OMG, OMG, OMG ……

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG,
OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG,
OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG,
…… we’re finally here …….

AND ……. we’ve seen Elvis ………….. on our very first day!!!

To be honest, at the moment it’s all little too much for us to take in and we keep on having to ask each other “Are we REALLY here?”  in disbelief and then pinching each other to see if we wake up!!!! …… We’re overwhelmed and very emotional …… it could be jet lag, but we promise that after a good nights sleep, we will bring you …. FINALLY ……our Last Vegas Holiday of a Life Time Holiday …..  as we live THE dream!!!!!

Next Time You See Us …..

OMG …..we NEVER thought the day would come .....but with Tom and The Lovely Laura's no longer impending nuptials completed, our duties performed, we can at last pack our suitcases, whip out our passports and tickets safe in the knowledge that our excursions are all booked and our dollars duly counted and ready to make considered purchases of a wonderful American type nature …

The next time you see us we will be in Last Vegas ….. on our holiday of a lifetime holiday ………. WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO MAHOOOOOSIVELY EXCITED …………. if we don't take it easy we may all spontaneously combust before we even board the plane!!!!!  At last, with all the conviction of Elvis Presley in full pelt ...... we can sing with robust fervour ..... "Viva Last Vegas" !!!!!

A Very Special Post For Our Very Special Friend Dianne In Florida

WE LOVE DIANNE IN FLORIDA!!!  She leaves a comment on our blog EVERY day without fail ….. and never forgets us on special occasions …. so this post is especially for her as she loves everything  that is English ….. and we wanted to show her a little bit of Oxford …. even if our big heads do occasionally obscure the view in a few of the shots ….. so Dianne,  this is JUST for you …….

As you know we stayed in a student room at Keble College in the ARCO Building – which was very modern, http://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/

But, The Equally Lovely Denise and The Ever Patient Ken had a room in the old part of the College that was just too robustly romantic for words …. with its bed under a gothic arch, graced by light shining through a gothic window of which we were a tiny bit jealous.However, we had an ample sufficiency of complementary toiletries, including two bonnet de douches, which always goes down very well with Darrell.

…… plus a burgeoning tray of complimentary hot beverages including what to we tend to call camomile and caterpillar pee teabags, which we believe are very popular ….. but we, personally, do not have an affinity for  …. and, posh biscuits, not a common custard cream or bourbon to be found. 

The grounds were stunning, just like something out of Harry Potter ….
….. and we felt very special to be staying there.

But …..  it was the Dining Hall, where we had breakfast, that blew our socks off!

It was very hard not to come over all awe and wonder and get the goosebumps, such was its breath-taking beauty, splendour and ambience …… we just had to stare a while to drink it all in.

We sat at the longest tables, lit with lamps, that we have ever seen, on long benches that we had only seen in films. And once composed, we found breakfast most palatable, we opted for the  FULL English on both mornings and, it passed our test of a good breakfast because there was Marmite, our savoury spread of choice in amongst  the preserve baskets ….. along with honey, marmalade and an assortment of fine jams.

They even had their own special tableware ……

…… which took all our willpower and restraint not to pop under our t-shirts as we left, as souvenirs ….. but that would have only made us look common, so we just discretely trousered a couple of paper napkins instead!

We don’t ever think we shall ever eat breakfast in such a wonderful “theatre” again ….. and we feel very, very humble that we did.

Outside the dining hall, at the top of the stairs,  they even had an indoor street light, just like in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which was too posh for words ….

….. and as for the dinner bell ……. it was mahoooooosive.

We didn’t have a great deal of time to do a lot of sightseeing, because of a certain prior pressing engagement of a matrimonial type nature ….. but what we saw was all breathtakingly beautiful.

But we all agreed without debate, heated or otherwise that if ever we won  the Lottery or Euro Millions we would book plane tickets and a room at Keble College for Dianne and Doug to come over and experience Oxford for themselves, to stay for as long as they wanted and then see if they fancied a trip to Wolverhampton afterwards !!!!

Nigel’s Dreaming Spires

For the wedding weekend we were very fortunate enough to be able to stay at Keble College in Oxford which had a very profound effect on Nigel …..

He insisted on walking around on tiptoe and speaking in a hallowed whisper,  such was his awe and wonder,  saying that he had been taken over by an almost continual attack of the goosebumps, but not of a Derek Acorah type nature ….. this was completely different!He said he had a spooky sort of feeling (but again,  not of an aforementioned Derek Acorah type nature) that he had finally come home and this is where he truly belonged ….. amongst clever people,  thinking seriously intellectual thoughts concerning long complicated words that he would have to sound out and big sums with crossings out, powers to the ninth degree and letters that meant numbers!!!

He was even worse when we went into Oxford itself and looked at the libraries and other universities …..

…. He went all glassy eyed and said that he could feel intelligence coursing through his veins which made his head feel funny, as if it would pop ….. and he had an overwhelming urge to run through the Schola Grammaticae et Historiae and plead with them to ……“Learn me!”

Promising that if he got an anglepoise lamp like in the student room we are staying in,  to work under (because that is what all students do) he would learn “everything”, even Latin and Rowing so that he could go there and be a Don or something and wear a swishing gown and matador hat, by which I presume he meant a mortar board.

Oh good, good, good, good grief! What have we exposed him to now?

I think it’s best that we try and keep Nigel as calm as possible and see how he settles back down at work ….. not wishing to crush his ambitions, but perhaps once he sees the workmen are still there and he puts on his high viz vest and hard hat perhaps his present overwhelming and robust urges will abate a little.

However, if his intellectual enthusiasm remains ….. I suppose we’ll just have to get him some books and a tutor who can get him through his SATS to start him off on the road to academia!  Heaven help him or her and us!!!

Nigel’s Three’peneth Of Fame ….

Oh my life ……. Nigel thinks he is “well famous” now ….. because of this post appearing on Facebook …….

….. and this meeting in the grounds of Keble College, Oxford, after breakfast on Sunday morning,  apres Tom and the Lovely Laura's marital nuptials  ……

….. This poor young gentlemen Sunil, was rendered mahoooosively starstruck on meeting Nigel, (despite the egg stains on Nigel’s shirt and round his mouth)  ….. and had he had a pen and paper on him would have doubtless asked for an autograph ….. if only he could have got his words out properly to ask ……

Oh Nigel …… he is now wondering whether he should get a #tag especially since Darrell hasn't been tweeting much lately! He is also talking about perfecting his signature, getting all his letters the right way round just in case there are any further encounters of a "OMG,  it's Nigel from Mums Monkey" nature ........ oh, heaven help us!

Tom and The Lovely Laura’s Wedding ….. Both Romantic And Very Emotional.

We have to be honest, none of us had ever been to a wedding before Tom and The Lovely Laura’s no longer impending nuptials on Saturday, which probably accounts for our robust and mahooosive preparatory excitement during the past year  ….. so let’s just say it was everything we had ever dreamed of,  but at least a hundred million times more!

It had such a profound effect on us that we were very, very remiss in our photo taking ……. and as you know, we take pictures at the drop of a (wedding) hat, but on this most momentous occasion each of us was rendered almost incapable of clicking our camera such was our bosom heaving emotion …. and to be honest, who wants to see a fairy tale unfold from behind a camera screen, we wanted to drink in every moment for real.

Darrell lost it as soon he saw the Lovely Laura walk down “the aisle” on her dad’s arm.  She looked just like a princess and as Darrell tried to blow his nose as surreptitiously as he could, she looked round and winked at him “lovingly” ….. but there again,  it could have been a bridal ploy to tell him to sob just a little more quietly!  We didn’t know that we would be asked if we might know of any “impervious reason why they both should not be married ”  ….. however, at that moment  I quickly took the precaution of slapping my hand firmly over Nigel’s mouth on seeing one of his pondering looks wander across his face, and hearing him take a small intake of breath, thus not giving him a chance to open his mouth and put forward a few of his own suggestions…..!!!!!!

The ceremony was over far to quickly, but I am not too sure how much more Darrell could have taken….. so when they walked from the room to the strains of Pure Imagination from the film Willy Wonka, I told him to have one last blow and that was quite enough!!!!

Next followed champagne and posh canapés, of which we consumed a most ample sufficiency and much taking of photos, both official and unofficial …..

….. Then it was time for what we would have said was “tea” because it was served at what would have been our tea time and we are creatures of great habit.  The tables looked very beautiful and we felt proud that we had been part of it,  helping with all the little “accoutrements”  at “Wedding Craft Club”.

The Equally Lovely Denise’s bunting looked wonderful too …… ….. and although we (and the Ever Patient Ken) knew that there was 300 metres of it ….. to be honest, it was only just enough!!!!!!

We were also very pleased to find that as we were sat at the Top Table, (each table being named after one of Tom and Laura’s  favourite  dinosaurs, ours being  Ankylosaurus)  we were served our tea first!

….. AND we didn’t even have to unfold our own napkins …. as a nice young man did it for us, even laying them on our laps, which was most posh ….. however he did suggest that he tie Nigel’s round his neck, “Just in case Young Sir should have an accident with his soup”!

The food was Nom, Nom, Nom par excellence, and we would not lower it by even making the merest suggestion as to where it might appear on our Richter Scale of Noms.

The speeches were wonderful, The Lovely Laura said a little bit, thanking her bridesmaids …..

…. and we all agreed that Tom was a very fine and witty orator, which must come from his many appearances in court (giving scientific evidence NOT pleading guilty) ……. and also has the most excellent comic timing (of which we shall be asking for a few lessons and pointers when he is “off” honeymoon). 

The Best Man, Ed, was very funny too, using “incriminating” photographic to support and outline his friendship with Tom from their meeting at their first interview at Durham University to the antics of his Stag Weekend etc. ….. none of which we can possibly reveal here!!

The cake cutting ceremony came next ….. with dinosaurs fashioned by The Groom himself gracing the top layer ….. yet another string to his bow …..

We have to admit being a little disappointed that they didn’t use Tom’s childhood He-Man sword to cut it ….. but we think the Lovely Laura, as her first matrimonial act,  may have put a stop to any such plans Tom may have been hatching for using his aforementioned and carefully locked away He Man sword!

 

I thought Darrell’s blubbing may have finished for the day, but I had forgotten about the wedded couples first dance ………….. to It’s Not Perfect by Tim Minchin ……. and that set him off all over again ….

However, my suggestion to visit the Popcorn and Candy Floss stalls in the conservatory eventually hit home and eyes were finally dried once and for all.

….. And,  as to who caught the brides bouquet ……..

……. did you ever doubt it wouldn't be Nigel?!!!!!!