New experiences

Well the weekend was full of new experiences!

I started off by going with Laura to her bridesmaid dress fitting. I cant say I am overly impressed with the place Kelly has chosen to have them made with. I thought this experience would be all cosy and girls together, mother and daughter stuff. The place we went is in the middle of nowwhere, a barn on a farmyard that has been converted into outlets. So my first new experience was using a sat nav system to find it.

Far from my ideal, it was literally in and out of the shop! Last time there wasnt even any seats out for those waiting, this time at least there was a huge chocolate fountain running although everyone felt too intimidated to munch any. The dresses are already late, they were promised the end of January and have only just got back to the shop from the suppliers, so they hadnt even been pressed when the girlies tried them on. And despite all three girls being vastly different in size and shape strangely all three dresses need taking in at the bust??!?? I only hope the alterations are good as there is only a week to the wedding once they come back.

Then it was back to my mum's as that is where Kelly is leaving her wedding gown so that Ollie cant see it before the wedding. She had picked it up that morning, so it was a full dress rehersal for me and the grandparents to see the dress. Wow! For obvious reasons I cant put the photo's up here, but it was a bit of a hanky moment seeing my little baby all growed up.

After that it was off to the hotel for the hen do. I've never been to a hen party, they didnt do them in my day, just a bit of a drink with your girlfriends down the pub if you were lucky. None of all the commercialism they have today. So another new experience. There were 13 of us including the bride, and we started off in the hotel pool, followed by yet another new experience for me - the steam room. The youngsters also piled into the sauna but that was one new experience too much for me and I stayed in the pool.

Up to the rooms for the opening of the 'brides' box and the rules of the evening. Then into our 'costumes' - a cowgirl theme, and down to the restaruant where a table had been booked, decorated by the waiters with goodies supplied by myself and the bridesmaid and an evening of laughter. I'm not going to put drink and food there because the service just wasnt up to it. We were very dissappointed as it took them an hour and a half to get our food to the table once we had ordered - it would have been quicker in weatherspoons and in my experience thats saying something!!! Maybe this is what put the waiters off?

In fact the service was so bad that the waiters never returned to take our desert orders so we retired to the bride's room for a slightly altered game of pin the tail on the donkey (involving a tastefully changed poster of the groom *wink wink*) and pass the parcel, chocolate and wine.

By 11 the main bridesmaid, Helen who was the organiser, had run out of steam, it being only the first time away from her beautiful baby boy of 7 months, so the games ceased and we listened to the chatter of two of the other girls as the rest of us snoozed gently against the walls of the room (seating being on the floor only).

Sadly a combination of excitement, toomany new experiences, chlorine, and rock hard very high pillows resulted in a migraine for me, so not only could I not enjoy my full english breakie included in the package, but Jan had to drive my car home, and I spent Sunday and Monday sleeping. But I did enjoy it all. I look forward to Laura's hen!!

Oh and to finish one more new experience. When we got home, Jan phoned her husband to come collect her, only to find he had managed to get their Landrover stuck in the mud at the stables!!!! Only he could manage to get a Landrover stuck!