Sunday nights arrive far too quickly.  Don’t know whose idea it was to mainstream the whole five days on and only two days off malarkey, but it was a rubbish one.  Surely we would all lead more balanced lives on a four to three basis, weekends would be far more productive.  Although in saying that every weekend from now until the wedding in nine weeks has to be productive for us – there’s still so much to do!

On Friday night, Lee and I ran through the draft ceremony our Humanist, Susan, had sent to us.  For me the beauty of Humanism is that it allows for the most personal of all wedding ceremonies I have seen, with the focus being on the couple as opposed to a higher power.  I don’t really have a religious bone in my body, if I had to pick I’d be a Buddhist as I admire the respect for all beings mantra that it is based on, and so the definition of Humanism therefore has massive appeal:

Humanism is a diverse movement with ancient roots that reflect the views of millions of people around the world.  Stated simply, Humanists believe that we can lead good and worthwhile lives guided by reason and compassion rather than religion or superstition, and that there are more things that unite humanity than divide it.

Susan had also asked us to send her our opinions on what marriage means and the things that we love most about each other, in order to add this to the ceremony.  Lee went first on the laptop and his words were perfect, but by the time I had my shot I was so conscious of not plagiarising any of his, add to that a little tired and a little tipsy, that I ended up heading in some weird direction with my own words (Narnia perhaps) so much so they culminated in my referring to Lee as a ‘rare beast’ and my need to snare such a ‘creature’.  Needless to say I am revisiting these words this evening…

Saturday involved a day in Glasgow with my mum.  She had initially asked me to meet her for lunch, but as the day neared she mentioned that she would also like to buy me a set of wedding underwear. Initially a bit nervous of how this was going to pan out, what with the whole mother-daughter levels of appropriateness spectrum, it actually ended up being great fun with no red faces.  I did think about marching her into the bondage section of Ann Summers at on point for a laugh, but decided against it.

I would absolutely recommend going to Debenham’s for bridal underwear, they have a dedicated section (including a good selection from the likes of Ted Baker, Jasper Conran, Ultimo etc) as opposed to House of Fraser, which only had three sets that were contenders but these were hidden within different collections and were far more expensive.

On Saturday evening, Lee, Haggis and I drove through to Edinburgh to stay at my cousin Dreanie and her fiancé Sean’s house.  Dreanie is like my sister, we have been through a lot and visited some of the worlds most exciting places together, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ibiza, Aberdeen…Sean and Dreanie both have a very quirky style and their house is full of artwork and things they have made themselves – had to share a pic of their self-made water cooler fish tank with you.

Sean says that the hour he spent in A&E after slicing into his leg whilst setting it up wasn’t worth it…I’d have to disagree, it looks amazing and is such a simple concept.  Take empty water canister, cut out large air hole near neck of bottle, add plants, fish and any extra décor you wish.

Heather and Derek (Dreanie and Heather own Heaven Beauty in Edinburgh and in my opinion this is the best salon in the capital) were also at dinner with us and we had a banter and cocktail-filled night (a particular fave was the Pina Colada which was made up of a tin of coconut milk, a generous splash (or wave) of Malibu, half a carton of pineapple juice, fresh pineapple pieces and ice all blended together).  Heather and Derek have just recently had their second baby and so were filling us in on what is the most unbelievable birth story.  It is actually so shocking that I would like to share some of it with you, more as a word of warning never to stop at a Travelodge if you are about to give birth…if you can avoid it that is.

Unfortunately this is what Heather and Derek had to do when on route to hospital not long before Christmas.  Heather knew the baby was going to arrive imminently and so Derek stopped at the Travelodge in Edinburgh to literally ask if there was any rooms at the Inn, to which the girl behind the desk replied no and asked if the couple could actually find a quiet place in the car park to have their baby instead.  Derek of course refused this option, it was freezing and pleaded that there must of been another place in the hotel they could go to for privacy, if nothing else. The employee then decided to speak to her manager about the situation and by this point Heather said she was leaning over the counter willing the baby not to come out with 200 guests in the bar next to her watching the drama unfold.  The girl from reception then came back to the desk, with no sign of the manager, and grudgingly offered a room, which Derek had to pay for and fill out a booking form prior to them being allowed in their room.

Luckily after such a traumatic run up to the birth Heather had the baby very soon after entering the room and the couple and new arrival, Harris, were taken to the hospital for a check up.  A few weeks later Derek received an email from the PR team at the Travelodge, who asked if they could help to create some positive PR around the birth at the hotel, portraying it as a modern day nativity to which Derek unsurprisingly replied no and offered a blow by blow account of the shocking treatment they had experienced.  Head Office then came back apologising for their treatment and reimbursed the cost of the room, unfortunately however the head honcho who replied couldn’t even get their names right in his response.

Very poor display from the Travelodge, you could definitely conclude the employee and invisible manager working that night do not follow that Buddhist mantra mentioned above and infact this story is enough to put me off using them in the future…always preferred a Premier Inn anyway.