As a man of few words, and those who know Angela will understand that it is because I can hardly get a word in, I thought I would use the modern medium of the BLOG to say a big thank you to all the friends and family that made it to the big weekend event (and those that couldn't but sent their wishes) for making it a fantastic 10th wedding anniversary celebration.
Angela did a great job of organising most of it and her sister Hien was an absolute star in helping out and taking some of the stress and last minute tasks. Even my little brother Ken helped out with lots of washing up.
Since we moved down to Bournemouth we have been to so many friend's weddings and watched their children growing up, and the fact that only friends from up North and my Uni came to the wedding, we thought we would do something a bit special for our 10th wedding anniversary not only for us but everybody else as well.
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It was funny that the weekend before our party we were at the wedding of John and Kristen, and not too far behind were the weddings of Rich and Meg, and Chris and Jules. These guys had only been married a matter of weeks whilst we made it to 10 years. Nowadays it is so easy to fail and give up but with the right friends and family around, getting to 10 years and beyond becomes a bit easier. Not saying it is simple though.
As we got married around the August Bank Holiday we had to have the party then. Normally the week preceeding and week after the bank holiday are glorious but the bank holiday itself can be a bit of a washout and daft pictures of an empty, grey and damp Bournemouth beach get printed in the papers. This year however could not be any better. From the start of the BBQ on Friday till the Monday it was bright sun and scorchio. Even as I write this the weather has started to drop off from last week and I reckon this is it for the so-called summer. Perfect timing or what.
Kicks off on the Friday
So, we came up with the idea of a Big Weekend, maybe not as big as Radio 1's big weekend, but big enough for us. Friday night is traditionally the beach BBQ night. This always goes down a treat even if it can be a bit wet, windy and cold at times. The whole swimming in the sea has taken a back seat, mostly due to my heavier paunch in a pair of trunks being not a good look these days.
Thanks to Gene for helping us out with some BBQ cooking for us and our friends.
It was on Friday night that most people turned up from the North East, Midlands and London way. Thankfully the traffic didn't cause any disasters albeit a few people had some long journeys. I was chuffed to bits to see the Clarks and Fishers, who I have known since school in Sunderland back in '84. My uni friends and their kids made it down as well. The Youngs from South Shields and Geoff (who was one of the first people that Angela and her family got to know when they first came to the UK from Vietnam) and his wife Mo from Wolverhampton were also down, as were my drinking buddies Peter and Janet.
The beach BBQ went with a bang as ever, the fireworks that is. Bless Gordon Fisher as he actually believed I had organised the fireworks from the pier as I jokingly said on the invite! I think it was Angela who put him right and said it was Bournemouth Council that actually do it.
The kids have loads of energy don't they. They just keep on going. We had to take it easy on the booze as we had the next day to think about.
The main party on Saturday
For the party venue, we looked at a few places. We didn't want it to be too close to town due to the expense but not foo far away to be a pain in getting there. Angela suggested the Yenton Hotel. I went along and saw that it had potential. There was a nice bar area, function room, conservatory and garden that was all connected together and seemed to work. We had a look at a few more places for comparison and none of them fitted our needs. It was just in the right place.
The venue was chosen. Now what to do. As there were going to be a fair amount of kids turning up we thought it was important to have something for them. I doubt they would just sit there and watch their parents slowly getting drunk for 10 hours. There had to be a childrens entertainer.
I thought a Playstation in one corner would keep some children and adults occupied. There was also some kind of multimedia presentation going on in the function room with photos of friends and family (usually with daft looks on their faces) being projected onto the wall.
Even when doing the saddo spreadsheets of people coming I didn't realise how 120+ adults and 30+ children would actually look like. It looks like a lot of people. The owner of the Yenton Hotel commented the day after, when I went back bleary eyed to pay the bill, that he was so pleased that the garden got used for the purpose that it was intended for, people sitting out relaxing, playing and chatting into the evening, rather than a quick spot for some photos and then back inside.
Thankfully the weather was spot on. Imagine if it was raining! Not sure the inside of the hotel would have coped.
The combination of the weather and the size of the garden made it an ideal venue. I didn't realise that it extended so far around. Imagine if the only usable space was from the conservatory to the driveway, then that would have been very cramped. We must apologise for some of the children terrorising the fish (George, I know your dad and where you live) but I am sure the owner has had worse from adults doing worse things.
We had initial got there at 11am on the Saturday to prep the place. I did the electronics, Ken and Angela's brother Hung did the balloons and the girls did the table decorations. Back home at 1pm, quick bite to eat, shower and straight back to the hotel for 2pm. We were slightly later than planned as we turned up behind the first taxi of guests. It was only Max, Peter and Janet anyway.
The hotel had done a great job of arranging all the seating areas so all we had to do was to pick up a glass of champagne and have a chat with people as they came in. Suddenly the whole place really filled up and we started to rush around making sure things were ready for the entertainer and to shepherd all the kids for the first stint around 3pm.
It was really nice to see all the kids and parents/family sitting around enjoying the show. Must have took some pressure off the parents so they could relax and enjoy a drink as well.
The food came out at 4pm in time to fuel the kids up for the rest of the day. I never got to eat much that day, which is unusual for me, but once everyone had sorted themselves out I followed young Tom from Slough around the buffet table. The food was really nice and I enjoyed the prawns, spring rolls and salmon. Tom didn't have anything on his plate until the he'd almost completed the loop where he then piled on a huge mountain of cocktail sausages. Kids eh.
The entertainer was up for a second stint. I suspect some kids were flagging as there were less people around and it got a bit uncoordinated and messy from what I could see. That's what he gets paid for.
Meanwhile at the multimedia station, the Bournemouth crew were watching a version of Meg and Rich's wedding video, one without the speeches, although good as they were, we wanted to cut to the drunken shennanigans. Then it was back out into the sun.
Bless Ange, she made Duncan do a short speech for us. He was quizzing me and others earlier in the day for anecdotes. I don't suppose he had much time to enjoy the hour or two lost over that. I didn't do a speech at our evening reception neither in Sunderland and he had to say a few words then as well. Cheers Dunky. You love it.
Didn't Angela look nice in her traditional Vietnamese dress? I wore matching red Hawaiian shirt and shorts. People kept on asking what the dress code was so I said shirt and trousers, so I wore the shorts for a laugh and to keep cool. I did bring a change of clothes but didn't get round to wearing them. Just in case you were thinking that I didn't make as big an effort as Ange.
The evening started with the usual cheesy DJ stuff before Elvis made his entrance at 9pm. It was a shame there weren't more people in the function room to fill it out a bit but everybody did say that they really enjoyed it. Tom and Val Clark strutted their stuff showing the youngsters how to twirl. I wonder how Tom's hips kept up though!
Not sure Elvis was too impressed that the bacon, burgers and baps came out towards the end of his set. The smell wafted in and everyone made a beeline for the grub.
If you want an Elvis impersonator for your party or event, then we can give you his number. He lives in the Bristol area.
During the interlude after everyone seemed to have had their bap, I saw the last one from the bar. Seeing as no-one was queuing up, I made a quick dash for the table, and why bloody not! No one was at hand to serve, so I picked up the bap, stuffed about 6 sausages in and some bacon. As soon as I did that some other people turned up looking hungry and I had to give a sausage away but kept a firm hold on my stash. I definitely was not in party mood then. Just blooming hungry. I sat there for 10 minutes chomping away trying not to let the filling drop out the sides.
I'm glad our friends know how to enjoy themselves. Pam (the person who Angela told that she was going to marry me in a stalker-ish stylee when she caught sight of me at the Ivy House pub in Sunderland) and her family were meant to leave early to catch the bus back. They were having too much fun and lost track of time. They did manage to get one of the last buses back, with two young kids in tow and half-cut themselves on a bus full of other drunken yobs. You'd think she'd have the high moral ground. Well apparently not, seeing as she "blew chunks" on the bus! Way to go.
Fair play to Rich P, he was getting people onto the dance floor, adding to the atmosphere. Once his job was done, the big doubles came in and he fell asleep like some kind of Joey Deacon (apologies if that causes offence, but that's what he looked like dribbling and everything).
I think I managed to finish a whole pint before the bar shut. All day I kept on putting one down and then go to talk to someone else and start a new pint.
House party on Sunday
A fairly late night but back up in the morning on Sunday to go to the Yenton, pay the dreaded bill and pick up the rest of our stuff. We still had two cases of champagne and cava leftover. Not many takers it seems on the day.
Back to the house and there was more preparation. Not much time for a well needed afternoon snooze as things would kick off again from 4pm with an open house and BBQ at our place. We still had loads of BBQ food left over from the Friday night, but we got a bit more just for good luck.
We thought it would be a leisurely whip on a few sausages and burgers but once people started to pile into the house and garden, we had me and Matt on cooking duties with Max waitering. Angela, Hien, Ken and others were continually washing up. Some sausages were offered as a sacrifice to the god of BBQs as part of the evening's proceedings.
One thing I was really made up with was sharing a glass of red with Tom Clark. The red in question was a 1997 Penfolds Old Vine something-or-other (I forgot to note the bottle) that I have had on the shelf for a special occassion. He had actually given it to us a while back. It was significant as 1997 was when we got married. We even toasted each other using the same crystal glasses they got us for our engagement way back. It was good to have Tom and Val in our home this time repaying some of the hospitality they have shown us, since I was a lad and since meeting Angela.
Vic, I kept on asking if you wanted a drop but I think you had driving duties for the night. Once the flat is completed and you are back down again, let me reach towards the back of the wine rack and do likewise as you and your family have show the same hospitality to Hang (Angela) and me for a long time.
I'm still amazed how many people we crammed in and kept fed and watered. Even the neighbours dropped by on the night.
No rest on Monday
Clothes washing, dish washing, clearing up, hoovering and ironing. It just never stopped all weekend. I managed to grab an hour down on the beach with my nephew Aidan.
It was roasting down on the beach and the first time this year that I have really sat down on the sand and soaked up the sun a bit. Had a bit of a paddle and the sea wasn't bad at all.
Most people made their way back today, so we were left with a fairly quiet household. Three bottles of champagne and a Thai takeaway later, I was ready for bed!
Photos
I hope you enjoy the photos from the big weekend that are on the Fong Gallery now: click for Big Weekend photos.
Gifts
Thank you for all your gifts. There is so much wine and champagne about the place that we look even more alcoholic than what we are already. I'm sure the AA, as opposed to The AA, will be round soon asking questions. Thanks to the staff at the Yenton Hotel for putting up with our undecidedness, Bournemouth for the fireworks and the lovely weather, the cooks and washer-uppers.
We were still knackered from the 3 day event when we met up with Duncan and family at the Boathouse restaurant in Christchurch for more food and drink on the Wednesday.
Not sure how we can top this as everything really did come together very well. Here's to another 10 years. Cheers.
