Woke up bright and early, went to (the) ASDA to get some breakfast materials, bacon, sausage, bread etc, came home, packed up the car and then headed up to the in laws. I was commanded to hoover the car, as we couldn't go to Scotland with it dirty, so I did that and cooked up some breakfast for everyone then left the in laws in our dust and we sped up to Gretna Green.
We followed the sat nav to the letter (despite the fact we'd been warned not to) to The Days Inn at Gretna services. It was pretty much straight up the M6 and then we came off the motorway, as instructed by the sat nav, took a few lefts and right, passed the "Famous" blacksmiths shop, down a long country road and to a field, where the sat nav proudly proclaimed that we had reached out destination. Just then my father in law phoned Melissa and informed her that a) they'd reached the hotel without the aid of a sat nav or even a rudimentary set of instructions, and b) had got there before us, despite setting off after us.
We back tracked a bit and then found the hotel conveniently located next to a Starbucks. We met up with Tommy, Judy and Callum (father and mother in law and Dave's son), Claire and Dave (bride and bride groom) and Gracie and Maggie (their respective kids) and we all enjoyed a coffee/tea/soft drink and a bit of a catch up.
We then waltzed over the road to the Days Inn (not in the invisible, and in the middle a field, but part of a very large and busy service station) and checked into our rooms. They'd put the whole party in one wing of the hotel, all in adjacent rooms.
 |
| Bed each. Awesome. |
We freshened up and then headed into Gretna, to the old blacksmiths 'resort' to check the area out. It was actually really nice. Big gift shops and whatnot, loads of people, mainly tourists, and then a cordoned off area for weddings to take place in. We watched a couple of parties come out and cheered along with everyone. The weather was really nice for most of the time we were there, but as we were leaving it cooled down and the wind picked up a bit and it started to look like rain.
 |
| Gracie, Melissa, Maggie. |
 |
| The Weather |
So, we showered and then headed over to the services for some food (Burger King) and then went back to the hotel to start boozing. Claire's brother Spencer, his wife Gemma and their kids Emma and Charlotte arrived in the mean time (Five kids now. And loads of Coca Cola and sweets. Nightmare), as did Claire's daughter Aimee, her friend Natalie and Jody who I believe was a friend of Claires. The adults sat having a few drinks while the kids bombed up and the down the corridor being loud and shouty. Tommy bought be three bottles of real ale and supplied me with a suitable vessel from which to drink them.
Bedtime was a little after 12.
Saturday
We awoke earlyish. I slept in the second bed, as I knew I'd snore and Melissa wouldn't be able to kick me, or punch me from where she was sleeping. I think we both slept OK, anyway. Breakfast wasn't included in the room price, so we headed over to the services. I opted for Starbucks, because I'm a slave to consumerism. And I like good coffee. I got a muffin too. Everyone else went to something called "Eat In" for a full English. I had Judy's hash brown and one of Melissa's sausages and we headed back to the hotel a little after 10am. The service was scheduled for 2pm. There were 4 hours to kill. It takes me 20 minutes to get ready, including a shower. Fortunately Judy asked if I wanted to go round the gift shop at Gretna that we didn't have time to visit yesterday. I did. She drove, I navigated. Big mistake. We did OK though, and it killed a good hour.
We got back (eventually) and I milled about while Melissa faffed with her hair, the kids ran up and down the corridor screaming yet again and Dave stressed out.
 |
| Faffing. |
Long story short, the taxis picked us up at about 1:20pm and we went to the blacksmiths thing. I was given a camera with which to video the event, a task I accepted with great relish and delight. What I lacked in ability I made up for with enthusiasm.
The ceremony was brief but very nice, everyone looked good. Here's a (bad) picture to prove it :
Afterwards, the taxi's picked us up again and took us to a pub called The Crossways in Gretna for a bit of a do. No cask ales on, and I almost opted for Guinness, but they had Tennents on draught, and I'd heard good things, for I went for that. It was good.
The group of us had "the lounge" area of the pub and we had a good laugh and a chat. The kids spent a lot of time hassling me, poking me, hitting me, putting things in my hair and making me wear a paper hat. They seemed to enjoy themselves though, so that's fine.
The buffet was good, quiche was a highlight. Cake was good too, no pictures, but it was delicious. The kids, not sure which one, spilled half my last pint, so I went and get a single measure of 12 year old Glen Livet poured over a single ice cube (not served in a man's hat, nor was it served with pepper and cheese) and.
We headed back to the hotel at 8pm.
Once everyone had got back and settled down the kids were dished out between the various rooms, and the adults settled down for a few drinks. Melissa and I watched Coming To America, then the end of Con Air. Maggie and Gracie came to sleep in our room. There was some kerfuffle about a sausage roll or something and then we all went to sleep.
Sunday
Woke up this morning before the kids, who we'd been warned were early risers. Not true. We had to wake them at about 8:30am. We hastily packed up our stuff, checked out and said out goodbyes to everyone, then hit the road (obviously stopping at Starbucks beforehand). Exactly two hours later we were home.
Melissa is fast alseep, exhausted. She's coped well this weekend, what with long car journeys and standing round and such. Baby is due 5 weeks today. Her prediction that she'd go last week was (fortunately) inaccurate.
Think the rest of the day will be spent dossing about, nothing else is planned. If anything wild happens, I'll let you know tomorrow.
Congratulations to Dave and Claire on their lovely wedding, and thanks for inviting us. We had a lovely time.
Also, Congratulations to my brother David and his fiancée Jenni who are both finally fully settled in New Zealand, with their own place, car and more importantly, jobs. Very pleased and proud for you both!
Bye for now!
