In the middle of Mascagny’s Intermezzo

the bridesmaid ran over and plonked her head-dress on my head and then ran off again.  Ten minutes later she was back and danced to the Irish Jig I was playing and snatched the head-dress from my head and gave it to the Groom.   I have nearly finished my dress for my son’s wedding in August.    It started months ago when I spotted some pink/gold dupion silk on Keighley Market.  We rummaged deep and found some matching organza.  I had twenty quid in my pocket and spent the lot on some of each.   Week’s later whilst sat in a hospital waiting room I spotted a biro on the window ledge, grabbed a leaflet advertising ‘PALS’ from a display stand nearby and started sketching and designing the dress.  When I came home I had to check how much material I actually had to work with but with a few adjustments I started to cut it out.   My son and his fiancé had printed RSVP cards with suggestions to tick along the lines of:- ”YES, I AM COMING WITH BELLS ON”, ”YES, I AM COMING BUT NOT SURE ABOUT THE BELLS”, ”YES, I AM COMING BUT HATE BELLS” etc.   My son has since told me that no-one quite understood any of that.    Luckily I have been asked to play the harp in Church, in Ireland so of course they are going to get BELLS – and needless to say none of the guests will be left in any doubt – I have also made myself new matching sets of bells, one for each ankle …

of frogs and harps

The grass was wet and my long dress was getting heavier and heavier as the water soaked upwards leaving a line of mud at the top.   It had reached my knees before we came through ‘The Orchid Field’ and back onto the cut lawns by the ‘Temple’ where the ceremony was taking place!   I had started by tucking my dress into my knickers and had put my shoes in my satchel (harp bag) on my back.  The dress wouldn’t stay put, I was pushing the harp, precariously balanced on an old pram base and I put my shoes on very quickly when I accidently trod on a slimy frog.  Me and frogs don’t really get on.   There is a huge one living in an old bucket in the garden.   I wanted to clear it up and started to move the bucket but there was a slight movement at the bottom and the huge frog stared back at me challenging my actions so I thought better of it.  At a private lunch once HRH Prince Charles was a guest – still single in those days – he asked me to carry on playing the harp whilst he walked round the garden.  He disappeared behind a huge line of bushes and a frog jumped out into the middle of the lawn.  Five security guards appeared and urged me to kiss it.   I hesitated and much to my embarrassment Prince Charles appeared back laughing questioning why I had hesitated.