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Much of a muchness
Things that make you go 'hmm'…
Wedding bells…
Posted by on September 2, 2009
I had a lovely weekend. I was invited to accompany a friend to his niece’s wedding and as I do like a good wedding, I dusted off my posh frock and my dancing shoes and accepted. I had promised to make the bride and groom a guest book for the the wedding guests to sign at the reception. This is what I came up with. The book spine is white leather and the cover image is printed onto Belgian linen ink jet bookcloth.
The wedding guest book
The box
The wedding was in a very beautiful and tiny church in Weymouth called St Anne’s. The service was really sweet as the vicar kept forgetting the groom’s name – not ideal, but luckily, he got it right at the crucial bits of the service. One of the readings was a Pam Ayres poem which brought the house down.
Yes, I’ll Marry You
Yes, I’ll marry you, my dear,
And here’s the reason why;
So I can push you out of bed
When the baby starts to cry,
And if we hear a knocking
And it’s creepy and it’s late,
I hand you the torch you see,
And you investigate.
Yes, I’ll marry you, my dear,
You may not apprehend it,
But when the tumble-drier goes
It’s you that has to mend it,
You have to face the neighbour
Should our labrador attack him,
And if a drunkard fondles me
It’s you that has to whack him.
Yes, I’ll marry you,
You’re virile and you’re lean,
My house is like a pigsty
You can help to keep it clean.
That sexy little dinner
Which you served by candlelight,
As I do chipolatas,
You can cook it every night!
It’s you who has to work the drill
and put up curtain track,
And when I’ve got PMT it’s you who gets the flak,
I do see great advantages,
But none of them for you,
And so before you see the light,
I do, I do, I do!
The vicar also included my ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ quotation (which I am reading at my god daughter’s wedding in October) in his sermon. It sounded good, so I am busy rehearsing for when I have to stand up in public and read it – gulp. It will be a bit ‘curly’ as my ex will be there too – a bit strange for me to be extolling the virtues of married love but – hey ho, has to be done.
The wedding reception was held at Lulworth Castle, which is actually a mock castle. It was built as a hunting lodge in 1610 by Thomas Howard but it was destroyed in a fire in 1929 and left as a roofless ruin. In the 70’s a restoration was begun which was completed in 1998. It is fascinating, the ground floor has been renovated but the upper floors have not been replaced. It was re-roofed and the walls cleaned so as you stand inside you can see the full height of the building above you and see fireplaces, doors and windows which were in rooms far above you. One of the towers has a spiral staircase which takes you up onto the roof to see the spectacular views of the surrounding parkland to the sea as far as Poole harbour.
During the afternoon, we went outside to watch a display of jousting which was great fun. Here are some photographs of the afternoon.
Such a fun day – and the only sunny day of the whole weekend, so doubly blessed. I hope the weather is as kind at the wedding in October.
I’ve spent the time since then re-writing my friend Claire’s web site and giving it a bit of a revamp. Last week, she discovered that her old website had been blocked by Google. It turned out that it had been hacked and big chunks of it had been overwritten with malicious code. When I had removed the code, it was easier to write her a new website than try and resurrect the old one. You can see the results and read what Claire has been up to here.
I should have been busy this week making an album for my #2 son. He wanted me to make him one using all the photographs that he and his three friends took during their four months of travelling in South East Asia earlier this year. They are having great difficulty deciding on which photographs to include – they have managed to edit it down to 2000 so far, so I’m not holding my breath :-)
Finally, news of Milo. After his ordeal at the kennels, I had to take him to the dog groomers. The only way to sort out the matted knots in his coat was to give him a severe haircut – he has been shorn naked! Poor thing looks like a demented poodle. Here are before and after pics. At least his hair will grow I suppose…
Much of a muchness 
Great book as always. I particularly like the boxes you have been making for the books as well.
The website looks good. :)
I love that poem. This part rings particularly true:
“So I can push you out of bed
When the baby starts to cry,
And if we hear a knocking
And it’s creepy and it’s late,
I hand you the torch you see,
And you investigate.”
I’ve been making the boxes for the personalised albums as I figure they are going to kept for a long time and they need protecting. They also make a gift a bit more special, I think. And I like making them :-)
Thanks about the website. Claire has done such amazing things it was a treat to make!
It’s such a fun poem isn’t it? I’m guessing it’s the baby bit that rings especially true – hope the little man is sleeping through and you are getting enough sleep :-)
It’s been too long since I told you how amazing and clever you are: you are amazing and everso clever and talented.
Yes, all of 24 hours :-)
Keep the praise coming, it’s much appreciated!
My goodness you have been busy ….. a lot to catch up with after all those holidays I suppose……………
Love that poem ……… many truths lurking – my goodness, we poor peabrains are very put upon aren’t we – tee hee
Your dog is going from bad to worse …… could be used as a loo brush now I suppose ………
I have been busy! It’s not all jolly holidays you know.
It’s a very sweet poem and gets to the heart of what women want! Even us goddesses….
Poor Milo, did I mention the flea problem…….?
Bwahahaha…oh sorry, Milo, luv: I wasn’t laughing at you, but with you!
I second everything Claire said: clever, talented, amazing Diane!
The wedding book is gorgeous and the poem so hilarious – everything I wish I had for my wedding. :)
Poor little pooch, skinny little rabbit :-)
I thank you *blushes nicely* It’s nice to have such loyal flattering friends!
Glad you liked the book.
beautiful guest book .. beautiful location for a wedding reception too how idyllic.
Pam Ayres did get some slating over the years but she does write some sparkly mad stuff … and what a fab idea for a vicar to read it out lol
Just thinking about Milo… he has lost weight instantly with that new hair do.. hoping that when I have my ‘wool’ cut on Friday it has the same effect on me :-)
It was a fab wedding – gorgeous location, one of the best I’ve been to.
I’m off for a new ‘do’ on Friday too! We should compare notes. If I had a short do, I would lose a couple of pounds. Hmmm there’s a thought…
Another beautiful book Diane.
Excellent poem too.
Pam Ayres was on BBC Radio4 today – hilarious!
Thank you! Glad you liked it. It’s a fun poem – brought the house down (or should I say ‘church’?)
Missed her unfortunately, she’s not very fashionable but I think she’s hilarious :-)
What a lovely place for a wedding! Must have been a great celebration and I bet you looked great in your posh frock and dancing shoes!
Nice piece of book art from you again Diane!
It was amazing – the best venue for a wedding I’ve been to. I’m giving the posh frock another outing for my god daughter’s wedding in October – maybe I’ll get a photo of it then :-)
Glad you liked the book, Renny.
Greetings,
Amazing venue to have a wedding indeed, great photos and poem too.. hopefully i also get a good venue to get married next year… ~sigh
Wermut’s last blog post..
2000 Participants Flying Kites for MURI
Finally I hope I make it this time. Please know I was by on Saturday afternoon I do believe.
I wrote a comment extolling just how wonderful this entire post and how much I love this book. I have to agree including a box is wonderful.
I love all of your creations Diane but this definitely going to rank in my personal top five.
The reception at the castle looks marvelous. It reminds me just exactly why England has stolen my oldest daughter’s heart forever!!
Now I have fingers crossed that this comment will post, I won;t lose my connection, as we are still having storms, and I hope you are having a grand day!!
Yay, I made it!! i think we are experiencing English weather over here. We have been raining now for 4 days and my satellites are simply fogged in.
I am amazed that I have a signal today!! Diane, please leave me a message and let me know if you sale your books online. If so then please let me know where I might have a look around.
You are so very talented and your books would make such wonderful gifts!
You have managed to mention all my important Key Words in one posting: Thomas Howard, 17th century architecture, Pam Ayres, labradors, adult sons and the arrival of grandchildren, Poole, landscape gardening – well done :)
Once my sons graduated from uni and left home, I felt more relaxed and certainly less financially challenged. Once they both became husbands and fathers themselves, I felt totally liberated.
Hi, I came across your blog and was intrigued by your words, fell in love with the photos of the castle, but when you got to the dog, I knew I had to respond.
I have 3 bichons myself and yes, they are labor intensive when it comes to grooming. Miss a day and you have a mess, miss a week and you have matting so bad all you really can do is shave them down. I learned this when we took a week’s vacation and left them in a neighbor’s care. Never fear, the “wool” does grow back.
They are well worth the time it takes to brush them everyday. I have never had a dog who was so loving, kind and faithful. Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with the flea issue, for some reason I have never learned, we don’t have them here in the desert of the Southwest (U.S.)
Also, loved the poem, so true, so very true. Always knew there was some reason I married the (now ex-) lug. But the poem expresses it so well.
The book you made was beautiful and the idea of the storage box is a bit of genius.
KC