An Anglo-Italian wedding
It's been the hottest week-end of the year so far. So hot that it was a struggle to sleep last night - thankfully there's a bit of a breeze now.
Yesterday we went to a wedding at Islington Town Hall. Our friend Simonetta got married to Adrian! (not my Adrian of course!)
We have known Simonetta for about 12 years or so; we met at Linda's Pasta Bar a pizzeria/restaurant that used to be next door to the King's Arms and became friends.
She stopped working there before the restaurant closed and reopened with a different name and at a different location across Oxford Street, but we kept in touch and met occasionally (and she came to our civil partnership 5 years ago).
Here she is in her beautiful wedding dress
with her now step-daughter.
The ceremony was very simple: no readings or music. The reception was at a Bowling Club in NW5, just minutes away from Hampstead Heath.
And it was very hot!
I was kind of dreading it (I'm very much a wallflower) but ended up enjoying it, in a strange way.
There were many more guests at the reception than at the wedding.
I talked some Italian with Simonetta's relatives, we met the bridegroom's father who asked me if my name was Frankel like the racehorse (he's big on racing) and his second wife a larger-than-life Italian-American who lives in London and Newport, RI; and chatted with a Yugoslavian man (I think Croatian but he never said - he left the country before it was divided) and his wife who were sitting at our table.
I think we were the only gays in the village, and if not, certainly the only gay couple.
I know I shouldn't, but I always worry slightly about what the reaction/atmosphere may be. Simonetta's relatives seemed quite nonplussed when we were introduced as a couple; the Yugoslavian was quite friendly although as the afternoon progressed and more drinks were downed, he became more curious. At one point he just stared at both of us and said "Now, tell me. I'm going to ask you a very personal question" and I thought during the long pause that ensued "Oh crap. He wants to know who's Arthur and who's Martha" (something that went through Adrian's mind too), but he wanted to know at what age we came out, and how our families reacted.
Later on we got a belly rub from him and he offered us some 'smoke' - I think that my face on both occasions was similar to Hyacinth Bucket when she was being pursued by the major.
Luckily we didn't stay much longer after that!
A moving moment was the speeches at the end of the meal when the bridegroom's daughter said that she had thought that she would have never had a mother until 5 and half years ago when Simonetta walked into their lives. There were few dry eyes in the house.
We got home on the Overground (which I must say is quite a fantastic way to move across town all around the edges, without having to go through the centre; plus the carriages are air-conditioned) at around 8:20 pm.
It was an exhausting day but it was lovely to see Simo so happy!
Yesterday we went to a wedding at Islington Town Hall. Our friend Simonetta got married to Adrian! (not my Adrian of course!)
We have known Simonetta for about 12 years or so; we met at Linda's Pasta Bar a pizzeria/restaurant that used to be next door to the King's Arms and became friends.
She stopped working there before the restaurant closed and reopened with a different name and at a different location across Oxford Street, but we kept in touch and met occasionally (and she came to our civil partnership 5 years ago).
Here she is in her beautiful wedding dress
with her now step-daughter.
The ceremony was very simple: no readings or music. The reception was at a Bowling Club in NW5, just minutes away from Hampstead Heath.
And it was very hot!
I was kind of dreading it (I'm very much a wallflower) but ended up enjoying it, in a strange way.
There were many more guests at the reception than at the wedding.
I talked some Italian with Simonetta's relatives, we met the bridegroom's father who asked me if my name was Frankel like the racehorse (he's big on racing) and his second wife a larger-than-life Italian-American who lives in London and Newport, RI; and chatted with a Yugoslavian man (I think Croatian but he never said - he left the country before it was divided) and his wife who were sitting at our table.
I think we were the only gays in the village, and if not, certainly the only gay couple.
I know I shouldn't, but I always worry slightly about what the reaction/atmosphere may be. Simonetta's relatives seemed quite nonplussed when we were introduced as a couple; the Yugoslavian was quite friendly although as the afternoon progressed and more drinks were downed, he became more curious. At one point he just stared at both of us and said "Now, tell me. I'm going to ask you a very personal question" and I thought during the long pause that ensued "Oh crap. He wants to know who's Arthur and who's Martha" (something that went through Adrian's mind too), but he wanted to know at what age we came out, and how our families reacted.
Later on we got a belly rub from him and he offered us some 'smoke' - I think that my face on both occasions was similar to Hyacinth Bucket when she was being pursued by the major.
Luckily we didn't stay much longer after that!
A moving moment was the speeches at the end of the meal when the bridegroom's daughter said that she had thought that she would have never had a mother until 5 and half years ago when Simonetta walked into their lives. There were few dry eyes in the house.
We got home on the Overground (which I must say is quite a fantastic way to move across town all around the edges, without having to go through the centre; plus the carriages are air-conditioned) at around 8:20 pm.
It was an exhausting day but it was lovely to see Simo so happy!