It was a grey start. And at breakfast I got something, probably  a bit of bacon stuck between my teeth that no amount of brushing could dislodge.  So my main memory of the morning was looking for a chemist so that I could buy some dental floss.  We all had things that we needed to get before the wedding, Alyson needed to get new shoes and a handbag for the ceremony, whilst Geoff wanted to get a thimble with Fishguard written on it for his father.  Other members of the group just wanted to wander around for a few hours before the main event kicked off.

As the morning progressed, the weather sland hang it up, slowly improved. The sky was visibly lightening and by noon the Sun was breaking through the clouds and I was certain that by the time of the wedding, there would be blue skies.

Time to get ready.  The first thing I had done on arrival at Fishguard was to take the suit out of my bag so that there would be no creases in it.  Not sure how many times I have worn this suit, probably less than a dozen times, to weddings or to funerals, though it was bought for my graduation.  A nice light blue shirt and suitable blue tie completed the ensemble.

The Tara Hotel was a short walk from the Holy Name Church, so it seemed like a logical place to rendezvous before the ceremony. I could hear activity outside my window, The Groom had arrived, with the Best Man an photographs were being taken.  I went downstairs and started snapping as well.  One of my mother’s usual complaints is that I never have enough photographs of myself whenever I go anywhere.  Always lots of nice photos of other people, but never ones of me.  So I asked someone to take one of me in my suit, and then asked Jaime if she would have a p,hoto with me.  She said that I had better not caption it as “Me and my Date”.  My immediate thought was that I really did not want her mother to kill me, so that was never going to happen.  I told her that a caption of “Me and my Daughter” would be more appropriate, but again, I don’t think Mel, Jaime’s mother would be best pleased with that either, and the suggestion went down like a cup of sick with Jaime herself.

Anyway, it was time to head off to the Church.  The ceremony was due to start at 2pm, but I arrived at the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church in plenty of time.  Russell, the Groom was doing his best to stay calm, be his usual happy go lucky self.  However, it was obvious that he was nervous, suffering from all the niggling little paranoias that people experience on such special days.  All the things that it was far too late to do anything about.  Just sit back and let the day go where ever it want to go.

At just before 2pm, I ma de my way into the Church and sat down and awaited the arrival of the Bride.

Here are some of the photographs from the wedding. The first group is from the before the ceremony.

1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7.

8. 9.

10. 11. 12.
Captions:

1. Alyson Willliams and Jaime MacDonald
2. Geoff Owens
3. Me outside the Tara Hotel
4. Andy Grant
5. Jaime and me outside the Tara Hotel
6. Andy Hill (Best Man),Russell Moseley (Groom), Geoff Owens (Usher) and Sam Hill
7. Sam Hill
8. Russell and Andy H
9. Andy Hill (Best Man),Russell Moseley (Groom), Geoff Owens (Usher) and Sam Hill at the Church
10. Russell’s Dad, Russell and Russell’s Brother
11. Mel Hill and Maria’s sister (Bridesmaids)

The last few weddings I have been to have been civil ceremonies, so it was nice to be attending a proper service, in a Church.  Not that there is legally any difference between the two ceremonies, but there seems to be something more permanent with a Church service. Maria arrived with the organ playing Parsell’s Trumpet Voluntary and the service went without a hitch.  Maria sounded so happy and it would have taken a very hard heart not to share in that happiness.  Then it was all over, the organist piped up the Ode to Friendship from Beethoven’s Ninth Syphony, and everyone made their way out of the Church, for the first lot of official photographs, and some unofficial ones from the congregation.

1. 2. 3.

Back in the Midde Ages, before the wedding everyone attending was meant to fast and pray before the service.  The meal afterwards would break that fast, which is why the meal at a Wedding Reception is known as a Wedding Breakfast.  By good they can cook in Fishguard, as just live every other meal I have had there, this meal was absolutely stunning.  First course was Smoked Trout served with horseradish and a salad garnish, which would have been really nice as a main course.  Then there was a traditional roast lamb dinner with mint sauce and redcurrent gravy.  For desert there was Strawberry and Raspberry Pavlova.

After the meal, came the usual toasts and speaches.  Then the hall was cleared as preparations were made for the evening events.  This was remarkably well timed, as it meant that I could nip off to the TV Lounge of the Fishguard Bay Hotel to watch that week’s jaw-dropping episode of Doctor Who.  One of Maria’s aunts, from Ireland, who had been sitting next to me at the Wedding Breakfast popped her head through the door.  She was mildly amazed find the Bride, Groom, Best Man, Bridesmaid and Usher in all their finery  were all sitting there, waiting in eager anticipation for what she though of as a silly children’s programme.  I suppose it must have been a quite surreal sight.

1. 2. 3.

It is a tradition at weddings that the first dance of the evening is the happy couple dancing alone for the first time as man and wife.  Maria and Russell chose Love Don’t Roam sung by Neil Hannon, the song played at the Wedding Reception in The Runaway Bride as the song to dance to. (I suspect that this was the first and last time the DJ would be asked to play that record in his professional career). Thanks to the joys of digital photography, here is a collection of images taken during the dance.

1.  2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

My friend’s Maria and Russell got married last Saturday in aria’s home towm of Fishguard in Pembrokeshire.  Like so many of my friends, I travelled up on Friday.  As there were so many members of TIMELESS or Kronos 1 members present the weekend was unofficially dubbed Wedcon 2008, as it felt very much as if there was a small science fiction convention going on at the Fishguard Bay Hotel.

I had been given a lift from Merthyr Tydfil by Geoff Owens, who was also giving a lift to Andy Grant, as we were all staying in the same hotel in Fishguard.  The weather for the trip was varied to say the least, sometimes there was sunshine and bright skies, other times it rained so hard that visibility was seriously reduced.  The journey up was uneventful, arriving in Fishguard at just after 3pm.

The name Fishguard is thought to be Norse in origin, and the original settlement was built where the River Gwaun enters the sea.  However, this trip I did not see any of what is now known as the Lower Town, as the Tara Hotel, where I was staying was built on the western edge of the Upper Town, that was built around a Normans Castle overlooking the bay, and when I was not in the Tara, I was across the bay in the Fishguard Bay Hotel in Goodwick.  However, Fishguard is a lovely place, and I look forward to visiting it again.

I had booked into the Tara Hotel, which was a large Victorian town house.   My room was a single at the back of the building, which had a stunning a sea view.  It was clean and the bed was comfortable, what more could I ask for.  Whislt my room was not en suite, it was right next door to the fundementals, so there was no real worries there either.  The main advantage of staying there was that it was a stones throw away from the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church, were the wedding ceremony was taking place.  After unpacking, we all got in a taxi and headed over to the Fishguard Bay Hotel, where the reception would be held.

At about 8pm on Friday night, a group consisting of myself and seven of my friends (Mel Hill, Jaime McDonald,  Andy Grant, Russell Moseley, Geoff Owens, Andy Hill and Sam Hill) left the Fishguard Bay Hotel and went in search of a curry. The Indian Restaurant in Goodwick was shut, so we all crossed the road, and went to the Hope and Anchor Inn instead.  This was a moment of marvelous serendipity, as meal I had there was one of the best meals out I have ever had.

The decor was minimilist  and very modern. One good sign of what was to come was that the bar upstairs and the restaurant downstairs were both spotlessly clean.  After a couple of minutes, in which time I suspect that two tables were pushed together, the eight of us were ushered downstairs to the restaurant.   The chef at the restaurant is Chinese, so as we were seated, we were asked if we would prefer the English or Chinese menu.  This was an unique experience, but what was more, was the waitress then informed us that as it was Pembrokeshire Fish Week, there were a number of fish specials available that night as well.  At the mention of Lemon Sole cooked in lemon butter with Queen Scallops, Mel’s face glazed  over and that is what she ordered, as did Andy Grant and Russell.  I ordered the Tuna Steak grilled with Anchovies, Geoff ordered the Gammon and Chips, young Sam had a childs Sausage Beans and Chips whislt his father had Beef and Peppers wth Fried Rice from the Chinese menu and Jaime had Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice.

As four of us had asked for a glass of medium white wine, the waitress asked if we would like to order a bottle instead, as that would work out cheaper than buying individual glasses.  Another plus point earned for the restaurant. On the whole, the service was attentive and efficient, which is always good.

When the food arrived, everyone was pleased with their choices.  The Chinese meals arrived first and looked absolutely gorgeous and when the fish dishes arrived, they were also of an excellent standard.  I had been expecting one menu to get more attention than the other, however, the food from both was of an excellent.  The waitress had said that all the fish hadd been freshly landed that morning, which was no word of a lie, as all of the bones lifted out of the lemon sole in one go, which only happens with freshly cooked fish.  Also, Mel spent the rest of the evening singing the praises of teh Queen Scallops.  My tuna was also stunning, the saltiness of the anchovies meant that I did not have to season my meal.  The  boiled potatoes that accomponied my meal, (I assume they were best Pembrokeshire potatoes) had been gently broken into smaller peices and then forced into a  mold before being served as a dome of potatoes on my plate.  This was both visually interesting and tasted great.

It was nice that for once, I was not the only person who left a completely clean plate with not a scrap of food left on it.  So, all in all a very good meal, and I would not hesitate to recomend the Hope and Anchor Inn, Goodwick, Pembrokeshire to anyone.

A++

The weekly exclusive clip from the BBC ’s Doctor Who Web Site for episode 12, Stolen Earth went on line this lunch time.  It is incredible.  It brings together seamlessly the three shows in the franchise, Doctor Who, Torchwood  and The Sarah Jane Adventures.Something large is approaching Earth and it is sending a message to the planet’s inhabitants.  One word, repeated over and over again, “Exterminate!” .  I love the way it shows everybody who has no experience of the Daleks looking confused, and the three people who know exactly what to expect absolutely bricking it. I’m not sure what Sarah Jane is saying, who was “so young”?  Logic suggests that she is saying something to the supercomputer Mr. Smith refering to her adopted son Luke.  As always, we will have to wait and see.

In the news, the latest load of tish-tosh is that super-model Agyness Deyn has been cast as the companion for the Christmas Special.  This is so obviously tish-tosh because the 2008 Christmas Special was filmed in April, and is well into post-production by now.  She might have been cast for a minor role in one of the 2009 Specials [31] but this also seems unlikely.  Ms. Deyn is a model, she has no previous form as an actress, so this is probably just her agent trying to get her lots of free publicity, off the back of Doctor Who.