Joy At A Belfast Wedding

October 9, 2024October 10, 2024 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

The last weekend of September was one of life’s memorable high points. I’m still humming from the pleasure of that weekend during which our Youngest Son (YS) got married to a lovely Belfast woman who he has known for almost 10 years.

The tear-jerking (for me, anyway) formal ceremony itself was in the impressive Belfast City Hall. Before and after these formalities, there were great opportunities to meet up with the bride and grooms’ friends and family and to celebrate the marriage. There were weekend events in a hipster brewery bar, in a traditional central Belfast pub, at the newly married couple’s home and at an impeccably organized and delivered reception at Waterman House. The vast majority of our close family was there – including both our grandchildren. Jane and I loved every minute. I think the bride and groom had a rather special time too!

*^{Sun Shining, A Beautiful Building And A Happy Couple}*

Life can be wonderful (if you can avoid things like climate-change-accentuated weather catastrophe’s, poverty, wars, and ill health). I have always been a ‘half-empty’ person who worries about the news and the future. However, Jane would say that we need to live in and appreciate the current moments and certainly this Belfast wedding weekend was compelling encouragement to think that way.

Jane and I know how fortunate we are to be able to have experienced grandchildren and to see our sons married to such lovely people. It is now just Middle Son (MS) to go on the marriage front but he and his fiancée have already given us the privilege of Second Grandchild. He was a little marvel throughout the Belfast trip and celebrations. He was so calm as he was passed around the revellers and I was personally chuffed by the number of instant and gorgeous smiles I got from him during the weekend.

First Grandchild (FG) was a treat too. Although he struggled with my explanations of the concept of marriage, he fell further in love with the bride – perhaps that was because she was dressed a bit like an angel – and he loved the hugs he got from her.

We, and our two elder sons and their families, stayed at the ideally located, cool and very comfortable Bullitt Hotel. Our room was large enough for us to give Eldest Son and his wife a break by playing indoor games with FG. Jane played a card pairing game and we introduced him to the idea of paper planes. He played enthusiastically with one for ages; who needs manufactured toys!?

Jane also took FG off during the wedding reception since he was struggling with the noise levels and needed a break. Jane only just made it back in time to deliver her speech. I found a draft version of her speech on my phone in case I needed to step in but the Master of Ceremonies – a naturally funny and larger-than-life Australian friend of the now married couple – had the situation under control. Jane returned just in time to deliver perfectly. All the speeches including those from the bride’s parents and another Australian friend of the married couple were amusing and hit their mark.

We ate extremely well and Watermans Restaurant did a tremendous job of delivering four choices of three courses of food to so many very efficiently and effectively. The drinks flowed and the music and dancing started. As the music got louder so I spent more time in the adjacent alley so I could hear conversations with my ageing ears. My ageing knees didn’t prevent a bit of Dad-dancing though. However, I saw from subsequently released video that the dancing became increasingly rumbustious after Jane and I left the youngsters to it.

In between all the wedding related events we enjoyed the sunny weather and Belfast. Breakfast each day quickly settled into a routine of meeting with grandchildren and their parents at Established, a café we seem to visit during every Belfast trip. The food is simple but just right for me and the Americano coffee is great. We also had excellent lunches there and at General Merchants in Ormeau Road. Belfast is small relative to, say Bristol, London or Edinburgh but it has become well equipped with enough excellent, modern cafes and restaurants.

^{Belfast’s Botanic Gardens And Ulster Museum}

We wandered through the Botanic Gardens and visited the Ulster Museum again. Our intention was to visit an exhibition on Belfast political murals. That was closed so we diverted to another exhibition of textiles created around the world to illustrate conflict and humanitarian issues (“Threads of Empowerment: Conflict Textiles’ International Journey”).

*^{Inside The “Threads of Empowerment” Exhibition}*

*^{A Collective Catalonian Arpillera Called ‘Hands On’ Showing Community Self Help With Over 200 Characters – One Of The More Positive Pieces On Show}*

We had seen something similar at Kettles Yard, Cambridge about a year ago. That had exhibited Palestinian embroidery. This Ulster Museum exhibition covered a wider international scope. Many of the works focused on South American conflicts and especially ‘The Disappeared’ but the most moving works for me were reflections on the Holocaust by Heidi Drahota, a German (below).

The museum has an excellent ceramics section and a very good permanent exhibition covering the Northern Irish Troubles which we saw last visit. We saved revisiting the latter for another trip so as not to risk the upbeat mood of the weekend. Not that much could have dented that.

*^{Inside Ulster Museum: The Ceramics Section}*

It was great that the wider family made the effort to come to the wedding, it was great to meet or re-meet the married couple’s friends, it was great that the sun shone and that the whole event passed off in lovely locations without a blemish. It was a perfect Belfast wedding and we are very happy that YS and his partner have (finally) ‘tied the knot’ and that we have more visits to Northern Ireland in prospect.

*^{Views Of Belfast – We’ll Be Back Soon!}*

Roman Wedding

September 25, 2024 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

The wedding of one of Jane’s nieces – the set piece event of our Italy trip – followed sharp on the heels of our family holiday near Orvieto in Italy. We travelled south to Rome and dropped off First Grandchild and his parents with a couple of goodbye sniffles and sobs. We then made our way to our Airbnb in central Rome to grab a bite to eat and change into our wedding garb.

The formal element of the wedding was held in the City Hall in the heart of Rome and adjoining the Piazza Del Campidoglio. We gathered in a rather sumptuous room decorated in a deep red with several big flags and banners. It was an impressive backdrop to a lovely bi-lingual ceremony in which Italian law set out the obligations of both bride and groom with regard to, among other things, living arrangements, looking out for one another and bringing up children. There was much cheering, primarily and initially from the Italian groom’s side of the family, to underline the Italian-flavoured drama of the event.

^{Piazza Del Campidoglio (With The City Hall To The Right)}

The reception was on the outskirts of Rome in and around a lovely old house which was accommodating the now married couple their closest relatives. The food and drinks had been carefully selected by the groom and the local wines were various and, I thought, very good indeed. The buffet of antipasto was splendid. I probably overindulged given that this was followed by a lovely four-course meal but the spiced cold pork on offer was to die for and I didn’t hold back.

^{Arriving At The Wedding Reception}

The wedding speeches were delivered in Italian, English and Madagascan to reflect the roots of the main protagonists and their best men and women. Printed transcriptions of these helped us understand the humour and the emotions in these speeches and they all added value.

Then, just as the evening chill was starting to become noticeable – especially for the relatively lightly-clad women at the party – there was dancing. Following the initial wedding dance standards there was, as expected, an even more ebullient period of Madagascan music and dancing. This included the Madagascan equivalent of the Conga executed with much enthusiasm. The Madagascans in Jane’s wider family do love a good dance!

DJ’s took over and it was clear that, for some, it would be a long night of dance, song and drinking. We grabbed a cab just before midnight and before my alcohol unit count became innumerable. The whole day had been long but very memorable and enjoyable.

Next day, before our evening flight home, Jane and I did some walking and sightseeing around central Rome. We had last been here together in the 1980’s before we had children. I missed out on a subsequent visit with Jane due to pressure of work and a ‘persuasive’ boss so it was lovely to have another opportunity to see some of the iconic Roman buildings in great weather.

*^{The Trevi Fountain – One Of Rome’s Many Tourist Magnets}*

*^{The Parthenon (With Tourists Like Me!)}*

We wove through the massed crowds of tourists to see the Trevi Fountain and the Parthenon. We strolled further afield to towards Piazza Navona take in the atmosphere and revisit the fountains there. Unfortunately, these fountains, like many monuments in Rome, are currently under restoration in advance of the 2025 Rome Jubilee. We satisfied ourselves with other sights and appreciated them in the early Autumn Roman sunshine.

In the afternoon, I spent a couple of hours meandering around the Colosseum and the large area of various ruins and buildings to the immediate west. Much of this has been closed off to the non-paying public since I was last in Rome. I couldn’t bear the idea of the queuing in crowds and heat for tickets and entrance. Anyway, there was still more than enough to see for free before my knee started to complain and I needed a rest.

^{More Rome!}

Indeed, a highlight was entering a church – I failed to note which one – which had some lovely baroque music playing, slumping onto a pew and relaxing to the point of a brief doze. Bathed in all the memories of the wedding and the last week with the family, I felt chilled out and content.

*^{The Church Where I Dozed – Beautiful and Restful}*

With that, I made my way back to the Airbnb and then, with Jane, to our flight home. Even the train strike causing cancellation of trains to the airport couldn’t shake my feeling of well-being. It had been a very good week indeed.

A Stag In Active August

August 26, 2024 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

Retirement in August has felt busy so far. There have been several separate events to enjoy. In between these, I have been walking while listening to political podcasts, tidying our field and garden, visiting the local recycling tip with multiple dumpy bags of green (mainly thistle, bramble and bindweed) waste, and enjoying our local community hub: the village pub.

I visited my Dad and sister in Nottingham for the first time since the end of his innovative and apparently very successful cancer treatment. I’m really proud of him; he has stuck with all the hospital visits, the injections and the infusions and they have not only benefitted him, but furthered cancer research. It was great to catch up with them and, for a change, win at our games of Mahjong.

*^{Dad Ringing The Hospital ‘Ward Bell’ To Celebrate His End Of Treatment}*

The football season has restarted and, during my brief stay in Nottingham, I managed to get to Boston in Lincolnshire to see my dear Forest Green Rovers treat me to a rare, stonking win. After two successive, distressing relegations, we seem to have found our natural level again.

*^{Boston Football Club: Nickname The Pilgrims Because So Many Original Pilgrim Fathers Migrated To The Americas From Boston}*

Whilst in Boston I had time to climb the church tower and take in some aerial views of Boston and the very flat surrounding landscape. The church is large and the tower is impressive. The port and its surrounding sluice gate system was also substantial but is now looking run down. Indeed, much of the town looked as though it needs a face lift.

*^{Views Across Boston, The Port And The Church}*

*^{An Attractive Part Of Boston Next to The River Witham With The Tide In}*

Also in August, Jane and I have visited Bath, dropped in on Second Grandchild in Bristol, hosted Youngest Son (YS) as he has worked his way through his busy month of multiple stag dos, weddings and video shoots, and attended a talk on artistic gardening in Stroud.

Amid all this activity the most unusual event for me was the opportunity to attend part of YS’s own Stag Weekend. That was a lot of fun – even though I opted out of the most boisterous activities and those requiring the heaviest drinking penalties. It was lovely to be invited and great to catch up with old friends and meet a few of YS’s best mates who I didn’t already know.

Middle Son kindly gave up his bed to allow me a relatively comfortable, though rather hungover, sleep in a large tent also shared by Oldest Son; it was my first experience of something resembling camping since YS was at Primary School and a lot more restful than then!

The main purpose of a visit to Bath was to equip YS and myself with light suits for YS’s wedding and for the wedding of one of Jane’s nieces in Italy next month. With that aspect of the trip satisfactorily achieved, I visited The Holburne Museum to see a Henry Moore exhibition.

This was a small exhibition of Henry Moore’s small works. Many of his familiar themes such as mother and child, helmets, family groups, reclining figures in stone, wood and metal were covered in a single room. The breadth was admirable but it took a while to get used to the delicacy of the work having been used to the more massive Henry Moore sculptures I have seen in the past. In truth, only a few of the displays in this exhibition really stood out for me but a couple were lovely and it was worth the visit.

On the way out I popped into a separate exhibition in the Museum by Mr Doodle (aka Sam Cox). He is clearly into fun art and the room completely covered in his ‘doodles’ (see below) certainly raised a smile.

Closer to home we went to a talk on ‘Where Gardening Meets Art’ at the Museum in the Park in Stroud. The Museum has a lovely terraced and walled garden that I hadn’t visited since shortly after it was built and planted several years ago. The sun was shining and the garden looked splendid.

*^{The Walled Garden At Museum In The Park, Stroud}*

The talk itself was preceded by an exhibition of gardening and plant inspired artworks by Cleo Mussi, who’s work we know well, and Fiona Haser Bizony, founder of Electric Daisy Flower Farm. I liked several of Cleo’s mosaics, especially the simpler ones, but we quickly moved outside to the garden in evening sun and a small bar offering locally brewed beer.

*^{Cleo Mussi’s Hands Mosaics At Museum In The Park, Stroud}*

Jane had booked the evening and I didn’t know what to expect from the talk. In the event, it was efficiently introduced and a thoroughly entertaining. The main speaker was Charlotte Molesworth who has a renowned garden in Benendon, Kent. She was terrific. She had a lot of good sense to share and did it very amusingly. Her anecdotes were warm and lovely and she had a great answer to every question. The whole evening exceeded my expectations severalfold.

*^{Charlotte Molesworth Speaking About Where Gardening Meets Art}*

August – and, unfortunately, summer – is now drawing to a close. The final week will be punctuated by further visits to The Hog, our local pub, for its Summer Bank Holiday Hogfest (a beer, music and food festival) and then the monthly quiz. I am also looking forward hugely to Forest Green Rovers’ first home game of the season on the club’s brand-new, hybrid (5% plastic) pitch.

But then my thoughts will turn to our family holiday in Italy prior to Jane’s niece’s wedding in Rome. I can’t wait to see the two grandchildren together amongst our sons and their partners. It is going to be a real treat to have everyone together.

Slivers of Summer

June 17, 2024 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

Overall, the weather during the last few weeks has been rather disappointing. The meadow grass in our field that usually waves gently in sunlight at this time of year has, instead, collapsed in the windy wet. The cool and damp spring and early summer has meant growth of vegetable seedlings has been slow. Many have been eradicated by slugs and snails who have revelled in the damp conditions. Fortunately, there have been several lovely days of sun and some of those have been when it has mattered most.

*^{Roses In Rain: Along The Permissive Footpath Through Ruskin Mill Into Town}*

For example, we had a lovely sunny afternoon during which we were able to visit Second Grandchild (SG) in Bristol and to help his parents with their garden. We got a lot done – though there is more potential to fill the vegetable and flower beds with a bit of home produce and colour and we look forward to helping again there. Having said that, the highlight of this trip was having the chance to give SG a bath. He has discovered the joy of moving his little limbs and they didn’t stop threshing throughout his little wash.

We also had a relatively warm and dry evening for a wedding party in Kew in west London with some past neighbours of ours. It was a lovely celebration of their wedding – some 14 years after first meeting – held in their garden with opportunities to meet a number of other old friends from our time in Kew. The drinking started early and finished very late and I can’t remember when I last had such a bad hangover as a souvenir of an entertaining evening.

I have had to pick and choose my moments for local walks in the sunshine. On one of those sunny days, Jane and I went to a couple of National Garden Scheme open gardens a couple of valleys away from our home. One of these was very good; the other, not so much. But regardless of the quality, it is always interesting to see a slightly different part of the Stroud Valleys and to have a nose about in someone else’s back yard.

^{National Gardens Scheme Gardens In France Lynch, Gloucestershire}

Most importantly, despite the gloomy BBC weather forecast for the weekend, we had good, chilly but bright weather for our latest trip to Edinburgh to see First Grandchild (FG) and his parents. As usual, we were treated to great hospitality, FG was on fine form and Edinburgh was full of interesting things to do.

*^{Little Boy, Big Gunnera In The Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh}*

In between our compliance with FG’s constant demands to ‘play a little bit’ we visited a few art exhibitions, took FG as usual to the outstanding Royal Botanic Gardens and National Museum of Scotland, walked the streets of Stockbridge and along the Water of Leith, popped into our favourite bar (Spry) and had a lively evening out with FG eating pizza at MILK.

Beyond the wonderful entrance hall of the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland was a recent rehanging of the main hall of portraits that focused on modern portrait creation. Many of the paintings and photographs were new to me and several were impressive. The gallery is quiet, compact and one of my favourites.

*^{Portrait Of John Burnside (Scottish Poet) By Alan J Lawson, National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh}*

We also visited the National Gallery of Scotland. Walking to it across Princes Street gave us a great view of the hordes of ‘’Swifties’ heading off by bus and tram to Murrayfield for one of three concerts Taylor Swift was holding over the weekend. The sun was shining but there was a cool wind. I felt sympathy for the majority of fans who had diligently dressed up in extravagant boots and light sparkly skirts and tops – as Swifties apparently do – given the expectation of a big drop in temperature while they queued to get back into town after the concert and night drew in.

*^{The Current Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition At The National Gallery Of Scotland}*

In the gallery was a showpiece ‘national treasure’: a painting by Vermeer that had been put on special show to commemorate the 200^th year of the National Gallery. It is lovely of course but we spent most of our time in the new gallery extension and among the pictures by The Glasgow Boys (and Girls). The new gallery is a wonderful, light space with great views (see below) and, on a Friday, not crowded despite the multitude outside waiting to get to see Taylor Swift.

To complete our cultural ride, we visited a lovely little exhibition in Leith. This was in an old, small but elegant building – an ex-pharmacy apparently – owned by Mote102 as a charming pop-up space for shops and artists. It had been partially restored so that some of its original (Georgian or Victorian) features were visible and it was a good fit for the work on show.

*^{Works By Gail Turpin At Mote102, Leith}*

The artist on show – and present for a short talk – is an old acquaintance of Jane’s called Gail Turpin. Jane had found out that she was now based in Edinburgh from the bride at the wedding celebration we had attended a couple of weeks previously. All three, and a few other friends, went on an eventful holiday in Greece a few decades ago.

After Jane had reminisced with Gail about that, I perused the textiles and drawing on show and then left Jane to the talk while I found a small present for FG and parked myself in Spry Wine Bar.

*^{Another Part of Gail Turpin’s Exhibition, Leith}*

We travelled to and from Edinburgh by train this time. That had its benefits; the journey was an hour shorter despite a train cancellation and we had booked seats so it was a relaxed journey. Train cancellations are not so frustrating when one is retired and there aren’t meetings to get to ad hard deadlines to meet. Also, while in Edinburgh, Jane didn’t have to keep thinking about moving the car to avoid parking restrictions (I rarely get involved in this aspect), we avoided car parking costs and didn’t have to worry about charging the car up.

*^{Waverley Railway Station, Edinburgh}*

However, despite the avoidance of car parking costs, the train is a more expensive option. Also, it seems that, on this occasion, there was a hidden downside in that the packed train was carrying the coronavirus. Jane caught it and has had a few rough days as a result. Fortunately, for the second time when Jane has had Covid, I seem to have dodged the bullet. Lucky me not (so far) to have never caught the dreaded Covid when so many others have!

After An Irish Wedding

September 10, 2023 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

I got up a little gingerly on the morning after the wedding. My alcohol unit count and monthly quota had taken something of a battering the day before and my head was a little fuzzy. It was a blessing then that the relatives of the bride and groom had laid on a lovely lunch with more drinks, at the wedding reception venue at Ballycurry. I had enough scope in my alcohol unit quota for a ‘hair of the dog’ or two.

By now, after a damp start, the weather was gorgeous and the manor house and estate looked splendid. After an excellent buffet lunch, we had the opportunity to see one of the recent ventures the bride’s brother has initiated to diversify revenues into the estate farm. This was a substantial film set that has been used by the BBC and, latterly, for streamed series such as Vikings and The Last Duel. The scale of the set was impressive and now the trick will be to find new ways of using it for further dramatic series.

*^{The Film Set With The Estate House Beyond}*

The next day, our last full day in Ireland, again started with dreary weather. We considered abandoning ill-formed plans to visit local gardens and to visit Dublin’s galleries and museums instead. But as we left our Airbnb, blue sky appeared and we headed east over the mountains again to Glendalough.

This is an ancient monastic settlement, set in a glacial valley, and now a big draw for tourists. We arrived just in time to find a parking spot among hundreds of cars and a fleet of large coaches. The ruins of the towers, monuments and chapels are very picturesque. The quaintness of the scene was enhanced by the presence of semi-tame deer mooching between the gravestones despite the crowds.

*^{Deer Amongst The Gravestones At Glendalough}*

Rather than loiter among the throng of tourists, or embark on the suggested nearby woodland walks, we headed off to lunch at Powerscourt Gardens.

*^{Powerscourt Gardens (Including, Apparently, The Longest Herbaceous Border in Ireland)}*

The mansion at Powerscourt was destroyed by fire in 1974 and has been restored since as a tourist destination with a few high-quality shops (including a couple of Jane’s favourites) and a restaurant. We were able to bag a restaurant seat by the window overlooking the 47 acre expanse of formal gardens and arboretum. The view was great and the food was excellent quality and value.

*^{Powerscourt Gardens And Great Sugar Loaf Mountain}*

We worked lunch off a bit with an extended walk around the gardens. These are varied in format and large enough to absorb the large number of visitors, especially as we moved away from the main building. The sun was creating lovely dappled shade, the borders were full of colour, bees and butterflies, and the views were splendid. I enjoyed our relaxed time at Powerscourt very much.

Our penultimate excursion (apart from one final, smooth charging up of the car) was again to the coast. We visited Bray Head with the intention of walking along the coastal path for a while. Unfortunately, this was shut due to a recent rockfall so we ventured up towards Bray Head. This was a steep and stony climb that, until we reached the top, afforded none of the expected views of Bray or the coast to the north.

^{Looking South and North West From Bray Head}

Eventually I made it to the top of the tree line to get some long views up the coast and across to the Wicklow Mountains but I eschewed the final scramble to the imperious, concrete Bray Head Cross which was built in 1950 and from which, I imagine, the vistas are even more spectacular.

*^{Bray Head Cross – It’s Bigger Than It Looks Here}*

Jane had one more thing on her bucket list for the trip before we left for Roslare and the ferry uncomfortably early the following morning. That was to visit a traditional, rural Irish pub. We popped into the one nearest to our Airbnb, Brennans in Kilteel, which was just inside Kildare rather than Wicklow.

*^{An Authentic But Rather Empty ‘Brennans’, Kilteel, At 6pm On A Monday Evening}*

As was befitting, I had a pint of Guinness (which took me fractionally over my 100 alcohol unit quota for the month but which was very nice and creamy). In a nod to our normal UK-routine we completed the Guardian newspaper Quick Crossword over our drinks. Then we headed back to our Airbnb to finish the Netflix Scandi-noir crime series we had started earlier in our trip, polished off the remaining chocolate and crisps, and had an early night. It was a pleasantly chilled evening to complete our busy day and our brief stay in Ireland!

Before An Irish Wedding

September 8, 2023 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

At the end of August, Jane and I travelled by road and ferry to County Wicklow in Ireland to attend, and help celebrate, the wedding of a granddaughter of Jane’s aunt. This was a great opportunity to see a part of Ireland and a useful test of driving (and, critically, charging up) our electric car in a foreign country. We had decided to tack a free day on either side of the two days of the wedding events so we could get a feel for County Wicklow and space out the two 12-hour journeys to and from Ireland.

^{Leaving Fishguard, Approaching Roslare. The Ferry Trip Reminded Me Of My Childhood Trips To The Isle of Wight}

The only time I had been to the Republic of Ireland before was for a short conference in Dublin. I only really remember that trip for it being the only time in my working career that I was ever late for the start of a conference due to drink-induced oversleeping (I had previously prided myself on turning up no matter what). During this latest visit, the drinking was much more moderate, the wedding celebrations were lovely and we had a very good time.

We stayed in an Airbnb on the west side of the Wicklow Mountains – the opposite side from the location of the wedding. That meant more driving for Jane (since she didn’t really trust me in the narrow lanes) but it enabled us to see much more of County Wicklow and the eastern edge of County Kildare. Having our own car allowed a comfortable familiarity and charging it up was relatively easy, although more expensive than in the UK.

Our Airbnb was in a renovated and repurposed farm outbuilding amid a lovely garden that is periodically open to the public – June Blake’s Garden. At the time of our visit the flower beds were packed with colour. The dahlias (I have come to love this species of plant) were particularly gorgeous. It was lovely to stroll through the garden and among the restored farm buildings whenever we went out to the car or just to put the recycling out.

*^{June Blake’s Garden, Blessington, Wicklow}*

Armed with information from the Airbnb host, the bride to be and a travel blog I follow by someone living in Ireland (Marie at HopsSkipsandJumps), we ad-libbed our itinerary and set off on our first free morning to the National Botanic Gardens at Kilmacurragh. The meadows, trees and one long flower bed that was full of interesting plants and masses of bees and butterflies, were lovely and the weather was kind.

*^{National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh}*

We then headed to the town of Wicklow for a perusal of the county town and lunch. Already we were finding the Irish people very friendly and, as we sat on the quayside with our fish and chips, a quip from a passer-by, “ahh, fine dining!”, made us giggle.

*^{Wicklow Town Docks – Perfect Spot For Fish And Chips!}*

We took a look at the remains of a Norman castle, (The Black Castle) on a promontory overlooking the town. We loved the views along the coast in gorgeous sunshine.

^{Views From The Black Castle, Wicklow Town}

Jane wanted to visit the hand weaving mill and shop at the ancient and pretty rural settlement of Avoca. Having negotiated our way down some very narrow roads to Avoca and wandered around the shop, we returned to the coast for a wander along one of the long and surprisingly empty beaches on the Wicklow coast.

We then headed home equipped with bits of fruit, nuts, chocolate and crisps for an evening in front of Netflix. To be honest we didn’t eat very healthily until we got to the wedding reception but we did enjoy The Lørenskog Disappearance, which is yet another European crime thriller in which we seem to specialise.

Next morning was rather grey and drizzly. We ventured a quick walk and a breath of fresh but damp air around a section of the nearby Blessington Lakes. These were formed over 50 years ago when the Poulaphoca Dam was built.

*^{Blessington Lakes And Low Cloud Over The Wicklow Mountains}*

Fearing rain, we headed back to the Airbnb to change into our glad rags. In my case that involved squeezing rather inelegantly into a morning suit that I hadn’t worn for decades and that I first wore at my own wedding over 38 years ago. It was a little tight to say the least!

Then we were off to the wedding ceremony. The wedding service, in Nun’s Cross Church, Killiskey, was lovely and cheering. The weather perked up for the photos on the way out and we made our way to the wedding reception.

This was in a giant marquee directly in front of an impressive country house owned by the bride’s family. The estate is managed by her aunt and uncle and, latterly, her brother. The setting and arrangements for the reception were both marvellous. The marquee was laid out for around 170 guests and we all enjoyed an evening of plentiful drinks, lovely food (especially the local lamb), dancing, mingling and celebrating.

It was a late night by the time we got back to the Airbnb, but it had been a thoroughly memorable day.

Fragmented Summer

August 16, 2023 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

June this year was wonderfully sunny. The vegetables would have appreciated a little more rain but July certainly made up for that. Indeed, July and, so far, August have often felt autumnal and summer has only come in fits and starts. The sunny periods may have been intermittent but maybe that has helped us to appreciate the sun more on the occasions when it has shone on the unusually verdant countryside.

*^{Intermittent Bright Summer Sunshine On My Daily Walks Into Town}*

Our summer has sometimes felt as fragmented as the weather. The lack of any ties to school holidays and, much more recently, my retirement has meant that we don’t tend to book blocks of holiday through the summer months. As a result, we don’t have centrepiece diary commitments to schedule around. Instead, we have moved towards multiple shorter trips including those to our sons in Belfast and Edinburgh, plus a couple of day visits to Nottingham to check on my Dad during a period of ill-health.

^{The Wonderful Variations Of London’s Skylines}

Retirement means flexibility too. I was able a few weeks ago to piggy back, at relatively short notice, onto the back of a visit Jane was making to London to see a friend of hers. We could share the driving a bit and I caught up with an old friend of my own. I also took the opportunity to visit an exhibition of the sort that was part of my routine when we had a flat or sons in London. I miss those exhibition trips a lot. This one was a visit to the rather wonderful White Cube in Bermondsey.

*^{Anselm Kiefer At The White Cube Gallery, Bermondsey}*

I have been to this gallery several times and one of the most memorable visits was to see an exhibition by Anselm Kiefer. I wrote briefly here about that back in January 2020 just before Covid disrupted things. The monumentalism and scale of that exhibition is repeated in his latest works at The White Cube. I loved it and the White Cube spaces were perfect for it!

Kiefer’s works this time were based around the novel by James Joyce called Finnegan’s Wake. The novel is apparently (I’ve not tried to read it) a fractured mix of dream world and grim reality that deploys invented and combined words. The language of the novel is strewn across most of the works on show. While most of the phrases and sentences are nonsensical in this context, they added somehow to the mystery and sense of a dystopia as I moved from room to room.

*^{Detail From Various Anselm Kiefer Works At The White Cube Gallery}*

Goodness knows how the White Cube is funded – the exhibition was, as usual, free – and I fear removal of some of the works will require repolishing of the extensive polished concrete gallery floors. To be honest the huge piles of debris in a couple of the exhibition rooms were, for all their scale, harder to appreciate than the pictures on the walls. These were dense art works including rural scenes that worked for me close up and from observation across the huge rooms.

*^{‘Woman Will Water The Wild World Over’ By Anselm Kiefer}*

Those rooms were linked by a vast corridor stuffed with huge, dusty vitrines and crude floor-to-ceiling shelves full of… well, what were they full of? Just stuff! It was like walking through a museum of detritus but it was strangely compelling and all underlined by the sheer scale of the thing.

Another recent highlight has been a visit to Cambridge where I once – several decades ago – studied. I had not been back for quite a while and the reason this time was the wedding of my Best Man (BM). He lives nearby and we took up an Airbnb (which turned out to be outstanding) in his village and travelled into Cambridge twice: once for the formal registry element of the wedding and then again for a ceremony and reception held in BM’s and my old college, Peterhouse.

^{Our Outstanding Airbnb (Just the Left-Hand Portion Of The Building) From The Grounds}

^{Peterhouse Main Quadrangle and Chapel (Left) And My Old H Staircase In Gisborne Court (Right)}

The whole weekend was a delightful mix of ceremony, catch up with a few old friends and meetings with a number of new acquaintances – both local and international – who were very interesting and easy to talk to. They really helped to make the whole weekend event lovely. The event generated some nostalgia too as the reception dinner was held in the main Peterhouse Dining Hall where, about 50 years ago, I ate college meals every day. I didn’t appreciate the history or the grandeur of the college buildings half as much when I was living there as I did during this fleeting visit.

One other prompt for a less welcome bit of recollection was that Jane, and a few others at the wedding, contracted Covid there. Fortunately, I have avoided it again but it was a reminder that the pandemic was not long ago and that damned virus is still very much around.

During our stay in and around Cambridge, Jane and I went to Kettle’s Yard to see an exhibition of Palestinian embroidery over the last century that Jane had read about. Even someone like me with no real understanding of the intricacies of embroidery could appreciate the delightful patterns and muted colours of the clothing on display in the first room of everyday women’s wear.

*^{Palestinian Embroidery At Kettles Yard; Everyday Wear In The 1920’s}*

The exhibition went on to show more formal and more ornate wear and the way each local area had its distinctive styles and motifs. The exhibition then tracked the changes in Palestine embroidery brought about by history since the Second World War.

*^{Palestinian Embroidery: Formal Wear (1921)}*

First the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, the subsequent displacement of about 70,000 Palestinians, and then the 1967 Six-Day War all disrupted and then broke much of the cottage industry of embroidery crafting in the Palestinian villages. Enforced movement of Palestinians mixed up the local pockets of unique styling. Materials such as silks from France became unattainable and were replaced by cheaper products. Small handicraft workshops were often replaced by factories. The end results, outside of a few traditional, small-scale operations, became bland and almost garish.

Finally, following and during the Intifadas of the 1980s and 1990s the embroidery became a means of protest. The exhibition showed how the defiance of the Palestinians led them to incorporate the Palestinian flag into their embroidery designs as a symbol of resistance.

The exhibition was an interesting mix of video and clothing, and of art and history.

*^{Palestinian Dress Post Intifada With The Palestinian Flag Embedded In Designs}*

Back at home the advent of the new football season, together with the Women’s Football World Cup, is starting to take up time at Forest Green Rovers’ football stadium and in front of the telly.

*^{Evening Football At Forest Green Rovers – We Lost (Again) But It Was A Nice Sunset}*

Also, we have entertained Eldest Son, his wife and First Grandchild (FG) with a number of relatives who were keen to meet the little one. I had a great time with FG and my phone is full of video of him that Jane and I watch on repeat. Now we are looking forward to entertaining Youngest Son, his partner and some of their (and our) friends from their time in Australia. Then we are off to Ireland for another wedding. For a quietly retired chap like me, summer may feel a bit fragmented but it also feels pretty full!

A Wedding and a Birthday

November 27, 2022August 4, 2025 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

Amid much happiness, our Eldest Son (ES) and his partner were married a couple of weekends ago. Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I had a lovely time in Edinburgh celebrating this huge event with them. What made it extra special for us was that ES and his (now) wife pared down the events of the weekend to a very intimate affair. Everyone who took part was someone very close to the marrying couple. That meant that every conversation with everyone in attendance felt meaningful.

The Registry Office was a grand building with pleasantly decorated rooms and an overseer of the process who achieved the right balance of formality and relaxed bonhomie. First Grandchild (FG), was rather unwell but nonetheless, was well behaved, wasn’t sick on anyone’s dress and loved playing with the room’s long curtains. ES looked smart and the bride looked stunning. As they shared their home-made vows, my tears welled up; their personalisation of the exchange was really moving.

Later in the afternoon and well into the evening, a wedding reception was held at the married couple’s new flat. The flat looked great and was just the right size for a party of about 30 enthusiastic relatives and friends. A few of the latter were fellow new parents who brought contemporaries of FG which added to the lovely, informal conviviality. Everyone was very happy.

*^{Lovely Wedding Reception Table Layout In The Married Couple’s Flat}*

The mantelpieces and tables had been beautifully decorated and set out by ES’s new parents in law. The caterers knew what they were doing (they had been under close instruction from ES’s wife), the food was excellent, and the drinks and conversation flowed. FG was excited by the hubbub and rallied at the important moments to be giggling sweetness itself, despite his illness. The speeches were short and heartfelt and the intimacy of the event shone throughout. We loved it – not only the fact that ES was now married, but that he and his new wife (especially!) had organised what seemed to be an ideal way of doing it.

*^{First Grandchild (FG) Checking The Wedding Presents}*

On the following day, we refreshed with a sunny morning walk around the Royal Botanic Garden and then met up with a very small number of close relatives for a wonderful lunch at Timberyard. LSW and I had been there once before and had been very impressed by the food, decor and ambience. We were very impressed again. It was the centrepiece to another lovely day.

^{Walking In Sunny Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh With Youngest And Middle Sons And Their Partners}

My Dad and sister went back to rest at their hotel. It had been marvellous that they had been able to come and they had made the most of their visit to Edinburgh by taking in a couple of art exhibitions as well as the wedding events. Meanwhile, LSW and I retreated to the Air BnB that we had rented for ourselves, our Middle and Youngest Son and their partners. There, we allowed our emotions to settle quietly in front of a second rate romantic comedy and assorted crisps. What a couple of days!

And then the fun went on! The Monday following the wedding was FG’s first birthday. Unfortunately FG was still unwell and relatively subdued but he enjoyed early use of some of the presents and a trip to one of the local playgrounds. Unlike him, we will remember his first birthday for ever.

*^{Wedding Cake Cleverly Converting To Birthday Cake (FG Loves Penguins!)}*

We left Edinburgh late that afternoon leaving ES and wife to ponder how to manage FG’s illness while both are holding down a job working from home on the back of little sleep. At that point we assumed that the conundrum they faced would be only for a day or two – it turned out to be another week. Oh, the joys of parenthood!

Meanwhile, LSW and I set off for Dunkeld on the River Tay, on the southern edge of the Highlands for rather more rest and relaxation than the newly married couple were going to get.

Wedding and Rye

August 27, 2018August 27, 2018 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

Before this last week, I hadn’t been to a wedding for years. LSW and I are just not in the right age group to be invited, although I suppose our sons may deliver on that score at some point and Middle Son (MS) seems to go to a wedding every other weekend. Anyway, this week I got to go to one!

It was the wedding of the daughter of one of Long-Suffering Wife’s (LSW’s) friends. I didn’t know anyone there apart from the mother of the bride but it was as lovely as weddings are supposed to be and we met some interesting new acquaintances. As very peripheral members of the wedding party it was good fun working out who knew and was related to whom, especially as it wasn’t straightforward.

Pictures From A Cotswold Wedding (At The Matara Centre)

The weather and the wedding location, just a few miles from us, were excellent. The itinerary started with the ceremony and, after the inevitable photo shoot during which LSW and I had a walk around the grounds (with LSW contending with high heels on the grass), there was a well lubricated lunch. There was then an interlude during which several attendees hoovered up the remaining lunchtime wine and LSW and I were able to slip back home for tea and a snooze. We then returned for the evening event amongst the now swaying throng for a buffet dinner of tasty, slow roasted goat.

The day was relaxed and it looked like everyone enjoyed themselves – some more noisily that others – and certainly LSW and I did. The event also gave me a reason to resurrect my suit, tie and cuff links which I hadn’t worn since I retired well over a year ago. It’s a good job I did keep one suit following retirement and, after a bit of dusting down, was pleased to find that it still fits.

One couple we met at the evening wedding event were able to give us some advice on holiday locations in the Balkans. We have settled on Split in Croatia for our next, short trip – squeezed in between vital football fixtures, LSW’s book group commitments and the village fete. If we like that, then we may try a longer break in the Balkans next summer or in 2020 (LSW’s big birthday year) in a villa to which we might be able to attract our sons for a family holiday.

It’s fun to be doing all this holiday planning. However, there is some nervousness for me associated with our Split trip in that we have left it late to book and so had to stray from the normal ‘boutique hotel’ type. The small apartment we have taken was effectively my choice. LSW normally gets her way on hotels so I’m going to be in trouble (“dead” was her word) if this one isn’t smart, comfortable and clean enough.

There was another interesting event this week….. We went to dinner with two friends in the village. They are innovative and creative and it is always inspiring to meet up with them and, especially, to visit their house, goats, chickens and garden. They run a small business called Hortus Heart and we always find what they have to say about nature and biodynamic farming fascinating even though it is outside our normal way of thinking. They announced shortly after arrival that there would be ‘an activity’ and my heart momentarily s tripped since I was dreading having to create something. It turned out to be an enjoyably therapeutic job of cutting the heads off a couple of sheafs of rye together. How I love tasks like that!

Cutting Rye Together

While on the subject of tasks, having finished the painting of the TV room woodwork as reported last week, I am now onto other long-standing items on my to do list. I finally did my tax return, applied a rather ‘Heath Robinson’ solution to fix some overflowing guttering and created a pile of chopped wood! These achievements represent a small dent in a long task list.

Chopping Wood: Before and After (Remarkably, Without Being Stiff Next Day)

My Retirement Journey

I've Retired! What Next?

Weddings