Wedding Venue At The Bull Halstead

The Bull

The River Colme

Looking out of the bedroom window, to the right is the River Colne.

This is in the Pub area right by the front door.

The inglenook fireplace and the room where we had breakfast.

Breakfast at The Bull

The Bull Halstead was built in 1398 and was a coaching Inn and has been in continuous use for over 500 years.  As you can see from the photos it's full of beams and history.  It is now a Pub with Rooms to stay over.  It really was a lovely place to have the wedding at.

Many of the wedding party stayed overnight.  I actually stayed at my cousin Esther's as she lives in town, but I came back for the morning breakfast at The Bull.  I had kipper and poached egg. toast and tea.

I love kippers which are smoked herrings.  It was something we often had for Saturday afternoon teas when I was a child..  

Christy

Wedding Dinner

Appetizer prawn and melon

Delicious traditional English roast dinner with Yorkshire pudding

Our table

Cheesecake

Even my uncle John phoned the next day and said very good dinner and it was,

Christy

Mum and Son, Aunt and Nephew, Hat and Hair

Mum and son

Aunt and nephew

How I wore my hair

I like the top photo as it's the only one I have of mum and son also showing BBs dress full length.

I asked Si the next day if his face hurt as he didn't stop smiling the whole wedding.  Aunt and nephew together.

I braided my hair and my sister helped me put my hat on.  I picked up the little old pearl hat pin, just the day before at an Oxfam shop in Cambridge.

Christy

Newly Weds Si and Georgia

Signing the register

All smiles

Cutting the cake, chocolate granache

Christy

It only took two years to get up the second pair of curtains in my sitting room.  I should not have measured them against the other curtains, but measured them from the curtain rod to above the radiator.  As they are too long, plus on one I cut too much off and then had to sew what I cut off back on, so a total disaster.  I usually do better than that, probably doing it in the evening after a long day at work doesn't help.  You just don't come at a job as fresh as you should.  But they're up and they look fine.

The window behind is not dirty it has mold between the panes of glass.  The company gave us another window to replace it, but we need to have it put in, another job to get done.

Have a great weekend.

Christy

Hubby Is Refinishing The Kitchen Floor By Hand

I have wanted the kitchen floor refinished ever since we moved in ten years ago, and at last it is getting done.  Hubby is doing this in a very low tech way, by hand sanding and staining.  The colour is Ipswich Pine, then he will finish it off with a polyurethane.  But he's not going for that brand new look and you'd never get it off the old wooden floor, it will however have a nice patina.

So let's wait and see how it turns out.

Christy

The Boy Cycling To School

I did think of titling this post When In Rome, but decided not to.  Here is Rob on his way to school, he's riding what he calls his beater bike.  Usually he drives, because quite often he goes straight from school to work or has a lacrosse game. 

I know driving oneself to school is I think such an American thing, it's especially done in the last year of school, hence I was going to name this post When In Rome Do As The Romans Do.  For Elementary School I used to walk or drive him to school.  For Middle School he always walked and for most of High School he caught the bus or in the last two years rode his bike, or in the last year drove his dad's SUV. 

By the way the messenger bag he has with his books in he bought in Spain and has used it for the last three years.  I must say Rob looks after things.

Also of his own volition he decided to sell the motor bike.  The reason being it needed new tires, clutch and carb work to pass the inspection and although the bike was worth it, Rob was thinking ahead to the winter and how he probably needs a car.  After he said he was going to sell the bike, I felt bad for him and felt it would have been worth to spend the money on the bike because it was sweet and worth keeping.  But being a mum with an almost 18 year old I did not like the idea of him out on it, it's such a worry.  Also when I was in my early twenties I had one friend killed on a motor bike and the other seriously injured.  Although to be honest I had my own motor bike in the UK for a year when I was seventeen, just a small cc Yamaha, so I know the draw of owning and riding a motor bike.  Also finances are tight and he could not afford not to recoup the money.

So in any case he came out just a bit ahead of the game cash wise and will put that towards a car.  So now he's on another quest.  I said to him, it's not the acquisition with you Rob, it's the quest, he said yes I think you're right mum and laughed.

Christy

Sisters Ready For The Wedding

My sister BB and I all dressed up for my nephews wedding.

Christy

Around Cambridge

 

Christy

Weigela

Just taking advantage of what's flowering in the garden and bringing a bouquet into the house.

I love flowers in the house and this is the frugal way of doing it.

Christy

Tinkerbell and Purring

Tinkerbell is the sweetest little cat you could ever want.  We got her from the SPCA.  She was they thought about three years old when we got her. She had been lost and nobody claimed her. She is a flame point Himalayan, and we have had her about eleven years.

In a post written by Writing From Scotland Tilly and the Dafter  Tilly a cat they got from the RSPCA, it took her two years to purr.  Well with Tinkerbell it took her a year to purr.  In all respects she seemed very happy with us, and we thought maybe Himalayans didn't purr not ever having one before, but one day she just started purring and has ever since.

But I think the not purring must be due to the traumatic experience of being lost, you just don't know what happened to them during that time, and they can't tell you.  So it was interesting to read a post of someone who had a similar  experience with their cat.

Christy

P.S.  Why when you cut patterns on the floor or pin or do anything like that, cats want to sit right in the middle of it all?