My wife’s youngest son and his new wife are having their wedding reception at the village hall in Hevingham this evening, so my wife and I leave Southrepps just after 9.30am to help them decorate the hall, lay out the tables, set up the wedding cake, etc.
As it turns out, my wife’s role is to look after and entertain our 2 grandchildren (at which she excels) until everything is done apart from constructing the wedding cake (she doesn’t trust anyone else to do this, and I can’t say that I blame her – she invested a great deal of time, money and effort in baking three tiers of fruit cake, and then applying marzipan, icing and decorating it with hand made sugar-paste roses). My role is mainly to do with hanging decorations where other people cannot easily reach (I am 6’2″ tall).
It’s getting dark by the time we get back to Southrepps. I take the dog for a walk and then we have a bite to eat and get ready to go out for the evening.
The reception is a great success (which isn’t always the case when you mix alcohol with large number of people in a confined space). My wife and I stay behind to help clear up afterwards, and it is after 2.30am by the time we get home. I’m absolutely, completely and thoroughly worn out, and it’s all I can do to get myself up the stairs and into bed.