The new house

Well, we have now moved. It was somewhat close to bedlam last Friday as we attempted to get all the stuff from the flat into the back of a van. I have to admit that 99% of it was my junk and the rest Keith's. Despite that he did most of the humphing of boxes. At lunchtime, when we hadn't had the call about the keys...I hate when things go wrong, we called the solicitor only to be told "well, there has been a bit of a problem", hmm, "so what do we do if we don't get the keys today?", "well, you can get compensation". Brilliant, compensation doesn't rebuild your bed or find the tv under 12 feet of stuff or look after a van full of gear overnight, does it...? Anyway we did what we could to move what we could to my brothers and then sat on the living room carpet waiting for some sign. I decided a little word in Ganesh's ear might be what we were missing - so had a little chat. And about 4 o'clock we got the call - the money had gone through and we could pick up the keys, hurray!

By the time we had gotten the keys it was after 5pm and we still had the prospect of getting all the stuff up the stairs. We were both knackered before we started but knew it had to be done. So off we went again. The sofa was as evil to get in as we imaged, we even managed to crack one of the pains of glass in the front door doing it - but its in. All of it and starting to look a bit more like home.

If have some before and after photos of the old and new house. To illustrate the new pad...

Old hall, new hall - a bit bigger

New bedroom, much, much bigger and huuuge wardrobes

Old kitchen, new kitchen, much smaller, boooo

Old living room, new living room, much bigger - hurray

Additional spare room, one or two bits of junk in....

Additional, grandly titled, study

I think the main difference, apart from the space is the rather less minimalist decor here. Never mind, we will sort that out with time. The kitchen is dreadful though - not built for a couple of cooks that's for sure.

Sibhon and Justin's Wedding

Well, yesterday was Siobhan and Justin's big day. Keith and I headed up to morning side and started with a drink in the Morning Glory pub before the service started at Morningside Parish Church. it was slated to start at 1 pm, but in true Siobhan form was somewhat late - 40 minutes late in fact. The organist had run out of songs to play and the natives were definitely getting restless. People were even seen leafing through the Bible to relieve the waiting - only the pictures though.

Eventually the bride arrived - looking gorgeous but very nervous. The ceremony was short but very sweet, singing All things bright and beautiful and Give me Joy in my heart (Sing Hosanna, sing hosanna, Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings!), off to sign the register and then back up the aisle as Mr. and Mrs.Way. It was a lovely day, sunny, warm and not to much of a breeze to whip up the boys kilts and the girls fancy dresses. There was much congratulations and tears and lots of fussing Aunties and people crowding for photos of the bride and then we all piled into coaches and headed off to South Queensferry for the reception.

The reception was held In Orocco Pier. A lovely venue with stunning views over the Forth Bridges and access to the beach, perfect for the lads to skim stones from. Champagne and strawberries were there to greet us, always a welcome sight and we all hung on the balcony for a while chatting and admiring the views. The piper heralded the arrival of the wedding party and we all said our congratulations and headed down to the reception suite. A room with a stunning view of the Forth and fabulously twinkly lights on the ceiling. The piper appeared again and the wedding party arrived, and Siobhan and Justin got straight down to cutting the cake. Then, just in time to soak up the alcohol dinner was served. Haggis to start, which everyone, even Keith loved, then sorbet, Beef Wellington and Chocolate pudding. Gorgeous. Everyone really loved the food. More wine, a top up of Champagne and then the speeches began. I have never seen so many big, butch blokes cry at a wedding! All the boys from Zimbabwe were in tears at one point or another (Justin is from Zimbabwe) and Justin's brothers speech was particularly heartfelt - and also funny. Even making us wait for it - in honour of the bride making him and his brother wait so long at the altar!

After dinner, the tables were cleared and the band set up. Everyone headed for the bar or stood on the balcony looking at the view and chatting. Soon the band was blasting out all the golden oldies and the dance floor was full. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr and Mrs Way had been practicing for the first dance as there was much tricky foot work going on on the dance floor and I don't remember the boys from Zim having a reputation for being light on their feet... Everyone else then boogied away on the dance floor, yes, even Keith and the night just flew past. It was a really terrific day and I hope that the bride and groom have a fab time in Dubai and Mauritius (jealous, me, never, lol).

Well, I have been back in Scotland for nearly a week now. And it is great to be back. My last flight went well. Apart from some amazing turbulence which had me ready to barf (and I am a good flyer) and the disappearance of my luggage for 24 hours all went well. It was nice coming back and all my family being here. Mum and Dad were up for Owen's birthday so I spent lots of time with them. Even had the pleasure of looking out the window the first day back and seeing a wedding. A bit different from India...

I unpacked all my cases and then began repacking the whole house. I move a week today and so far it is going ok. Only minor hiccup is that with me having my picture part of my drivers licence stolen and Keith only having an old style licence we are struggling to hire a van - sure we will sort it out though. The living room is currently piled high with boxes, bags, suitcases and anything else I can find to stuff things in. I think moving the shoe collection will be a job in itself.

Off to a wedding tomorrow and then the festival kicks off on Sunday so lots to see and do. No excuses not to be busy. Going to see the Andy Warhol exhibition today at the Mound, they have covered the pillars with Soup Cans and it looks pretty cool. The picture shows how it was started but the cans cover the whole thing now. I like Edinburgh in the festival. Even this week it is bustling with people and has a really nice atmosphere. Its nice to walk around wide, litter free streets, which smell of fresh air and are warm but not so hot as to make you sweat like a sauna when your walking. In fact the weather has been really nice since I got back. Sunny, warm and just a light breeze - watch it rain next Friday when I am moving!

I guess I will need to rename my blog now, any suggestions? Edinburgh for Dummies? Will think on it whilst I continue my packing.