Budds Oast, Day 3

So, it turns out that it is properly spelt without an apostrophe at all. As far as we could put together at dinner, the Oast was The Oast for the region with the moniker of Budds. As is apparently English custom, the apostrophe is omitted for buildings which represent The particular building of the area. An example is nearby Underriver House, seen here.

At any rate, on to the pictures!

In the morning, we took this wooded trail...
and then walked through this field to the church in the distance...
to visit this farmer's market. I bought fresh picked raspberries, and Gillian bought feta and olive bread. Other finds included cherries, some locally produced drink and some scones. All in all, a rather successful outing.
After visiting the Farmer's market, we went back to Budds Oast for a rest before marching in the other direction, going past the above pictured UnderRiver House and these British icons, before winding up...
here, for lunch.
On the way back, we crossed a field full of sheep.
I took this photo, which I think is rather nice.
Lastly, as a closing shot, Budds Oast by night. The next day, we set off for Shrewsbury. Details to follow tomorrow.

Day 2, Budds Oast

So I've been reading "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", and am quite at a loss as to whether it should be "Budd's Oast", "Budds' Oast" or "Budds Oast". For those who don't know, the English name their houses. Budds Oast (or whatever) is the name of the house we have been staying at.

Anyways, here ya go.

The first image is taken on a walk I took on my first evening in England.

The subsequent images were taken during the next morning, on a walk I took, due entirely to jet lag.
In the image immediately at right, you can see a "turnstyle". The English have public paths that wind through privte property. At each fence can usually be found a turnstyle, designed exclusively to help people step over that which could be said is designed to keep them out. A rather fantastic idea, if I do say so myself.

More morning walk. I'm particularly pleased with how this shot turned out.
A historical building called "Ightem Mote". Very picturesque - just like the rest of it.
My grandmother - Mimi or just Meem, as you prefer - stopped by for a visit.

Apparently, someone off frame has just cracked a joke that my aunt Carol finds rather amusing.
Ellie, the happy dog from a few posts ago, is evidently amused by the same joke.
Gillian has a quick swim, before we dash into nearby Tonbridge on an errand.
And here we are, literally dashing. The errand was actually to access the internet at the local library, in order for me to continue posting this blog. Unfortunately, we got lost - several times - and I fell asleep in the back seat before order would be finally restored.

I hope you all appreciate what I go through to keep you abreast of our routine!

I'll probably be posting again in a few hours, in an effort to get us somewhat up to the minute.

More Photos.

The flight over.


Establishing photos of where we are staying.




One happy dog.


I expect I will not be able to post again until Friday. Half an hour later in Newfoundland.

Pictures, pictures, pictures.

My first straight razor shave. Guys, this is a good thing. I recommend it. If you're in Calgary, go to Assman's. Hilarious name and a great shave. Where can you go wrong?


Five handsome gents waiting for a bride.


One bride, and two proud parents.


Do you? I do.


This picture was taken at what would be described by some guests as "the best party ever."

dial-up ain't ez

First, I ought to apologize for taking so long to update the blog. As you can probably guess, a lot has happened since the last post. First and foremost was our wedding. Gillian and I were married on June 24, 2006. But maybe I should rewind and start at the end of the rehearsal dinner.

At the "rehearsal" dinner, Gillian asked that I choose the music that she would walk down the aisle to. After clean-up had all been finished, Jarrod (my best man) and I drove back to his place, so that we could sort out that particular detail.

We listened to a bunch of music, including Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven), Moonlight Serenade (The Glenn Miller Orchestra), Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) and more. I should mention that the piece which occured to me first was the Imperial March - you know, Darth Vader's theme in Star Wars. After input from Kristen (Jarrod's better half) and Angie (one of Gillian's bridesmaids, who was very patient after being awoken at 1:00 in the morning), I selected "Simple" by k.d. lang. We all went to bed shortly after settling the music to be played.

The day of the wedding was frantic. Jarrod and I awoke and were on the road by 8:00 am. We grabbed breakfast from Starbucks and McDonalds (we each wanted something different), picked up some dry cleaning, got a straight razor shave and then made our way over to the college.

The morning consisted of the ceremony rehearsal - this time we actually rehearsed something - and then everyone broke up to get prepared. Being the groom, I was confined to the outside of the building so that I didn't run into a bride by accident. We all moved at something close to top speed the entire morning, with even a few of the guests getting into the act, in order to have everything ready in time.

As the hour approached, the groomsmen all bundled into their suits and began looking all rather sharp.

The ceremony itself was short and sweet. My family seemed to have some difficulty understanding that they needed to be sitting in the front row, but with some cajoling, it all worked out.

After the ceremony, we had pictures being taken. Some really phenomenal ones came out of that, and I will be posting one or two when I have a chance.

Following the pictures was the reception, which went off without a hitch. I think everyone had a really good time there. The chicken that was served was amazing, and our first dance was to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell".

Following the reception, Gillian and I spent our first night as man and wife at the Westin Hotel, in downtown Calgary.

On Sunday, we had an open house and gift opening at a family friend's house. The food and company were delightful. I'll just take a moment to thank everyone again for their generosity and their kindness.

On Monday, our last day in Canada before crossing the pond to England, I went to Cochrane's Gleneagles golf course with Camil, and we played the majority of 18 holes. Golf, as it goes, is not without a measure of fun, but I'm not sure that it is the game for me. Still though, I've been re-assured that nobody likes golf after their first round. Maybe I'll try it again in England.

Monday evening, at 7:30 pm (Calgary time), we left terra firma and made our way eastward. We touched down at 11:35 am GMT, some 8 and a bit hours later at Heathrow Airport where we were picked up by my uncle Brian and my aunt Sarah. We were then driven out to a country house near the town of Sevenoaks, and it is from here that I write this entry. The scenery is marvelous.

So, you're probably wondering where all the photos of this busy couple of days are. The problem is that during Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, I've had absolutely no time to post anything. I was looking forward to being able to post some pictures now that I'm settled in one spot for a few days, but unfortunately, my uncle has only dial-up from his home. I will wait until I can visit a local internet cafe to post the full images of the past couple of days.

Normally, I try to keep it down to 5 photos per day. Not to worry - on the day that I do post, I will be sure to post a good deal more.

Until then.

Approaching deadlines cause a helluva ruckus

Yesterday was frantic. And then there was a bridal shower. The bachelor party ran into the bridal party at the Whiskey. Live it vicariously.





Today has been frantic. Pics below are of the "rehearsal dinner". The quotes are because nothing was actually rehearsed.




Stay tuned.

Bachelor Party, Part 1

So, my bachelor party is actually a two part affair. Gillian will have the camera for her bridal shower tonight, so our up and coming criminality will not be advertised for the world to see. In the mean time, here's what I did yesterday and today (so far!).






More Tomorrow!

Look sharp, troops!

Ok, so I just got down to Calgary last night. The flight was overall enjoyable. I saw some crazy clouds from the plane. Well, without pictures, its hard to relate the experience, so I'll do the next best thing.

This here is a plugin for Google Earth. When using it, you are able to watch in real time any flight. I don't have it on hand, but when I do, I'll post my flight information for when I cross the pond. Anyone who is then interested can feel free to watch me fly.

Ok, so there are more exciting things to do with your time. Anyways, I'll check in again with a camera in hand. Probably later today.

Another blog bites the dust!

And by that, I mean another blog gets rolling. So, welcome one, welcome all to Pierre and Gillian's photoblog across Europe.

We have yet to get the camera though. That happens on Wednesday.

Since I lack a camera, I will instead post a picture of my dog, just to get things going.

There he is! That is his serious face.