Martin is legal

Martin usually has his birthday during our summer holiday and this year is no exception. This year he comes fully of age. Not only can he fight and die for his country, vote in public elections, but now he can drink legally in every state. To mark the occasion, we have booked a (large) table at the Waterside Restaurant in Shem Creek. To be fair, the Resturant is not actually in the creek, nor is it up it, rather alongside, but it is a wonderful setting. The dolphins turn up on queue as the sun sets, and the family, and some of Martin's friends avail ourselves of some wonderful seafood, and when we are pretty replete a sensationally large double chocolate cake is brought in resplendent with 21 candles and some pretty sparklers. We have Tracey to thank for the sourcing and portion control of said cake, as well as a host of otherbits of string pulling to make the evening a success.

(Tracey has thoughtfully leaned over my shoulder to remind me of the silent e in Tracey, so fellow bloggers if you would like to review and edit previous refernces to her name, it would make her much happier)

I await with interest what she makes of the flattering photos we have taken of her. (publication may be some way away!)

Porter Gaud

The reason we are in Charleston is that Martin spent a year at Porter Gaud School as an SSE Scholar with the English Speaking Union (a programme that we thoroughly recommend)

We use the following day to visit the school and pay our respects to a number of staff all of whom seem to remember Martin pretty vividly, so we hope the reasons are as positive as they are kind enough to suggest. The school is impressive and the staff are vey professional ...all getting ready for a new term in a weeks time. It has helped us put faces to so many names, and we are once more overwhelmed by the welcome and hospitality we have been shown.

Memphis comes to town

Having been to the main competitors of Verizon (who were striking and did not glean my business,) I am the proud possessor of a mobile phone for the dubious sum of $9.99 Furthermore I can text anybody, or indeed ring them for $2 a day, which means I can turn off my UK phone which has already cost me nearly 20 quid for receiving reminders that my UK answerphone messages are going to be deleted unless I pay a further pound apiece to listen to them again.

I celebrate the occasion by ringing Jim Brooks on his US mobile (Well it is still working so it isnt US but it is registered to his address in Memphis so it is technically a US phone) Jim Margaret and Justin hosted Simon in Memphis and have been good friends ever since. We stayed with them three years ago (see windthroughmyhair.blogspot )and had fun playing Baggo and not quite passing out at Gracelands. They have engineered a holiday on the Isle of Palms a ten minute car journey (to a correctly calibrated Satnav...Take note Sally) to coincide with the latest British invasion of Charleston, and have invited us over to avail ourselves of their pool and renowned hospitality. We regail ourselves with beer and the ancilliary equipment required to keep it cool and report for duty. The men have had the good sense to go fishing, so we strip for action in the pool...I have not regaled you with the domestic incident that led me to surrender my budgy rustler speedos for a pair of suave turquoise swimming shorts in the GAP sale, but they get an adequate airing as we cool off before an electric storm threatens our well-being and we shuffle indoors trying not to drip too much. The fishing crew return on Queue, and Jim shows us the pictures of the one that was so big he had to put it back, before going on to the top deck complete with ocean view. It has been a great day made all the better for Aunty Cathys cooking, and meeting little Audrey, who overame her initial shyness to charm us all.

We say our farewells, and hope they will visit us in the UK soon.

Tracy Tours

Tracy has recovered from her night out and is the perfect person to show us Charleston. We get her life history along with that of the city as she takes us in air conditioned comfort past the delights of downtown Charleston (Many of which seem to be (Girly) shops)

We have lots of ideas of things to do now... Carriage rides, Fort Sumpter, the harbour, The market and shed loads of other stuff. We eventually park the car, brave the 95degree heat and 98% humidity to walk along the Battery, and take advantage ofthe two fountains, one of which should look like a pineapple, but is not self righting. Ellie gets a bit wet but evapourates quickly enough.

Charleston

A skip down the Freeway, and a long short haul accross Manhttan (Bronx)to the George Washington Bridge gets us to Newark in good time to smile sweetly at the security people and watch an interesting financial tussle between an oversubscribed flight and people possibly prepared to travel later, regarding the financial adjustment needed. Brinksmanship was clearly in evidence. We had an uneventful flight to Charleston, with spectacular views over the Cooper river bridge, before a bumpy landing on a hot runway, and a warmer welcome from Tracy.

Hire car is a Ford Focus, and takes longer to get to a comfortable temperature, but we have a memorable drive back over the Cooper River, and on to Creekside Drive, where we receive an enthusiastic welcome and a hearty meal from the Wonnacotts.

James Tracy and Colin scrub up pretty well and within an hour of our arrival are deserting us for a coming out ball. We are not part of the debutante scene, and are typically underdressed,so we wave them off and relax in to an early night in a gorgeously comfortable bed, which has resolved my recent back ache.

Wedding Photos.

PJ and Paul purposefully posing for the papparazzi

Nadia takes a vow

Wigfields enjoying the moment

Fingers indicating to the groomsmen that

Nadia's arrival is imminent
Olga resplendent with hat

Martin in a pensive moment (Very rare photo)

Janet and Sara in the formal gardens

Well folks. I will do a CD with photos on when I get home so hold your breath till then, but in the meantime a tantalising taste of what is to come.

The Big Day

There are always a few final arrangements to make. To quote a former colleague "If it wasn't for the last minute nothing would ever get done." In reality whilst we did our last minute arrangemets, like getting up, showering, and watching the minute hand slowly drive the hour hand towards the magic 3, others were driving to the township of Rocky Hill to swap suits for ones that were less generously proportioned. The photographer snapped (not literally of course, though bending over backwards as they were, a greenstick fracture was a possibility) away, and the 1.00pm beer appointment was studiously observed. Tradition is important, so the bright yellow school bus whisks us away to Tyrone farm and deposits us in good time to have an aperitif. A number of well groomed young men make sure that we have everything we need, and then we are seated on the front row, craning our necks to catch our first glimpse of the Nadia and bridesmaids. The moment is worth waiting for. Having executed a giraffe like double helix, They glide accross the path fromthe cottage with the six jade clad, as opposed to jaded bridesmaids eac with a piece of Nadias train ensuring it didn't come in to contact with any contaminant before it was seen by the guests.
James lines up the groomsmen, (odd to say he is getting married,) and tries to look cool as the bridesmaids swap pumps for high heels and make their entrance. Nadia is awesome! Her dress is beautifully detailed, and it is clear that James is a very lucky man.