16/06/2007
Up farily early-actually we couldn't avoid it due to heavy banging and yelling downstairs. Spent the morning helping out with the final preparations, then drove Lauren to her friends Birthday party. When we got back we were sent to the bakers to pick up some lunch which seemed to have slipped through the net of their meticulous planning. The bakers was shut, Tom was rather peeved and refused to try elsewhere. We went back got changed and picked Lauren back up from her party and took her straight to the church for the ceremony. One horrified woman turned to us and asked if Lauren was really attending the blessing and doing a reading dressed as snow white. I had the unforgiveable urge to pretend she would be but you never know when you are going to see these people again.
The blessing started slightly late as Louise and Dan were delayed. I have attended C of E schools until I was 11 years old so had every opportunity to become religous but cannot find it in myself to believe in a man (why not a woman and if not why does God need a gender anyway?) who is suposedly a father figure yet thinks its ok to let people suffer? Ok so less of the rant.
The minister was a stern faced woman who made her feelings on proper relationships perfectly clear. I can only assume that Mike and Lesley didn't choose the main surmon. Relationships of pure love are the love between a married man and his wife. Ok so the rest of us unmarried people are living in sin, so what? And what about the homosexual population? Are they totally incapable of falling in love? Was this decided by God that same gender affection was never to be fulfilled?
Obviously i wasn't the only one sitting there feelign rather irritated. Andrew went up to do his reading and started by giving a politically minded statement about the different kinds of pure love between adults. I think I grinned but then Tom kicked me. We were both pleased but no point annoying any of the religous set. Robert and Lauren did their readings and Tom went all soppy. Lucky I packed tissues really. Then after the renewal was over we went into the hall for a while.
It's amazing how many people can know you without you even being aware that they exist. I was expecting people to introduce themselves mainly to meet Tom as he is Lesley's eldest son but when they came over it was more, "you must be Rachel, we have heard so much about you, are you ok now? We've been praying for you." Gobsmacked, shocked, dumbfounded; none of those do justice to my surprise at comments like that. I was struck by the seemingly genuine concern of a complete stranger, embaressed that I was being discussed and angered by the thought that someone was wasting their time praying to an imaginary figure when they could be doing something to benefit people more directly.
Mike did another speech, Tom cried again, then we left to go back to the house. A side point- since when did traffic in Romford become so horrendous? We a few hours passed making tea for the old people and finding extra seats then the reception really kicked off. Champagne bottles were everywhere, the house was filled to the rafters (excuse the phrase) and kids were running all over the place. Robert, at the tender age of 10, took on barman duties and people seemed happy to leave him to it. Within an hour or so he had even recruited a handful of the other kids who were happy to take orders from the adults and deliver drinks to the table. It struck me that they really are so young still, it didn't even occour to them they could be getting up to mischief. A few years older and they would have been stealing the odd drink.
More introductions, finally met the infamous George and his partner. The music was ok, got stuck talking to people I couldn't remember but seemed to know me quite well. Tom nearly got into a fight with someone over the buffet. haha. This kid asked her dad if it was a sin to push into the queue, to which the dad said yes and eyed Tom up, he then went on to explain that while some people haven't even been to the buffet once others are so greedy they are on a second visit. Tom promptly turned around (much to the rude christians surprise) and told him that he wasn't queuing for himself in his own home as he would have gone to the fridge rather than the buffet but that he was queuing for his disabled Nan who wasn't able to get her own food. The man grumbled and disappeared. Tom's annoyance didn't, well not until we had left the house gone for a walk, I had gotten ill and he had drunk another bottle of champagne.
Note-Tom dances just like Andrew. Also, Tom is an outrageous flirt when drunk. Met an ex-colleague for the first time (only spoke to him on the phone previously) then got badgered by him and his wife to provide a reference for him. Danced a bit, although I vehemently tried to avoid this as I get so self conscious and I really am a bad rigid dancer. by midnight to get me to dance (my excuse for not dancing had become that my shoes were hurting) George ran off with one of my shoes in his mouth and I had no choice but to follow. It was a real picture, especially when he decided to put my shoe down his trousers but only managed to wedge it in his belt. George and his boyfriend/partner are an interesting pair and seem to be at opposites yet I guess complimenting eachothers personality at the same time.
James was being given too much to drink by Dan, who got found out, an argument followed and he eventually went home leaving Louise rather upset. Around 1 in the morning James decided it was time to start throwing up ( he is 14) so poor Lesley had to clean up after him. lauren finally fell asleep in Andrew's arms while he was dancing so she and Robert were taken to bed.
I think Tom and I eventually went to bed at about half two as the final taxis arrived to take the last of the guests on their way.
The blessing started slightly late as Louise and Dan were delayed. I have attended C of E schools until I was 11 years old so had every opportunity to become religous but cannot find it in myself to believe in a man (why not a woman and if not why does God need a gender anyway?) who is suposedly a father figure yet thinks its ok to let people suffer? Ok so less of the rant.
The minister was a stern faced woman who made her feelings on proper relationships perfectly clear. I can only assume that Mike and Lesley didn't choose the main surmon. Relationships of pure love are the love between a married man and his wife. Ok so the rest of us unmarried people are living in sin, so what? And what about the homosexual population? Are they totally incapable of falling in love? Was this decided by God that same gender affection was never to be fulfilled?
Obviously i wasn't the only one sitting there feelign rather irritated. Andrew went up to do his reading and started by giving a politically minded statement about the different kinds of pure love between adults. I think I grinned but then Tom kicked me. We were both pleased but no point annoying any of the religous set. Robert and Lauren did their readings and Tom went all soppy. Lucky I packed tissues really. Then after the renewal was over we went into the hall for a while.
It's amazing how many people can know you without you even being aware that they exist. I was expecting people to introduce themselves mainly to meet Tom as he is Lesley's eldest son but when they came over it was more, "you must be Rachel, we have heard so much about you, are you ok now? We've been praying for you." Gobsmacked, shocked, dumbfounded; none of those do justice to my surprise at comments like that. I was struck by the seemingly genuine concern of a complete stranger, embaressed that I was being discussed and angered by the thought that someone was wasting their time praying to an imaginary figure when they could be doing something to benefit people more directly.
Mike did another speech, Tom cried again, then we left to go back to the house. A side point- since when did traffic in Romford become so horrendous? We a few hours passed making tea for the old people and finding extra seats then the reception really kicked off. Champagne bottles were everywhere, the house was filled to the rafters (excuse the phrase) and kids were running all over the place. Robert, at the tender age of 10, took on barman duties and people seemed happy to leave him to it. Within an hour or so he had even recruited a handful of the other kids who were happy to take orders from the adults and deliver drinks to the table. It struck me that they really are so young still, it didn't even occour to them they could be getting up to mischief. A few years older and they would have been stealing the odd drink.
More introductions, finally met the infamous George and his partner. The music was ok, got stuck talking to people I couldn't remember but seemed to know me quite well. Tom nearly got into a fight with someone over the buffet. haha. This kid asked her dad if it was a sin to push into the queue, to which the dad said yes and eyed Tom up, he then went on to explain that while some people haven't even been to the buffet once others are so greedy they are on a second visit. Tom promptly turned around (much to the rude christians surprise) and told him that he wasn't queuing for himself in his own home as he would have gone to the fridge rather than the buffet but that he was queuing for his disabled Nan who wasn't able to get her own food. The man grumbled and disappeared. Tom's annoyance didn't, well not until we had left the house gone for a walk, I had gotten ill and he had drunk another bottle of champagne.
Note-Tom dances just like Andrew. Also, Tom is an outrageous flirt when drunk. Met an ex-colleague for the first time (only spoke to him on the phone previously) then got badgered by him and his wife to provide a reference for him. Danced a bit, although I vehemently tried to avoid this as I get so self conscious and I really am a bad rigid dancer. by midnight to get me to dance (my excuse for not dancing had become that my shoes were hurting) George ran off with one of my shoes in his mouth and I had no choice but to follow. It was a real picture, especially when he decided to put my shoe down his trousers but only managed to wedge it in his belt. George and his boyfriend/partner are an interesting pair and seem to be at opposites yet I guess complimenting eachothers personality at the same time.
James was being given too much to drink by Dan, who got found out, an argument followed and he eventually went home leaving Louise rather upset. Around 1 in the morning James decided it was time to start throwing up ( he is 14) so poor Lesley had to clean up after him. lauren finally fell asleep in Andrew's arms while he was dancing so she and Robert were taken to bed.
I think Tom and I eventually went to bed at about half two as the final taxis arrived to take the last of the guests on their way.
posted by stunted at 2:21 AM
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