Sunday, August 31, 2008

Happy hens.. but a sick bride

I've been a bit slack on the blog writing front 'cos I've had a manic week, spending only one night in the past 10 days at home. And I'm feeling a tad sleep deprived as I write this.. all will become clear over the next couple of blog entries.

So, my Bank Holiday weekend was spent enjoying Bloater's hen weekend, organised by the four of us who are privileged enough to be her bridesmaids. Now, my friendship with Bloater has been forged over many years and started about eight years ago when we were united in our love for mince pies. She's a dear friend, a great laugh and she deserved the best of hen weekends - and by jove she got one!

All hens arrived before Bloats as she had no idea where she was going. But there was a bit of trouble on her journey to destination Nottingham as our matey Sam (designated driver) discovered... Bloater gets mega travel sickness. I spoke to Sam and Bloats a couple of times during their drive over, directing them to the cottage we were staying in and checking on ETA so we could get the dinner on. Sam sounded like she was flagging and Bloater was desperate to get me off the phone. What was going on??!! As the pair of them pulled up, Bloater dived out of the car and blew chunks in the nearest bush, narrowly missing her own feet. Once she was done, she flung her arms open to give me a big hug. Hmmmm.

Anyway, following the bride to be's episode of sickness, the girly fun began. Friday night consisted of 11 hens, lots of pizza and garlic bread, wine and Superstar Singstar, the karaoke video game thing. We also pulled on T'shirts branding Bloater's favourite hunks and had a mini quiz. Then we piled into bed at 3am.

Saturday was an early start so we could get to Sherwood Forest for our biking adventure. Four hours on bikes, a summer picnic and a few gear troubles later, we returned to the cottage for tea, cake and an afternoon snooze. Then we ate pasta and salad, pulled on our glad rags and headed into Nottingham for drinks and dancing - and the peg game! This involves pegging random strangers (using washing line pegs) without them noticing and is hours of endless fun.

On Sunday we were all flagging a bit so after a lazy morning the bride and bridesmaids headed into Derby for a spot of shopping while the others piled into a health spa for swimming, sauna and general relaxation. Us bridesmaids needed shoes to match our dresses and with all of us scattered across the country, this was our last chance before the wedding to shop while we were all in the same location. None of us were in the mood for shopping but it was over and done with pretty quickly, and then we joined the others at the pool.

The health spa was fab and in a beautiful location, the only downside being the three loved up couples who set up permanent residence in the jacuzzi. Get a room! After hot showers (a luxury as our idyllic cottage had just one downside, major lack of hot water) we headed home for hot dogs and DVDs. Bliss.

Monday, the final day of henmania, was rounded off with breakfast, a bit of a tidy up and loading the cars up with all the fod we'd failed to munch our way through. We also had to bid a farewell to Wodash, the three legged dog from next dor, who seemed to befriend us girls. Even though Bloater referred to the poor hound as "tripod" and later Wozniak (dont's ask!!!!) the dog looked genuinely sad when we pulled off the gravel drive and headed home.

All in all a perfect weekend! Only five weeks until the wedding. Yay!