Wednesday 24 December 2014

Wedding bells

Better late than never, as they always say. And late this blog post is. I’ve got good excuses for this, however, considering just how busy the weekend was. The problem is last week is now a dim and distant misty memory so I’ll probably struggle to fill those gaps in.

Awesome pork dinner
Awesome pork dinner
I can remember that neither A nor I were feeling particularly well most of last week; this cold has been hanging around and going from a cough to a sniffle and back to a cough. Most frustrating. It did not stop me enjoying the Roast Pork dinner last Sunday which was just gorgeous; crunchy crackling but really moist meat. A was off down to London to collect her stuff (cooking things and a huge bean bag mainly) on Monday which left me home alone. I was planning on tuna pizza but when I found we had no tin opener I was able to put some of the left overs of the pork on and it worked really well. She got back in good time on Tuesday which was great and, after a few more trips to pick up a couple of missing items like a really good frying pan, we’re now fully set up here.

My dinner and hers at the Russian place
My dinner and hers at the Russian place
Other than lots of sitting around, reading, sleeping and generally relaxing we did get up to other things during the week. We were invited out on the Tuesday night to a burlesque night but in the end we didn’t make it due to tiredness which was a shame. On Wednesday I was accosted on skype by Boris to go for another meal which we duly did on Thursday, at the same Russian Restaurant. It was once again a really pleasant evening and we had a lot of fun, though the weather changed while we were inside and we did get slightly soaked on the way back to the bus.

The happy bride and groom with the official photographer
The happy bride and groom with the official photographer
Friday was a quiet night in preparation to what we knew would be a really busy weekend and wasn’t it! My business partner was getting married on Saturday and we were going to the whole event. As per usual I got us there massively early, about two hours before Dan even arrived, so we settled ourselves in the hotel and had two overpriced coffees each while laughing at the TV screen with a 10 minute loop of an open fire. Eventually it was near enough time to head over to the location where the actual wedding was happening so it was into Thomas and, with a short diversion due to a wrong turn, we were quickly there and chatting to Dan who seemed very calm. The service was absolutely lovely, even bringing a tear to my eye, and to see his huge smile when he first saw his bride was an awesome moment. It wasn’t a very long ceremony and we all applauded as the wedding party left, then followed them for champagne and photographs.

Blazing fire in the impressive fireplace
Blazing fire in the impressive fireplace
The wedding was taking place in Samlesbury Hall, an 800 year old manor house with lots of ghosts and beautiful features. I was most taken with this fireplace, which was in the room where we had the meal and speeches, and myself and A were talking about whether we couldn’t have another open fireplace in the school maybe in the library/museum. I don’t think the location of the chimney would support this very well but it is something to think about.

The place setting
The place setting
Dinner was (for me) tomato soup, steak pie and chips and apple crumble; what a great wedding meal. It was super tasty and I even enjoyed the mushy peas which is not really my kind of thing normally. When everyone had eaten the head of the staff, a very friendly man in a bright red coat who was pleased to identify Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as the figures on two reliefs, led each table in an energetic rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas, involving jumping up and singing a line per table.



The speeches were just incredible. After the Father of the Bridge finished his slightly stumbling nervous rendition it was Dan’s turn as the Groom and he excelled; I’ve always said he is made for the stage and this proved it. Once again there was a tear in my eye at several point and this was continued when Billy, the best man, got to his feet and managed to give the best speech of the lot. This was particularly gratifying as he had been so nervous he hadn’t been able to eat all day for worrying. He hit exactly the right level at every point of the speech and brought laughs and smiles throughout. Well done Mr Billington!

Stuffed heads watching us eat
Stuffed heads watching us eat
All lit up for the night
All lit up for the night
With the formalities out of the way there was a break while the band set up for the evening and I took this time to get Thomas back to the hotel so I didn’t have to worry about coming out again in the morning to collect him. When we got back to the wedding it was time to get my first beer and get ready for the dancing to begin.  Before this we took a little walk around the house and outside to look at the gorgeous architecture. These are some stuffed deer on the wall of one of the rooms, and the outside of the hall where the wedding was taking place (only a small part of the greater building) nicely lit up in the dark.

The band rocking out
The band rocking out
The rest of the evening was taken up with one of our bands, Kazoobian, entertaining everyone with a mix of new and old songs and the dancing was led from beginning to end by Dan and Ash. One great idea that Dan’s mum had had was to provide thick socks for the ladies so they could take their shoes off and be comfortable on the dance floor. Everyone took advantage of this and the band changed the words of at least one song to incorporate the word “sock”.

Busting the moves
Busting the moves
As I’ve said the happy couple led from the front on the dancefloor and this even encouraged me to get on my feet and dance for quite long periods of the night. I was also trying to get lots of pictures of the evening, as the official photographer hadn’t stayed around, and was having a lot of fun with long exposures with the wildly moving people. The entire group of guests got really into it and at various points of the night I think all but one person danced, and he never does. There was a pause in the music half way through at which time a hog roast was announced so I stuffed my face with a huge barm with additional crackling and apple sauce. Nommy.

By about 12.30 everything was calming down so we got a cab with a couple of my friends and went back to the hotel. My mate did buy us a beer but I had about two mouthfuls before deciding I’d had enough and I think my head must have hit the pillow just after I fell asleep as I don’t remember anything from getting to the room until I woke the next morning. We were joined at breakfast by Dan and Ash which was great and I got the presents that had been delivered to the studio from Dan then we headed home for some relaxation time before the next awesome event of the weekend. Yes, we’re only half way through.

Ready for the show to begin
Ready for the show to begin
For the first of her Christmas presents I had bought tickets to go and see Andre Rieu performing in Manchester. These were on the 4th row from the front and they turned out to be aisle seats which were even better. We got to the venue before the doors opened and queued up surrounded by silver haired people making us feel very young indeed. Once the security had fixed their scanning machines we were allowed entry and made our way to our amazing seats. The usher kindly snapped a picture of us which took some doing as he couldn’t operate the camera on my phone.

Can you spot A in this picture?
Can you spot A in this picture?
I headed off to get a programme and when I came back into the auditorium I was amused to see A sat so near the front and I snapped a picture. Can you see her? We were (as you can see) early (I know you’re shocked) but this meant we got to sit and soak up the atmosphere as the crowd filed in and the room filled up. We were sat next to by a crazy woman with tinsel that she was determined to drape around all our shoulders but when it kept falling off she eventually gave up and stopped bothering us.

Orchestra making their entrance
Orchestra making their entrance
With a quick word of warning to the ushers that the show would begin in one minute and to get everyone seated we were forewarned when the lights dimmed but neither of us expected what happened next. The entire orchestra filed in down the two aisles and onto stage, carrying their instruments where possible and waving to everyone. What a way to start. Andre was already on stage waving as well and playing along to the backing music that accompanied the entrance.

The opening number, with digital curtain
The opening number, with digital curtain
Gorgeous background
Gorgeous background

All the soloists on the stage
All the soloists on the stage
The show was brilliant and I make no apology for the number of pictures above this paragraph as I could not make my mind up which to not show you all. Andre is very much a populist performer and for a classical purist like myself it was at times a struggle to appreciate the excellent musicianship on show with an audience that thought talking through the music was a good idea. The lady sat behind me who was doing this got a very short speaking to from myself and thereafter shut up, but I was not able to silence everyone. This having been said it was an exceptional show (A professed to having tears) and the soloists in particular were amazing. I’m not normally a fan of sopranos  as I find them too screechy and warbly normally however the three ladies who sing with him (they are on all his YouTube videos) are even better in real life than on a recording.

Ukrainian and three Russians
Ukrainian and three Russians
After the interval, during which time the Manchester United manager appeared in the aisle trying to get to the toilet and was mobbed for photographs and autographs and didn’t get anywhere (I got a snap from my seat but I am not wasting your time showing it), one of the sopranos from Ukraine sang a beautiful song accompanied by three Russian musicians on traditional instruments. It was magical and a poignant example of music overcoming conflict.

The Berlin Comedian Harmonists in full flow
The Berlin Comedian Harmonists in full flow
Another treat of the second half was the Berlin Comedian Harmonists. These six men (the sixth is playing the piano when I took my picture) bounced onto stage and stole the show for me. The one second in from the right had a monocle in and the one second from the left was hamming it up and having so much fun with everyone else it was impossible not to laugh and smile along. They were also excellent singers with a fantastic vocal range and when their second song was announced as that performed by the original group in the 1930s when Hitler disbanded them for having four jews in the group, they carried the sombre performance off without missing a beat. They were on and off stage quite a few times through the show and I think I will look them up again.

Each of the soloists got to come on stage a couple of times and perform alone though the tenors were mainly out together as a group. Of the three sopranos (one from Australia, one from Ukraine and one from Chile) the Ukrainian had the best voice for us and of the three tenors (one from Tazmania, one from Hungary and one from Germany) we also agreed that the Hungarian was the best singer. This is a bit harsh on the others as they were all excellent but that is what we thought.

Christmas hats on the orchestra
Christmas hats on the orchestra
As is standard at Andre Rieu concerts a lot of people stood up and danced during the Blue Danube waltz and then later on they got up again and didn’t sit down. This was when I really had to put my “pop concert” head on and not get annoyed at people talking and laughing over the music; it is what it is and it was very good at that. The lady next to us was doing her best to deafen everyone around her with her piercing whistles which got old quickly but wasn’t as annoying as how out of time EVERYONE was when they attempted to clap along. Anyway, these are minor gripes when set against how brilliant the whole evening was and after quite a long encore involving Andre telling everyone to go home and the crowd shouting “NO!” back, the curtain finally fell and we were off to Thomas and home very quickly indeed which was just what we needed.


And so ended a busy weekend and we are into Christmas week. This has so far involved nothing more interesting than going to work and coming home again, though yesterday I had a lovely steak meal at lunch with work and last night I did get to go into town with Lee and Lorenzo (whom I work with) and meet a few friends for a couple of beers which was pleasant. Tomorrow I am in the office until 2pm and then it is into the serious business of it being Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, after which bah humbug will return. I am going to be cheap and wait until tomorrow to put this online so I don’t use up my mobile internet at home, but I will try and be good and update again on Sunday. Sorry for the length, but a lot did happen.

No comments:

Post a Comment