and second-hand books, and for the entertainment derived from these things in conjunction with enthusiastic friends (
roz_mclure gave us an empassioned reading of the blurb from several romance novels, which is always welcome). Tube strike and absolute downpour had a small effect on our journey but we got home OK, despite another late night caused by the temptation of company.
On Tuesday, I got in alright except for the ridiculous levels of congestion. I stayed late to make up that time and more, and finally wrote up a bunch of very, very overdue things which had been hanging round for months, depressing me. Gone! Well, some may come back, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I'd had an incredibly PAINful right leg all day, and the usual Tuesday massage therapist (the cheerful hippy one) couldn't make it in, so I just had to grit my teeth. After work, A & I went for dinner in 'Saf' with
sashagoblin and OM NOM NOM. The rhubarb cocktail and the chocolate orange marble torte were probably my favourite things, although the strawberries in sugar on the cheese platter were damn good too. Not sure about the crazy 'quiche' but eh, can't win 'em all. I really need to go there for just desserts (literally and metaphorically) some time soon. Another late night spent in excellent company, what a hard life, eh? We managed to get home on the last train anyway, so it's within the acceptable limits of mid-week late nights as long as it's only occasional, or that's my take at any rate.
Today, I have still had much pain in the right leg but have otherwise been in good spirits. Did my first visits since my return, sorted out an Extenuating Circumstances form, went to doctors and got up-to-date letter, came home and made CLEAN-ALL-THE-THINGS ROTA with
tajasel. Plus, I have still had Chinese leftovers *and* chocolate to feed my laziness with! Now it's time for a soothing bath and then bed, considering I passed out on my bed a few hours ago. Sleep/viking time. Bring it on soon, please.
This entry was originally posted at http://nanaya.dreamwidth.org/327362.html. Please comment there using OpenID.