Quote of the day: Imagine telling somebody twenty years ago that by 2007, it would be illegal to smoke in a pub or bus shelter or your own vehicle or that there would be £80 fines for dropping cigarette butts, or that the words “tequila slammer” would be illegal or the government would mandate what angle a drinker’s head in an advertisement may be tipped at, or that it would be illegal to criticise religions or homosexuality, or rewire your own house, or that having sex after a few drinks would be classed as rape or that the State would be confiscating children for being overweight. Imagine telling them the government would be contemplating ration cards for fuel and even foods, that every citizen would be required to carry an ID card filled with private information which could be withdrawn at the state’s whim. They’d have thought you a paranoid loon.
Phew! Worth reading an article dealing with all of this on NumberWatch.co.uk – it’s all soooo true!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…. All hectic at work, which is a good complaint, and all hectic at home with all the planning we’re doing. At least we’ve got the building work complete on the outside, which was driving us to distraction – the builders took wayyy longer than they should, and made quite a mess! But it was worth it, I think, and the house looks better for it.
In the midst of our wedding plans, we had to go to France to bring a dress for flower girl Amber (that’s our story, and we’re sticking to it – we had to go!), and despite grim weather had a most enjoyable, relaxing day and a half (unfortunately, time is at too much of a premium for long stays just at the moment). Then back to chaos at Stansted – oh well…
So last time I wrote, I spoke of the Cunnane menfolk coming over for a suit fitting, which they did, and all went well. Everyone seems to be impressed with their clobber, which is rather gratifying. And along for the ride came my sister’s fiancé Enda, to pick up his lovely new Suzuki Hayabusa and ride it back to Ireland. I had the pleasure of riding it for about a mile or so before he came and picked it up, and it was quite a machine. Someday, maybe. But for now, I’ve got to get back on the road with my own environmentally-sound SV650 and have some fun. 🙂
Snowboarding was a laugh, of course, and I managed to hike my skills up a notch (but no further) – I’m definitely hooked. And that’s in spite of the pain I was in by the end of it; first day out I managed to land on my front, on my ribs, and that’s still painful now. Then I hurt my wrists from falling on them, so out came the wristguards again. And then there were the belated knee pads. What’s that you say? Should have worn them in the first place? Yeah, yeah… But all in all, I had some good runs and started to get a bit more edge control, meaning I was able to turn when I needed to. One of the essential skills, I would say. But next year is going to see me clad in body armour and trying to get some air. Cue broken bones this time next year!
Back to the subject of weddings, I learned recently that good pal Kiz has not only got herself engaged to top bloke Aaron, but they’ve also set a date – in October this year! Warmest congratulations and best wishes, guys – not sure we’ll be able to make it to the ceremony, but hopefully catch up with you soon.
And speaking of Australian weddings: by now, my mate Ben will be well and truly married to the lovely Brooke in Sydney – congratulations, chaps!
Back to UK weddings: don’t forget to check out our website www.fiandal.co.uk to catch up with our event in May. Details abound on our preparations, as well as info on how to get there and so forth. And this might well be updated more regularly than happenins, but I’m promising nothing!