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  1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933</id><updated>2024-03-07T07:41:33.238+00:00</updated><category term="oliver"/><category term="lucy"/><category term="bbc"/><category term="news"/><category term="pregnancy"/><category term="sleep"/><category term="music"/><category term="bike"/><category term="illness"/><category term="wedding"/><category term="food"/><category term="health"/><category term="video"/><category term="heaton moor"/><category term="islabike"/><category term="bedtime"/><category term="hayley"/><category term="nursery"/><category term="laughter"/><category term="number2"/><category term="parenting"/><category term="speech"/><category term="death"/><category term="education"/><category term="man united"/><category term="photo"/><category term="walking"/><category term="crawling"/><category term="politics"/><category term="alcohol"/><category term="bumper"/><category term="bumpette"/><category term="car"/><category term="clothes"/><category term="julien"/><category term="marriage"/><category term="medical"/><category term="milk"/><category term="Christening"/><category term="Christmas"/><category term="bathtime"/><category term="biking"/><category term="birthday"/><category term="dancing"/><category term="finance"/><category term="first"/><category term="first steps"/><category term="party"/><category term="reflections"/><category term="report"/><category term="shoes"/><category term="steve"/><category term="swimming"/><category term="tantrums"/><category term="things to do with the kids"/><category term="toys"/><category term="war"/><category term="work"/><category term="&quot;delayed publication&quot;"/><category term="&quot;hair cut&quot;"/><category term="&quot;strolli rider&quot;"/><category term="IVF"/><category term="MAG"/><category term="books"/><category term="breakfast"/><category term="diary"/><category term="easter"/><category term="hair"/><category term="hair-cut"/><category term="holiday"/><category term="house"/><category term="lurkers"/><category term="mothers day"/><category term="moving house"/><category term="niamh"/><category term="nurse"/><category term="play group"/><category term="rivington"/><category term="teenagers"/><category term="amber"/><category term="autumn"/><category term="babysitting"/><category term="borders"/><category term="boys"/><category term="camping"/><category term="circus"/><category term="colours"/><category term="concorde"/><category term="driving"/><category term="eyes"/><category term="flutters"/><category term="football"/><category term="giraffe"/><category term="halloween"/><category term="julia"/><category term="linda"/><category term="mark speight"/><category term="morning"/><category term="museum"/><category term="nappies"/><category term="nightmares"/><category term="no name"/><category term="piano"/><category term="play"/><category term="poverty"/><category term="radio"/><category term="reading"/><category term="rob"/><category term="rudyard kipling"/><category term="rugby"/><category term="salford musem"/><category term="school"/><category term="smoking"/><category term="spiderman"/><category term="sport"/><category term="stockport"/><category term="tesco"/><category term="tom"/><category term="tv"/><category term="ultrasound"/><category term="unicef"/><category term="wheels"/><category term="zoo"/><title type='text'>Life begins...</title><subtitle type='html'>The blog of a man who found himself a first-time father-to-be at the age of 40.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/-/wedding'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/search/label/wedding'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>17</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-8220669214798227747</id><published>2009-09-11T22:30:00.000+01:00</published><updated>2009-09-11T22:31:11.660+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="holiday"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="lucy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="oliver"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Now and then</title><content type='html'>Three years before our honeymoon in Sant Elm and two days after Oliver&#39;s first birthday, we took Oliver to the same location. This lead to many opportunities on the honeymoon to reflect on how our adorable baby has grown into a beautiful boy. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The last time we came to Sant Elm he was crawling around the apartment in nappies, pointing at things and saying &quot;diss!&quot;. This time he was taking himself to the bathroom and saying &quot;Go away please I need some privacy&quot; if I tried to check on him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, he really is growing up fast.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So inevitably, I found myself revisiting old locations and reflecting on how he has grown. But of course it is not just Oliver. Our whole family has grown. Three years ago there was no Lucy (not even a bumpette).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are a few pictorial illustrations of my reflections. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the airport&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/248418539/&quot; title=&quot;Precious luggage! by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/248418539_673909fbcc.jpg&quot; width=&quot;375&quot; height=&quot;500&quot; alt=&quot;Precious luggage!&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887575817/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02568 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/3887575817_d7945da2aa.jpg&quot; width=&quot;375&quot; height=&quot;500&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02568&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the beach&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/248463379/&quot; title=&quot;Oliver on the beach by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/248463379_2200002b73.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Oliver on the beach&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887599321/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00983 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2659/3887599321_f5b7f41d40.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00983&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the sea&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/248458214/&quot; title=&quot;Oliver in the water by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/98/248458214_fe5699f370.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Oliver in the water&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887594191/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02586 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/3887594191_2a1927c96d.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02586&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888380346/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00976 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2676/3888380346_80751cd4e1.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00976&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the playground&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/248510238/&quot; title=&quot;Oliver in playground (Port Andratx) by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/248510238_b69caf1b23.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Oliver in playground (Port Andratx)&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888416746/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02614 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3888416746_9aa12ac6bb.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02614&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887614157/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02605 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2649/3887614157_c2f4af467c.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02605&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Playing trains&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/248508975/&quot; title=&quot;Oliver in playground (Port Andratx) by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/91/248508975_5485ffc193.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Oliver in playground (Port Andratx)&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887615491/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02606 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3470/3887615491_d78ddb189c.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02606&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the bus&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/248513846/&quot; title=&quot;We&#39;re on the bus! by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/89/248513846_5d28720393.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;We&#39;re on the bus!&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887613005/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02604 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2489/3887613005_920355bbdc.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02604&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What can I say. They grow up so fast! But every now and then I do manage to stop and smell the roses. And man they smell good.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/8220669214798227747/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/09/now-and-then.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/8220669214798227747'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/8220669214798227747'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/09/now-and-then.html' title='Now and then'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/248418539_673909fbcc_t.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-5834986220764729280</id><published>2009-09-04T22:51:00.004+01:00</published><updated>2009-09-10T23:45:23.902+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="lucy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="oliver"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>The Honeymoon</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888469048/&quot; title=&quot;P1010415 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2424/3888469048_e55d295b17.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010415&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A few days after the wedding, when our American guests had flown back over the pond, we jetted off to spend a little over a week on the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea. We stayed in the little town (perhaps even a village) of &lt;a href=&quot;http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&amp;source=hp&amp;q=Sant%20Elm&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;sa=N&amp;tab=wl&quot;&gt;Sant Elm&lt;/a&gt; on its west coast, where my Mum has an apartment which she kindly loaned to us for the week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oliver and Lucy enjoyed the flight (unlike the 2-year old in front of them who screamed and fought against being strapped in until we were well and truly airborne).&lt;br /&gt;Hayley and I particularly enjoyed it as Hayley ordered us a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the start of our honeymoon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888365794/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00965 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/3888365794_f7bb4b34e8.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00965&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888367138/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00966 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/3888367138_817a5dfef5.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00966&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887574615/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02567 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2511/3887574615_e6dee7458a.jpg&quot; width=&quot;375&quot; height=&quot;500&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02567&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By the time we had landed, got a 40 minute taxi-ride to the apartment and unpacked (not to mention moving all the breakables onto higher shelves), we were definitely ready to eat. So we headed to Tigy&#39;s, a great little pizzeria overlooking the beach.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887584121/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02574 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/3887584121_55fafa4717.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02574&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888376670/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02572 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2599/3888376670_0c336200bf.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02572&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The next morning it was time to head into the sea. We went to the smaller of the two beaches (separated by only 50 yards where a hotel fronts onto the sea) which is shallow for a long way out: perfect for the kids. They loved it. Oliver attempted to befriend every other family bathing there, but as most of them were German, only the adults understood him. Bless him, he didn&#39;t really understand why the kids didn&#39;t talk to him. Not that it worried him much. We had a wail of a time. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887594191/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02586 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/3887594191_2a1927c96d.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02586&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888384924/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02584 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616/3888384924_881a920f9a.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02584&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888390248/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00980 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2529/3888390248_db06b9d8c9.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00980&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sant ELm is a fairly quiet little town so there&#39;s not that much to do and at lunchtime it was pretty hot, even on the beach. So most days we tended to go back to the apartment for some lunch and hang out there for a while til it got cooler. My Mum had kindly left the Sky box so Oliver had his kids TV. But he was also quite happy playing. Without almost all his usual toys he made characters out of snorkel tubes and other bits and bobs lying around. Lucy would have a nap or play too. Then in late afternoon we&#39;d head off for another cooling swim.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A couple of days we went over to Port Andratx. On one occasion we took the 4pm boat, which gavce us chance to admire the fabulous villas of the jet set and Hollywood stars, their houses hanging off the tops of the cliffs, looking out to sea.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888402912/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00992 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3447/3888402912_3384304589.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00992&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One day we took out a pedalo. Lucy had wanted to look more closely at the boats ever since arriving, often pointing at the biggest mtor yachts in the bay and saying &quot;I want go that one&quot;. Once out beyond the cordoned off swimming area, we all got into the water where we could see we were surrounded by fish. Despite being way out of their depth, the kids loved it. Even Lucy bobbed about unaided at times (though one of us was always right beside her in case her arm bands didn&#39;t give her all he assurance she needed).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888444730/&quot; title=&quot;DSC01010 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3888444730_f88a6ec7c7.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC01010&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Later in the holiday we discovered a swimming pool that we could use. The sea is great, but after a while sand gets everywhere and the water there is very salty, so a freshwater pool made a nice change, especially with a bar serving food and drinks right next to it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888447802/&quot; title=&quot;P1010405 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/3888447802_95339e486d.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010405&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This was also the site of some evening entertainment for the kids. A young woman would set up a CD player and speaker and do sings and dances with the kids for half an hour. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888398292/&quot; title=&quot;DSC02596 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3888398292_028100eb64.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC02596&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The heat and disrupted bed-times did mean that the kids didn&#39;t sleep the best. Lucy seemed happy to forego sleep, going to bed hours later than usual then rising as bright as a bird at her usual 6am! But this lack of a sure routine meant that even though we had a frined who would babysit, we never got to go out as a couple for an evening. But we can&#39;t really complain, as once the kids were on bed we sat on the balcony having a nice cold drink, watching the boats in the bay as the light in the sky slowly dimmed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3887678163/&quot; title=&quot;P1010416 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/3887678163_a4343dfc05.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010416&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By the time the holiday was coming to an end, we figured we had pretty much sussed how to get the best out of the facilities available to us. But all good things must come to an end. So we packed up and waited for our pre-paid taxi to the airport.... but that&#39;s worth a post in its own right.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(There are more pictures from our honeymoon &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/sets/72157622252580058&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/5834986220764729280/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/09/honeymoon.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5834986220764729280'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5834986220764729280'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/09/honeymoon.html' title='The Honeymoon'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2424/3888469048_e55d295b17_t.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-890825649363966559</id><published>2009-08-22T21:00:00.003+01:00</published><updated>2009-09-05T18:20:42.457+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="lucy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marriage"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="oliver"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>The Wedding</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs138.snc1/5891_784538216970_917451_45496890_4697733_n.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 453px; height: 604px;&quot; src=&quot;http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs138.snc1/5891_784538216970_917451_45496890_4697733_n.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It would be impossible to even start to attempt to cover our wedding day in a single post, so I&#39;m afraid you are going to be hearing about it for some time. But here&#39;s a summary.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What a fantastic day!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks to everyone who came along and made our wedding day a truly wonderful event and a fantastic party. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And thanks to all those who sent their good wishes by whatever medium. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Until I get time to reflect on it all, here&#39;s a rough timeline of some of the highlights of the day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6.30am. Lucy wakes me with her customary shouts of &quot;Dadddddyyyyy. I want get up!&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8.00am. The weather, which has been forecast as cloud for the last few days is now looking like we may get a little sun too. My delight is tinged with guilt, as I think of all those people getting married in Wales today where it will rain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8.30am. As I take Oliver&#39;s waistcoat out of its bag to check it, a button drops off. The button is broken. I hasten to town where the outfitters supply a spare button. Then to Somerfield for a sewing kit. Marcy and then Zoe (Hayley&#39;s hairdresser) stitch on the new button and tighten up the loose stitching on the others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10.00am. I am kicked out of the house by Hayley as she is about to start having her hair and make-up done. I am now in such a rush I nearly leave without Oliver!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10.30am. Down at Manny and Sara&#39;s house to change, I realise I forgot my shoes and Oliver&#39;s shoes. Best Man Dave is re-directed on route to pick them up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11.00am. I get myself and Oliver dressed, Oliver also being helped by Dave. Oliver looks absolutely stunning in his wedding clothes. Dashing and adorable. I fear Hayley might cry when she sees him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11.35am. The groom, best man and best boy set of for the hotel. Despite the fact we&#39;ve all been there before and Dave lived near the hotel, we soon realise that none of us know the right route. We head in the generally right direction and sure enough we get there in good time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;12.20pm. Checked into our room, where the double bed is flanked by a travel cot for Lucy and a mattress on the floor for Oliver. It may be our wedding night but appropriately, as it has been for 99.9% of our life together, the kids are there alongside us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;12.30pm. Our photographer arrives and we take some shots of me, Dave and Oliver. Dave and I enjoy a swift whisky (a 12 year old Glenfiddich, the best on offer in the little Gold Suite bar). More photos and more people arriving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.10 At a loose end, so a last swift one before the bride arrives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.15. No sign of the bride. I discover that one of the flower girls has not arrived. Hayley, it later transpires, drove past and saw no-one was in the main room, so drove round again, eventually sending someone in to make everyone take their places.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.25. Hayley has arrived and been photographed and is about to enter when the final flower girl, Cara, arrives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.35. Still no Hayley but I can see she has arrived as part of the wedding car is visible from my position at the front. I feel, as I have all day, perfectly calm and happy. Not at all nervous. People have told me how they cried and choked and were nervous but I am confident I will keep it together.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.36. I take my place as the curtain is pulled back to reveal Hayley looking stunning, Oliver holding her hand and the flower girls in front of them, Lucy at the front looking small and slightly vulnerable with the cutest curls you ever saw. Suddenly a massive tidal wave of love for my family nearly overwhelms me and I have to look to the front for a few seconds as my calm nearly desserts me and I think I might cry!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.36. Recovered from my momentary wobble, as the pianist starts to play Bach&#39;s Jesu Joy of Man&#39;s Desiring, I turn round to see Lucy start to walk in on cue, taking a few beautiful smiling steps with Cara, before turning round and running back to Mummy. So the other flower girls lead in, followed by Hayley who now has Oliver on one hand and Lucy on the other.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;13.37 Hayley stands beside me for the short ceremony. Lucy spends some of the time in Hayley&#39;s arms, some in mine. Oliver delivers the rings on request without hesitation, giving his Mummy a lovely unprompted hug after giving her ring to her. Becky reads &quot;Yes I&#39;ll Marry You&quot; by Pam Ayres and Scott reads &quot;I rely on you&quot; by Hovis Presley. On reaching the &#39;I do&#39; part, Hayley makes it &quot;I certainly do!&quot; with a big smile. We exit to Mendelssohn&#39;s wedding march and a glass of champagne which we drink with arms entwined. And the formalities are over.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2.00pm. There are lots of pictures with the photographer outside where the sun is shining: possibly the most beautiful day of the summer! Then it&#39;s free time as they set up for the meal. We mingle and chat outside, playing with the kids who have lots of fun in the gardens and down by the bridge over the little River Dean where two escaped horses are grazing: the highlight of the day for the kids without a doubt. I initiate a game of pooh sticks with Oliver and the flower girls. The first I&#39;ve played with him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3.30pm. We are announced into the dining room for the wedding breakfast. The atmosphere is good and the seating plan seems to be working. Oliver is tired and a bit grouchy but manages to recover his cheeriness by the end of the meal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5.20pm. Speeches. Nigel makes a well-rehearsed (if a little long-winded!) and eloquent speech which touches upon the absence of Hayley&#39;s Dad. He also makes several jokes based on entirely fictional scenarios involving me and Hayley. But apparently everyone could tell they were untrue from the looks on our faces! I reply with a short speech thanking the flower girls and best man and of course Hayley. I also give my Mum flowers for her help and her birthday the next day. I take the opportunity to tease Hayley in the speech with extracts from her Match.com profile. Dave then gives a perfect Best Man&#39;s speech. It is by turns respectful, generous, funny, witty and occasionally suitably risque. He is aided by having placed pictures of me aged three upwards at every table. Finally a few of Hayley&#39;s friends shout for her to speak, so she does. Un-rehearsed, she says how grateful she is to everyone for coming and how touched she is to see so many people from her past. Finally, as she start to choke up a little herself, she says that her dreams have come true. It is the most honest and perhaps for that reason the best speech of the day and several of Hayley&#39;s friends are in tears by this point.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6.30pm. The band arrive and start to set up while we mill around and relax outside in the evening sunshine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7.45pm Hayley puts a tired Lucy to bed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8.40pm. First dance. &quot;This Way&quot; by Jewel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8.45. The band kick off with Soul Man. They sound fantastic and the dance-floor quickly fills.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9.45pm. Food. Not entirely as ordered and difficult for the veggies to identify but most seem to find something to tuck into. Hayley is caught on camera eating a chicken leg as she boogies away.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10.25. Band back on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10.30. I go to put Oliver to bed. Lucy is woken in the process and won&#39;t settle. I miss the whole of the second set as a result and return to the reception with Lucy still not settled but with the babysitter trying to settle her! It is the only low point of the day. Thankfully, just as Hayley and I are about to desert our reception to sort it out, our babysitter appears on her way home, saying my Mum is with Lucy and she&#39;s better. Sadly by this point I have missed the chance to chat to several people before they leave. I guess it&#39;s always the way at weddings (not helped by this little interruption).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11.30pm. Much dancing and drinking and chatting and eating. Several people are leaving or have left to put kids to bed, but the party is still in full swing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1.00am. The final song is New York, New York and everyone pushes me and Hayley to the middle and dances round us. It&#39;s a great finale to a wonderful evening that has flown by all too fast.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Several of us stay up chatting and finally head off to our rooms around 2am. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&#39;ll be posting photos and reflecting more on this in the coming days and weeks. The journey has only just begun.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/890825649363966559/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/08/wedding.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/890825649363966559'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/890825649363966559'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/08/wedding.html' title='The Wedding'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-3961315479007122965</id><published>2009-08-21T21:33:00.004+01:00</published><updated>2009-09-14T21:28:04.527+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>The evening of the day</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888224664/&quot; title=&quot;P1010363 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2666/3888224664_cd01b9f7aa.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010363&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tomorrow Hayley and I get married. Man that&#39;s come round fast.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This evening our 2 days of arrivals from the US and UK culminated in a pre-wedding dinner for 25, a kind of Rehearsal Dinner without any rehearsal. (Actually we did a rehearsal on Monday and I might post video of that after the event.) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had the meal at the Heatons Tandoori as it gave our guests a taste of what we enjoy. Even the kids joined in. Oliver and Lucy both had Chicken Tikka, with some rice and garlic naan (or &quot;Indian garlic bread&quot; as Oliver described it to me).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#39;s been great to finally meet some of the people Hayley has so often talked about. Dani arrived yesterday and her daughter Stephanie arrived today. The Rubinsteins arrived a couple of days ago but went straight to the Lakes so I only got to meet them today. It&#39;s been great having them all here and I hope they are enjoying their trips.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kids have absolutely loved all the new faces. Oliver in particular has been areal chatterbox. This evening, he spent the first half hour of the meal sitting at the very end of the table engaging Jay and Stephanie in conversation with not a care in the world that his parents and sister were half way down the 22 strong table. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lucy went out shopping today for about 4 hours with Margaret, Kris and Andy. By all accounts she had a great time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&#39;s been hectic but fun for the last 2 days. I just hope tomorrow doesn&#39;t fly by as quickly as I think it might. Oh and hopefully I&#39;ll remember the rings.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3888226882/&quot; title=&quot;P1010365 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2666/3888226882_31558439f3.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010365&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(There are more pictures from this evening&#39;s dinner &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/sets/72157622127740737/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.)</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/3961315479007122965/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/08/evening-of-day.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/3961315479007122965'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/3961315479007122965'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/08/evening-of-day.html' title='The evening of the day'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2666/3888224664_cd01b9f7aa_t.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-5649215885479732919</id><published>2009-08-03T21:05:00.004+01:00</published><updated>2009-08-03T22:08:39.181+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="bike"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="islabike"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="lucy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="oliver"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Time flies...</title><content type='html'>If time flies when you are having fun then I am Funtime Franky from Chucklesville, Laughter County. Or more likely I am realising there is WAY too much to do before the wedding. Consequently posting to this blog is an activity that hasn&#39;t been getting much of a look-in, which is a shame as there&#39;s so much going on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight:bold;&quot;&gt;Skyride Manchester&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3781940641/&quot; title=&quot;At the start by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3448/3781940641_3f37708941.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;At the start&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yesterday we joined 15000 other cyclists at &lt;a href=&quot;http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/skyride/manchester&quot;&gt;Skyride Manchester&lt;/a&gt;, riding a traffic-free loop linking Manchester city centre with the velodrome. For one day only the city centre&#39;s roads were cleared of all motorised traffic. We took the kids on the bike seats and all had a great time. There are photos from our day &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/sets/72157621801041029/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;. Oliver&#39;s highlight was &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3781971053/&quot;&gt;meeting Spongebob Square pants&lt;/a&gt; (even though he never watches the TV show). Lucy just seemed to enjoy the whole day. Another highlight was riding inside the velodrome. But nothing beat seeing the kids smiling and dancing in their seats to the sound of a PA system being towed by a guy on a bike just behind us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight:bold;&quot;&gt;Starting off&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3782768152/&quot; title=&quot;Zoom! by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/3782768152_368749293d.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Zoom!&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Inspired perhaps by the Skyride, Oliver has tonight mastered setting off on his bike from a standing start. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width=&quot;425&quot; height=&quot;344&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/J0awjOcXlXc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowFullScreen&quot; value=&quot;true&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowscriptaccess&quot; value=&quot;always&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/J0awjOcXlXc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; allowscriptaccess=&quot;always&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;true&quot; width=&quot;425&quot; height=&quot;344&quot;&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And his speed is picking up a bit too.I took him for a ride in the park tonight and got a good jog out of it myself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight:bold;&quot;&gt;Wedding plans&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With less than three weeks to the big day things are getting a bit hectic now. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Hayley has her ring. I should have mine about a week before the wedding.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;We have drafted a table plan. Thanks to a combination of us pushing the numbers up and then having even more people want to come than we had anticipated, the seating will now be long tables rather than round, which is a shame but can&#39;t be helped. It did make the seating plan much harder! In fact it is still not set in stone. And sadly I am sure someone or other will be disappointed not to be exactly where they had hoped, but it&#39;s a very hard balancing act and I think we;ve done the best we can. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;We have a band. It took a lot of searching (including some soul searching) but I think we made a good choice. Fingers crossed! &lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;li&gt;Hayley has her final dress fitting tomorrow. I remain completely in the dark. Part of me wonders if I&#39;ll recognise her, but then I&#39;m thinking the wedding dress is going to be a bit of a giveaway.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight:bold;&quot;&gt;Holiday plans&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We&#39;ve managed to make arrangements to get away for a few days at some point after the wedding. The kids will be with us so it will be a kind of honeymoon come family break. We are all looking forward to it. I can&#39;t say where we are going, but Lucy&#39;s passport has arrived.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wish I had more time. Both kids deserve a post each right now as they are so full  of character and such great fun. With all the time-accelerating fun I am having, I just need to find a way to add a few more hours to each day...</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/5649215885479732919/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/08/time-flies.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5649215885479732919'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5649215885479732919'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/08/time-flies.html' title='Time flies...'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3448/3781940641_3f37708941_t.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-819695616932507369</id><published>2009-07-21T22:49:00.003+01:00</published><updated>2009-07-21T22:55:36.773+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="clothes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="oliver"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>A short essay on time</title><content type='html'>Time is not linear.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remember how long summers were when you were a kid? Long.&lt;br /&gt;Now they shoot past, right? Right.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But that&#39;s nothing. If you want to see how fast time can fly, watch the clock in the run-up to your wedding. I reckon not even Einstein could explain how the time is disappearing so fast. And the faster it flies, the more there seems to be left to do.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course I can&#39;t complain as Hayley has done the VAST majority of the wedding preparations. Nonetheless I can&#39;t quite believe the wedding will take place a month tomorrow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, tonight Hayley has been to her dress fitting. Then she went to the pub. Not sure what to make of that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tomorrow Oliver and I will be fitted up for our suits. Can&#39;t wait to see the little man dressed up to the nines!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And now I&#39;m off to bed (before its time to rise and shine).</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/819695616932507369/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/07/short-essay-on-time.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/819695616932507369'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/819695616932507369'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/07/short-essay-on-time.html' title='A short essay on time'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-7834608487861988518</id><published>2009-06-28T20:48:00.002+01:00</published><updated>2009-08-01T21:52:15.994+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Hayley&#39;s Hen Weekend</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3778312081/&quot; title=&quot;DSC00844 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2608/3778312081_87058b13cf.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;DSC00844&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hayley spent this weekend with about 20 female friends in Manchester. Her Hen weekend started at lunchtime on Saturday and ran through to early afternoon the following day. Meanwhile your truly had sole charge of our offspring. I was a little nervous about it, not because I lacked confidence in my abilities to care for and entertain our children, but because Lucy is very clingy with Hayley and I feared her prolonged distress at her absence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the event, although she did ask for Hayley a lot - and a couple of times when tired or perhaps hungry got very upset, asking for Mummy repeatedly - she seemed happy to put up with having only me, especially as I tended to her every need and wish to try to make up for Mummy&#39;s absence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As soon as Hayley had gone, I fed them both and introduced them to the joys of fresh, whole peaches. A success.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3690739953/&quot; title=&quot;P1010241 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/3690739953_16cb3a6b76.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010241&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/3690744797/&quot; title=&quot;P1010242 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3690744797_c050b14d1a.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1010242&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then we ventured to the park where we met a husband of a fellow hen-night absentee (on Hayley&#39;s do) and our kids played happily, racing up and down the tennis court until exhausted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Both kids went to bed without protest and slept pretty well, so in the morning I took them up to see my sister, who has a boy a few months younger than Lucy. We had a good time up there and as Hayley texted me to say she was very tired after getting to bed at 5am, I didn&#39;t return home til 5pm when we all went off to Pizza Hut. The kids were delighted to have Mummy back, especially Lucy who had a smile a mile wide when she saw her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And as for what the girls got up to in Manchester? Well, I couldn&#39;t get much out of Hayley. She did say that she was quite emotional when she got to the restaurant and saw the place=mats that Sara and I had created with lots of pictures of her (the most embarrassing we could find!). And the Bird Cage was apparently wall to wall hen parties. Anyway she seems to have had a good time.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/7834608487861988518/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/06/hayleys-hen-weekend.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/7834608487861988518'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/7834608487861988518'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/06/hayleys-hen-weekend.html' title='Hayley&#39;s Hen Weekend'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2608/3778312081_87058b13cf_t.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-8719387277541689460</id><published>2009-04-14T10:03:00.003+01:00</published><updated>2009-04-14T10:15:49.637+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Re-unions</title><content type='html'>The number of confirmed American guests at our wedding rose from 2 to 6 yesterday evening, when Hayley&#39;s friends Marcy and Jay confirmed they will be coming over with their two sons. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hayley was a nanny for their elder son, Josh, and I know it will mean a lot to her to see them again and have them at the wedding, especially now she has a family of her own.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/8719387277541689460/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/04/re-unions.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/8719387277541689460'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/8719387277541689460'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/04/re-unions.html' title='Re-unions'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-4929558786834811982</id><published>2009-03-30T12:01:00.000+01:00</published><updated>2009-03-30T13:07:14.442+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="clothes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="hayley"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>The Dress - No image available</title><content type='html'>The wedding dress has been ordered.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hayley has spent a lot, hell ALL her spare time recently looking for her wedding dress. Bridal shops, wedding fares and retail outlets all got a look-in. And as these places don&#39;t allow kids to come in and wreck their expensive gowns, I have been able to spend some quality Daddy time with both kids.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course, I haven&#39;t been allowed to see anything to do with the dress so there is absolutely no chance of a photo here. Nor of the dresses for the flower girls which will also remain a carefully kept secret until the big day.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/4929558786834811982/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/03/dress-no-image-available.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/4929558786834811982'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/4929558786834811982'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/03/dress-no-image-available.html' title='The Dress - No image available'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-5029606524274114266</id><published>2009-03-17T12:35:00.002+00:00</published><updated>2009-03-17T12:44:25.942+00:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="music"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Help!</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-style:italic;&quot;&gt;&quot;Help! I need somebody.&lt;br /&gt;Help! Not just anybody.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;The Beatles&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Help. I need some, desperately. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We want a band for the wedding reception in the evening. We thought we had one but then their agent told us that it turned out the guitarist is Best Man at a wedding that day. We&#39;ve searched the web and asked around but so far we are still bandless.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We do have a couple of other irons in the fire but so far nothing that immediately and clearly fits the bill. Not that we are very clear what the bill is!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So if anyone out there knows of a band they think would go down a storm at our reception, perhaps someone you saw at somebody else&#39;s wedding who got all ages up and dancing, then please please please let me know. Soon!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/5029606524274114266/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/03/help.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5029606524274114266'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5029606524274114266'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/03/help.html' title='Help!'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-1994776905421989209</id><published>2009-02-24T22:08:00.003+00:00</published><updated>2009-02-25T12:59:36.890+00:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>The wedding car</title><content type='html'>Friends Rachel and Mike rang this evening and made the kindest offer. Mike&#39;s father has a rather nice car, a silver &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.chrysler.com/en/2008/300/&quot;&gt;Chrysler 300&lt;/a&gt; I understand. Hayley had been looking at hiring one to be driven to the wedding. But now Mike has arranged to drive his father&#39;s for her. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not only is it a thoughtful and generous offer, but it will be such a nice, personal touch that it is a friend who will be driving Hayley on the big day. So a big thank you to Rachel and Mike.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/1994776905421989209/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/02/wedding-car.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/1994776905421989209'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/1994776905421989209'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/02/wedding-car.html' title='The wedding car'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-4185005970003049330</id><published>2009-02-09T12:22:00.000+00:00</published><updated>2009-02-09T12:56:05.436+00:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Wedding Photographer</title><content type='html'>We have booked our wedding photographer, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.jasonlock.co.uk/&quot;&gt;Jason Lock&lt;/a&gt;. His wedding site is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.reportagewedding.co.uk/&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He the husband of a local Mum that Hayley knows through playgroups. We spoke to several local photographers and looked at their work. They were all good, but after meeting Jason there was only one choice. His work and his enthusiasm for it shone through. And although I&#39;ve only met him once I&#39;m already convinced he&#39;s a thoroughly good bloke to boot!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wedding photography is necessarily no small outlay, so I&#39;m delighted to have found someone who we are really excited to have as part of the day.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/4185005970003049330/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/02/wedding-photographer.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/4185005970003049330'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/4185005970003049330'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/02/wedding-photographer.html' title='Wedding Photographer'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-8826379786423281956</id><published>2009-01-22T12:48:00.003+00:00</published><updated>2009-01-22T12:52:11.907+00:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>First on the plane</title><content type='html'>Several friends in the US have told us that they plan to come over for our wedding this summer. But times are hard and circumstances can change so we have told ourselves not to be disappointed if some don&#39;t make it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So yesterday Hayley was very excited when her friend Dani not only called to say she and her daughter Stephanie are definitely coming but then emailed her airline ticket confirmation!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/8826379786423281956/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-on-plane.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/8826379786423281956'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/8826379786423281956'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-on-plane.html' title='First on the plane'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-9156457377834468471</id><published>2009-01-03T23:12:00.002+00:00</published><updated>2009-01-03T23:17:01.818+00:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marriage"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Invitations and stationary</title><content type='html'>As we enter 2009 we can now say &quot;we are getting married this year&quot;. Still sounds a bit strange. And when I think how quickly time has flown since I proposed last August, it is scary how little time we have left.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With the new year Hayley has been prompted into action. She has ordered some samples of wedding stationary. Seven kinds in fact. &quot;They were only £5 P&amp;P&quot; she said. &quot;£5 each?!?!&quot; I asked, trying to re-start my heart. &quot;No, in total.&quot; Of course. I knew that.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/9156457377834468471/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/01/invitations-and-stationary.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/9156457377834468471'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/9156457377834468471'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2009/01/invitations-and-stationary.html' title='Invitations and stationary'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-3944101513151350273</id><published>2008-11-09T09:48:00.004+00:00</published><updated>2008-11-17T21:06:53.147+00:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="death"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="illness"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="lucy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marriage"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="medical"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="oliver"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Desmond James Rodgers (1933 - 2008)</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/1422394699/&quot; title=&quot;Oliver, Lucy and Grampy Des by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1112/1422394699_b9030c9b68.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Oliver, Lucy and Grampy Des&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Grampy Des with Oliver and Lucy, September 2007&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is with the greatest sadness that I have to write that after a short illness Hayley&#39;s Dad died on Tuesday. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;About three weeks ago he was admitted to hospital with relatively little concern. However tests revealed that he had advanced lung cancer with secondary tumors. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For the last few weeks we have spent much of our time down in Wiltshire so that Hayley could visit her Dad as often as possible. Some relatives were kind enough to let us have their house as long as we need it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the Wednesday before he passed away, Des, his partner Nancy, Hayley and myself took part in a service at the hospital chapel which was attended by about a dozen other close family members. In the service the vicar blessed and gave thanks for the relationship of Des and Nancy. She then blessed our upcoming marriage and blessed Hayley&#39;s engagement ring and a ring I chose for the occasion. Finally she performed what would normally be the first part of the wedding ceremony which is to ask who gives Hayley away to me. When she asked, Hayley&#39;s Dad said loud and clear &quot;her father does&quot;. He then passed Hayley&#39;s hand to mine. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was an emotional occasion, a mixture of immense sadness but also happiness and gratitude that we were able to fulfill our dear wish that Des should give Hayley away.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the final days Des just wanted to come home from hospital, but sadly he died the day before he was due to be moved. He died around breakfast time just as Hayley was dropping off the kids to go and see him. Agonising though it was for her that no-one was there with him, he did not suffer and it seems he died peacefully.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hayley was always close to her Dad, the apple of his eye. At Lucy&#39;s Christening my Mum told Des how glad she was that I had found someone who made me so happy and who was a wonderful mother to her grandchildren. He simply said &quot;She&#39;s the best.&quot; I couldn&#39;t agree with him more. Des was a friendly, jovial and kind man who has passed all these qualities on to Hayley. He can never be replaced, but I will do my best to love and cherish his daughter who he has passed into my care.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/3944101513151350273/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2008/11/desmond-james-rodgers-1933-2008.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/3944101513151350273'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/3944101513151350273'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2008/11/desmond-james-rodgers-1933-2008.html' title='Desmond James Rodgers (1933 - 2008)'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1112/1422394699_b9030c9b68_t.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-5114368908166905082</id><published>2008-10-10T22:18:00.001+01:00</published><updated>2008-10-12T22:38:22.797+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>Booking the registrar</title><content type='html'>We had an appointment with the registrar at Stockport Registry Office this afternoon, to book their services for next August.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The interview was in two parts, each of us seeing him separately and him asking us the same questions. Seems to odd to think how geared up it is to detecting false marriages or bigamy. As you sat at the desk answering there was a large notice in front of you reminding you that providing false information was prosecutable as perjury.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But the most bizarre moment of the afternoon was when he told me about the oportunity to re-register the childrens&#39; births with Hayley&#39;s surname changed to be the same as mine. This was fine in itself but then he asked me, &quot;Did you register the children in your surname or your partner&#39;s?&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Mine&quot; I replied.&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Ah, well it would have been better to register them in your partner&#39;s name&quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Oh, really? Why&#39;s that?&quot; I asked, genuinely curious.   &lt;br /&gt;&quot;Because then if you ever split up she wouldn&#39;t have to explain why their name is not the same as hers.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;For a split second I wondered whether I had heard him right. I had. &lt;br /&gt;I contemplated mentioning that when you have just jointly received arguably the greatest blessing life has to offer, the possibility of everything going pear-shaped many years downstream is not closest to your mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course in years gone by the different names on the birth certificate would have been a much bigger deal, so I can at least see why the chance to make the change seemed worth mentioning to him. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the end of the interviews, despite both of us momentarily struggling to remember how old the other is under interrogation, we seem to have been accepted as suitable to marry. I&#39;m sure the kids will be relieved.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/5114368908166905082/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2008/10/booking-registrar.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5114368908166905082'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/5114368908166905082'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2008/10/booking-registrar.html' title='Booking the registrar'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9952933.post-4775189992703279760</id><published>2008-08-18T20:37:00.008+01:00</published><updated>2008-10-08T20:21:25.576+01:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marriage"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wedding"/><title type='text'>An announcement</title><content type='html'>Every so often, someone will ask Hayley &quot;How did you and Steve meet?&quot;, probably expecting a succinct &quot;through friends&quot; or &quot;at a party&quot;. Instead they get the following story. Settle back now, this could take a while.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Back in 2002 Hayley was living out in the USA. She had a serious car accident that left her hospital bound for several months. This came on the back of a traumatic family bereavement and then on returning from the funeral being laid off from her IT job. After a decade on the other side of the pond, she decided that perhaps the time had come to return home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With the intention of making friends and possibly meeting Mr Right, she registered on Match.com. It was there that I came across her winning smile for the first time  and dropped her a line. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jpchOK1gQEfrfSYBqc2oRABsUQbVUYFCbFB6gf1l3qIx5qZ4YHHsAiXABNOenb9loeIZy1aVSH06fNnePiPeJbLpATaqzjSM3uKmiZjSG1K-nrFrPAADvhBfaeu5pGlqFsjz/s1600-h/Hayley+(Match+pic).JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jpchOK1gQEfrfSYBqc2oRABsUQbVUYFCbFB6gf1l3qIx5qZ4YHHsAiXABNOenb9loeIZy1aVSH06fNnePiPeJbLpATaqzjSM3uKmiZjSG1K-nrFrPAADvhBfaeu5pGlqFsjz/s320/Hayley+(Match+pic).JPG&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235961021755768626&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first she saw of me was a picture taken on a weekend camping trip to the Lake District. I was sitting drinking a beer in The Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMohcvT8MNi2brXnhHj7Z-w8Sddg6U2_1kFfL0GyXqhPTAfn_cZ7kNUAOMwIV0A5A-b3a7uuex9DN9hridquZ2-gBzgQXks3ylqQgd3fItSkf_0kiu3-yTX2u58h2h3rShG7p/s1600-h/SCT+plus+beer.JPG&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMohcvT8MNi2brXnhHj7Z-w8Sddg6U2_1kFfL0GyXqhPTAfn_cZ7kNUAOMwIV0A5A-b3a7uuex9DN9hridquZ2-gBzgQXks3ylqQgd3fItSkf_0kiu3-yTX2u58h2h3rShG7p/s320/SCT+plus+beer.JPG&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235950036600441362&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When she came back to the UK we met up. She was out on the town with three girl-friends and invited me along. How could I refuse! She and I hit it off straight away and after a few months of us traveling up and down the M5 at weekends she moved to Stockport. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Five years, one house and two children later, here we are! Blessed with our children, family and friends.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So I decided it was time we added another chapter to the story. This weekend, I took Hayley up to the Bridge Inn for a rare weekend away without the kids. Little did she know I what I was plotting as we dined in the hotel restaurant before moving into the bar to sit in the very spot where the photo of me was taken.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Look at me sitting right up next to you&quot; she said. &quot;If I get any closer I&#39;ll push you onto the floor&quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&quot;You don&#39;t want to do that. I might land on one knee&quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Oh I&#39;ll definitely push you off then!&quot; she laughed.&lt;br /&gt;Grinning and in quiet tones I went on. &quot;Hayley, there&#39;s something I want to ask you.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;Hayley is giggling. &quot;Stop messing about.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&quot;What&#39;s this in my pocket?&quot; The shape of a small ring-sized box was clear enough. Hayley is laughing nervously, uncontrollably, punching me (playfully!) and saying, &quot;What! What is it?&quot;&lt;br /&gt;I took out the ring in its box.&lt;br /&gt;Hayley is now starting to fill up and saying &quot;Oh my God, Oh my God...&quot;.&lt;br /&gt;I got down on one knee , opened the box towards her and asked: &quot;Will you marry me?&quot;&lt;br /&gt;Through her tears I could just about make out &quot;Yes, of course&quot;, as she gave me a huge hug. I can safely say she hadn&#39;t seen this coming at all. Amazingly the other people in the pub didn&#39;t seem to notice us either!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After she had recovered her composure I was able to confess to her that the &quot;parcel of bike parts&quot; that was delivered FedEx earlier in the week, and which she had signed for, had in fact been her engagement ring. Fortunately she hadn&#39;t noticed BlueNile.co.uk&quot; in the small print on the label. She sat there in semi-disbelief, looking at the ring with the biggest grin on her face for the rest of the evening, occasionally telling some complete stranger in the bar, &quot;we just got engaged!&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The next morning we told the hotel&#39;s proprieter our story and she kindly gave us a bottle of wine to celebrate. She also made us re-construct the moment for the camera in the somewhat more deserted bar at 11am on a Sunday morning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/steventownley/2775160445/&quot; title=&quot;P1000973 by Steven Townley, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2775160445_678e03defd.jpg&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;P1000973&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So there&#39;s the potted history. But be warned, if you ask for Hayley&#39;s version, you&#39;d better clear your calendar for the rest of the day.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/feeds/4775189992703279760/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2008/08/announcement.html#comment-form' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/4775189992703279760'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/9952933/posts/default/4775189992703279760'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://life-begins.blogspot.com/2008/08/announcement.html' title='An announcement'/><author><name>Steve</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18423908073209400111</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnb8Oq0cbGK9CdBJFRDeNxK4DOkGKlrIOAFP9ZMA858hTy5jqdltIH0WaKJKORUAKc2WChX_LQS8uKFIffnvNzePCkVYuNaQj8JGSz2JN6dDegE8HkUJ41i4eg_CErg/s1600-r/1672956312_bd124b00ee_b.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jpchOK1gQEfrfSYBqc2oRABsUQbVUYFCbFB6gf1l3qIx5qZ4YHHsAiXABNOenb9loeIZy1aVSH06fNnePiPeJbLpATaqzjSM3uKmiZjSG1K-nrFrPAADvhBfaeu5pGlqFsjz/s72-c/Hayley+(Match+pic).JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry></feed>

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