One Year On....

*Post your caption here*

It's hard to believe that we were married only 12 months ago! 

Thanks to our dear friends Laura & Raymond, we were able to realise a dream and the day took place at the wonderful Chestnut Lodge in Cobham. What a celebration, what memories and what a truly special day for us both, made all the more special because you were there, it wouldn't have been the same without you!

You, our wonderful family and friends!

I (Mr. McKenna) have been asked a number of times if marriage has changed me and do I feel different. "Back in the day" I would have said no, it won't change me, it's just a piece of paper but we'll be just the same as we are now. Well it's not. It's different. I'm different. Life is truly wonderful (even more so than it was). For me, with marriage came the slow but steady realisation that (what with my insecurities and self doubt issues!) he did/does really want me, did/does really love me and does want to be with me for as long as it lasts (stupid bugger!!!). I'm calmer, I'm more sure of my future and I feel that I've 'found myself' through us finding each other. John Ellis, my handsome, effervescently jovial Husband is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me.

The Happy Couple

I truly cannot remember a time in my 40 years (yes, I said it, I'm 40!!!!) when I have been happier and as sickening as it sounds, life is just getting better and better. We've had such fantastic adventures together and we will hopefully continue to do so (Nepal and Malaysia being the latest), we have 4 wonderful hens and then there's our boy, Maximillian Sydney Bruiser McEllis. I couldn't live without my Boys and my Girls, they ground me and give me a joyful release from the manic, stressful 'work world'.

The Boys

So yes, marriage has changed me and it will no doubt continue to, and I hope it does. I'd recommend this 'serious commitment' lark to anyone, you just need to find yourself a John Ellis....oh hold on, I got the one and only.....LUCKY me!

Love Is.......

By the way, I don't know what my Husband thinks about this marriage, but he's never had it so good, or so challenging!!!

The other half writes.....

"One year, one husband, two dogs, four chickens and a pond full of goldfish later and we're still going!

It is truly unbelievable that a year has passed since we saw all of you, an amazing year in which we visited some incredible countries. Dogs arrived, chickens arrived (and went), the boys have turned into men and very proud of them we are, the godchildren continue their evolutions into perfect pink princess and lil' dude surfer boy under the direction of Uncle Dahlia and any spare weekends that we have are spent trying to see as many of you as we can.

Married life doesn't get better than this.

All we need to do now is start saving for the big 10 year anniversary party - see you all then"

A Sneak Preview

Only 6 days to go until we descend upon Cobham in Surrey for our Civil Partnership celebrations.

Today we had our "wedding haircuts", put the suits into the dry cleaners and Mr Ellis went off searching for a nice pair of shoes. Me, I stayed at home, playing with the hens and doing the washing....I'm domesticated already and not even married yet - Mr Ellis is indeed very lucky!!

We thought it would be nice for you all to have a little peek at the place where it's all happening, and so, here it is Boys and Girls.....the venue!

My Husband-to-be looking cute

Chestnut Lodge is truly a wonderful place and these photographs give just a glimpse of the wonders that await you all.

Chestnut Lodge flies the flag

There are still some last minute jobs for us both to attend to and sort out before Friday 14th August when we go to Lewisham Registrar for the 'legal bit', but for the most part I think we are done. We met with the caterer last night and all is now well and truly finalised......fish paste sarnies and pickled eggs ok for everyone???

A hint of Flamingo....

We're both very eager to know more about the cake. Sharon, one of the Best Women who I am sure you will have heard from by now, has made it for us as a wedding gift and it is also a complete surprise.......what will it look like????

Only 6 days until we find out!!!!

See you on 15th August!

We're in the Paper!!!!

Congratulations to the Daily "Hate" or should I say Daily Mail for publishing an article on our forthcoming nuptials.....we're gaying it up for the UK ! ! ! !

If only we knew who 'told' the paper so that we could thank them for the coverage!

Here's looking forward to THE Society wedding of the year darlings!!!

Bits, Bobs and the Boys

There is an underlying sense of panic but for no reason. Sure, there are lots of "small" things that need organising but I think for the most part we are there.

Given up on the trip to France however the lovely Lady Scott and Nackers took the initiative and came back from France loaded with lovely whites, reds and a stunning little pink bubbly number. Just more memories of France and needless to say we cannot wait for the honeymoon.

The weekend was spent half successful and half not successful. Oh yes, head petal scatterer now has her outfit - I am sure that Jemima Jane is going to look an absolute star. We now have to start collecting petals!

Anyway, two very special guests at the wedding, and indeed they mean the world to both of us but me especially, Mr Henry John Ellis and Mr James Daniel Ellis.

Henry John - first born - "H" to most. I remember coming out of the hospital after he popped out. No mucking about apart from trying to strangle himself with the umbilical on the way out. Going home at 7am, sunshine and lambs and green Welsh meadows and all this in the grounds of the hospital it was never going to be a day I will ever forget.

H is Mr Adventure. Snow-boarder, street hockey player, beer aficionado and part time ferreter (I have the photos). Live wire is an understatement and truly, I can get exhausted just listening to what he fits into his life but hey, that's son number one.

Still, age catches up with all of us and at the stunning age of 22 H has become worrying adult! Not only has he and lovely lovely girlfriend Emma done the "Visit Australia" experience but career focused and they now have a wonderful flat in Surbiton. Domesticity beckons I feel :)

So that is Henry - and I'm immensely proud that he will be doing a reading at our ceremony.

James Daniel - son number two - my little boy who is rapidly going to overtake me in height (though I personally think I'm shrinking). Memories of birth somewhat different from H as I had to be restrained in the hospital for trying to smack the registrar between the eyes (it's a long story).

James (or Dan as he gets called) is an opposite to Henry in that he's quiet (most of the time), laid back (to the point of falling over) and manages to look Mr Cool with his clothes and quite extraordinary hairstyles (which I am led to believe are the height of fashion).

Dan also hasn't selected the life career yet. Some ideas have been floated (I personally think if he had started on the hair dressing apprenticeship he would have been an international stylist by now) however he is very good at drinking, a good cook and seriously could compete for the UK in the Olympics at the 24 hours sleep.

So that's James Dan - and watch for him at the wedding, he may well have a surprise up his sleeve!

So on the final countdown now - as you can see from below we have got our wedding outfits - hope you've got yours

Brothers & Sisters

Hello Everyone,

My, my doesn't time fly when you're stressing over Civil Partnership arrangements and the like.....much time has passed since my last entry!

So, as you can tell from the rather obvious title of this chapter, I have chosen to pick on, er I mean "showcase" those lovelies out there that claim to be our siblings.....DNA test results are awaited!

Olivia

I, John McKenna have only one sibling, my sister Olivia who is 7 years younger than me, although the way she nags on at me sometimes you’d think I was the younger one!

Olivia spends her time between playing Guitar Hero (I say nothing!), wanting a puppy/kitten/whatever pet she can think of at the time, driving in a mad, erratic manner and listening to very dodgy music….Who’d have thought Metallica were a band?? There was me thinking it was the colour of the season!

Me and my Sister

Anyway, for all her faults (far too many to list here, we only have so much space you know!), she is my little sister and I love her very much. We’ve had our ups and downs, as siblings often do, but we see each other right in the end. I was “lucky” (check the definition of this word!!!) enough to go shopping recently with her and Mum to find them outfits for the wedding and I think she’s going to look lovely – I never knew that Polyester/Rayon mix came in such an array of colours!

Guitar Heroine?!

John Ellis has 4 (the word I like to use is fertile!) brothers and sisters and they are, in order of age, as follows:

Christine

‘Mag’ (Christine Margaret, hence the moniker) is “the next one down” from John Arthur and is also a new grandmother to her grandson, Louis Jack, now 8 months old…..

‘Our Christine’ is also VERY proud of her bosom….it is heavy and heaving and it has been seen….a lot!

Mag's heaving bosom

Mag lives on the Isle of Wight with her husband Les and her two grown up children, Katie (the gorgeous mother of Louis Jack) and Tom (who is currently terrorising the female population of Kavos in Greece – *Go Tom, Go Tom*).

Pauline

She is a craaaaaazy woman, absolutely mad as a hatter…...but lovely with it!

When I first met ‘Pol’ she had just come back from a rampant ride around the Isle of Wight (she lives there too with her boyfriend, “Col” and her grown up children Ben and Lee) on her horse, Jack, and was re-telling the story to all that would listen (and those that wouldn’t!). I honestly thought to myself, “she is one craaaaaazy woman, we is not gonna get on, innit”…..but I was soooo wrong!

John's Niece Katie, Me and Pol

“Camilla” as I like to call her (in the right light she bears an uncanny resemblance to HRH), is fabulous…..truly lovely and we have a right laugh together comparing the size of our nipples.

Tim

aka Timothy Edward is, if I’m not mistaken, a little like a John Arthur “Mini Me”, especially with a goatee….what say you readers? I have to admit, when I checked with John who was born in what order, I did think that Tim was after John….sorry Tim, must have been the dodgy hair styling that caught me off guard ;-)

"Mini Me" and John Arthur

Timothy also lives on the Isle of Wight with his son and daughter (Sam and Philippa) and likes to think of himself as a bit of a laugh……Tim, with the hair sculptures you created, you'll be keeping us laughing for a while yet!

Richard

Known affectionately by John and myself as Captain Car Crash (for he is a little bit excitable!), ‘Dick’ lives in Cheshire with his lovely wife, Kate and their stable of thoroughbred horses and a number of little terrier dogs.

Dick, in one of his butcher moments!

Dick currently works for Her Majesty in the Army, and loves to tell a few stories about his adventures and encounters with the local ethnic populations….!

Dick enjoys dressing up and is also known to set a fashion trend when the whim takes him….I believe the spot on item for this Summer is “Pocahontas” style moccasins….watch out for them on the big day!

Well…..that’s the siblings done *phew*

Who to ‘do’ next I wonder…………………..?! With that thought in mind, I would like to leave you with a picture that I think pretty much sums up the "Ellis Clan"......not a brother or sister, but John's niece Katie, as seen above, but just a little bit drunker....here she is:

The FABULOUS Katie!

Only 5 weeks and 3 days to go people……I hope you’ve all got your outfits sorted, accommodation booked and transport arranged….

We’re nearly there….!

The Dalyan Posse (more VIWPPs!)

Hello, Good evening and welcome to another episode of Wolfie and Renton's wedding blog....this time we have chosen two very deserving couples to be our next victims, er...I mean subjects!

We met both couples on the same holiday in Dalyan, Turkey in June 2006....and so I shall begin.....

Bella & Muffin

We first met this lovely couple in the back of a 'transfer bus' from Dalaman airport to our Dalyan Hotel at 4am on a June morning in 2006. The first words to leave Bella's lips were "Hello, my name's Carole with an E!" From that moment on we loved them. As you can probably gather, Bella and Muffin are not their real names. Carole is Bella and John (another one!!!!) is Muffin.

Muffin is a bird watcher of world reknown and is the world authority on the One-wegged White Wagtail - a rare and seldom seen subspecies of the more common Pied Wagtail. Muffin will be able to tell you so much about it at the wedding, plus many more stories from his many hair-raising adventures overseas.

Why is Muffin called "Muffin" I hear you ask.....because he's a Stud Muffin, that's why......one night in a fabulous bar called the Sun Ray in Dalyan and the bar staff couldn't keep their hands to themselves! We'll let him explain...

Here we see the Great White Hunter in action

Bella is even more of an action woman than her adventurous husband. She loves nothing more than donning her favourite silver mountain climbing flip flops and "flopping off" into the unknown, armed only with a Gucci handbag and a gold Amex credit card (oops, shouldn't have mentioned that, Muffin will know you have one now!)...as you can see from the picture below, the flip flops really did get their money's worth whilst surveying the mountains of southern Turkey.

Bella used to be called Fatima being as she was feeling all Turkish (I don't know if any Delight was involved as I have not asked her husband!), but then she went to Italy and was possessed by the spirit of Bella Gucci Prada, the patron saint of shopping....she has been Bella ever since.

Bella "flopping" in the Turkish Mountains

Congratulations to Bella and Muffin who just became Grandparents for the first time to little baby Max William!!!

Lord & Lady Shaldon

Lord and Lady Shaldon (David and Bunty) were also staying in the same hotel as us, Bella and Muffin - this is the hotel http://www.asurotel.com/hotel.htm

We first met them by the pool, Bunty looking resplendent in a swimming costume, wide brimmed hat and "Jackie O" sunglasses. Lord Shaldon, her faithful attendant by her side, applying sun lotion to the soles of her feet (ok, there's a little bit of artistic licence here but you get the drift!).

Lord and Lady Shaldon live in Shaldon Manor on the South Devon Coast, which we have visited on many occassion for a weekend of civilised frivolity (Bunty normally gets really lashed!!!) and we always have a wonderful time, they are such generous hosts.

David's dinner party menus are a little questionable at times!

Bunty and Lord Shaldon introduced us to Slimming World, which I have to say is all very well until you visit them and the diet is put on hold in favour of copious amounts of wine and enough dinner party pudding menus to feed the British Army!

On one visit we were taken to the House of Marbles (I thought perhaps to buy Wolfie some new ones as he lost his years ago!) which is in Bovey Tracey - actually alot better than it sounds! We also subjected them to a morning looking at cock.......and chickens at the Devonshire Traditional Breed Centre in Crediton, Devon.

Finally, Bunty has the most enormous, big, hairy Pussy - I shall leave you with a cracking picture of it....

The Grand Design

In the beginning, there wasn't much in the way of discussion about the design and look of our invitations. There was, however, a decision made very early on about who we would like to design said invitations. The one person we trusted more than any other with this leviathan of a task was one Mr. Paul Batterham. 

Mr. Paul Batterham - the official Wedding Invitation Designer

Mark and Paul got married on 12th April 2008 - their invitations were gorgeous, and spookily enough, designed by Paul. So, with that thought planted firmly in our minds, we rocked up at Chez Batterham-Best one evening late in 2008 without much in the way of a design or colour scheme, in fact not much actually. Through a delicious dinner and some fabulous wine we decided on a design that we would use. The one thing I wanted, to identify our joint love of birds, was a feather on the front, the rest I was happy to leave in the hands of everyone else.

Mark & Paul on their wedding day

Well, you will notice that there is no feather, anywhere, at all, not one. That's because Paul made the fatal mistake of giving me (Mr. John McKenna) a web link to look at some feather pictures and off I went looking at lots of other pictures and I stumbled across the stylised hummingbird, which then (obviously) became our final design.

Paul is a designer (dahling), he designs....you can see his work via his webpage http://www.paulbatterham.com (my personal favourite being Tena for Men!)

As previously mentioned, Paul is married to the lovely Mark.....Mr. Mark Best used to work at London Zoo and that's how my fiancee met him, and thus I met him through John. He's a lovely man, now plying his trade on the river Thames on the boats.

This is Mark - "Hail Caesar"

Mark and Paul are wonderful chaps, they really are (just don't tell them I said that!!!) and we are really truly chuffed to pieces that they are not only our friends, but designed our absolutely fantastic wedding invitations! When I saw the first "hot off the press" invitation, I am not ashamed to say that I cried.....thanks Boys.... we love you tons!

Hear No, Speak No, See No

Oh Mother!

Plans are coming on a-pace.

We've decided on the layout of the inside of the marquee now.

We have secured a DJ.

We're booking the hotel for us and the Mums imminently.

I (Mr. John McKenna) have my outfit!!!!!!

We're trying to decide on an Ice Sculpture (HOW gay!!!!) for the buffet display - Mary, our Caterer insists we have one!

One thing we haven't really thought about yet is Rings.....jokes on a postcard please!

As previously promised, I think its about time we introduced some other VIWPPs to the world, so without further a-do, here are the Mums, without whom none of this would have been possible....

Celia, for that is my Mum's name, lives in Somerset and has done for the last God knows how many years...too many probably! Mum is "young (ish), free and single", so any would-be suitors, please contact me for further details - forewarned is forearmed I always say!

Me and my Mum

Some of my fondest memories of Mum are in the kitchen.....baking Banana Bread immediately springs to mind! Her recipe cannot be beaten, its delicious, truly.....Mother, get baking woman!

Mum is not only 'Mum' to me, but also my little Sister, Olivia. One of us has caused Mum no end of grief and I have been a model Son! In seriousness, Mum has always been there when I've needed her (and I'm pretty sure my little Sister would agree!). Until I met John it was probably on a very regular basis, maybe too regular.......phone calls asking if I could come and stay due to heart ache, moving back home, moving out, etc, etc.....she always said yes, she never turned me away, ever....Thanks Mum, I love you tons!

Joyce, for that is my man's Mum's name, lives in Cheshire and has done so, in the same house, for longer than I have been on this planet! Joyce was married to the lovely 'Jack' Ellis, who very sadly passed away after a very brief battle against Cancer in January 2008. When Jack was alive, Joyce acted as Official Translator for me as Jack had the broadest Cheshire accent I have ever heard and I couldn't understand a word he said...one blank look from me and she knew exactly what to do!

Him and his Mum

One thing you cannot fault Joyce on is her ability to be the "Hostess with the Most-est"....In the winter months, upon arrival at Chez Ellis, one is almost immediately presented with a tumbler of Whisky and one's own personal little bottle of Lemonade, to dilute as one sees fit....FAB!

As well as John, Joyce is also Mother to 4 other children (fertile is the word we like to use!)...we have (in ascending order) Christine (aka Mag), Pauline (aka Camilla), Timothy (aka Mini Me!) and Richard (aka Captain Car Crash!)

So, the Mums have been introduced.....what marvellous Ladies....Long May They Reign!

More VIWPPs to come.....watch this space, you never know, it could be YOU!

Update!

Honestly, as my lovely man said before me in the previous post, how DO you cope with it all???? It's just a little bit stressful, innit!!!

We've recently begun to panic about the affordability and availability of a marquee for our upcoming nuptials. How can a glorified tent be so expensive I ask you? Perhaps we should have consulted Milletts and got a job lot on some lovely little tents and just sewn them together into a big one....would have been easier and cheaper! However, our lovely caterer, Mary, has once again come up trumps and found us a fabulous deal on a marquee so now we really are rocking and rolling.

We now have:

The Venue

The Caterer

The Marquee and contents

The Photographer (http://www.kelvinbrown.co.uk/ and also http://kelvinbrown.blogspot.com/)

The Invitations designed by our lovely friend Paul (http://www.paulbatterham.com/)

A few things are yet to be decided:

The Rings (We've sort of decided but need to finalise)

The Outfits

Interior design of Marquee

DJ/Disco

Humanist Speaker

Vows/Readings etc etc

Buttonholes/Corsages

There's so much to think about and yet its so exciting!!!!!

Now, we've introduced you to the Best Woman....but what of their lovely husbands I hear you ask....so without further ado, here are they:

Nick aka "Lord Nackers"

Nick is husband to the long suffering Sharon and is an enigma to us all. He claims to have a very sharp sense of humour but we always seem to be on the blunt end of it. He has an unhealthy fixation with cycling (the man has buns of steel) and he wears secondhand underpants. Nackers is a wonderful man, we love him lots and lots...oh, and he's also a Pussy Magnet!

Lawrence aka "Loz" or "Dude"

Lawrence is husband to Heather and father to our wonderful God Daughter, Jemima Bean and her brother Ferdinand. I think you will agree that this 'hunk-o-spunk' looks mighty fine in a wet suit (Thanks for the picture Heather!). Lawrence is a Marine Biologist and spends his days with the fishes on the end of a kite-surfboard.....if you fancy a go he gives lessons which you can book here: http://www.oceanhigh.co.uk/Home.html Don't all rush at once ladies (and GentleBents!).

More on other VIWPP (Very Important Wedding Party People) in future editions of the blog.

Now.....I'm off to book my kite-surfing!!!

Well how DO you cope with it all!

Venue - sorted! Well that's the good news. There is the chance that it comes with a complimentary marquee however its difficult to pin down at the moment and of course we need to find out what it will come with. In truth, although there is the expense of hiring the marquee it may be easier for peace of mind to actually get it ourselves.

Catering - fantastic menu from a small local firm but a bit over our budget per head. I think we are going to go with this firm as we have been very impressed so far, just needs some discussion.

Registry Office - bloody impossible. Completely conflicting advice however it eventually transpires that we cannot even provisionally book a civil partnership registration until I am divorced even though we have until 16 days before the ceremony to present our papers (240 odd days at the moment) So divorce proceedings will be starting soon.

(and its the 28th October and its snowing outside)

That will be enough for now - off to curl up in bed and look at the Northern Lights through the french windows while listening to the huskies howling at the ghostly polar bears sliding across the icy landscape in search of mangy foxes and late commuters.

The "First Ladies"

As with any ceremony concerning life bonding, there have to be close stalwart friends to not only keep you on the straight (are you joking?) and narrow but to ensure you actually turn up on the day.

In truth it was a great pleasure that two of our dearest and closest friends bravely accepted the roles of "First Ladies".

Introducing Lady Scott - my former landlady, spiritual guru, dietary wizard, cake professor par excellence and maker of named jams and marmalade's.

(at this point I became seriously fucked off as blogger went down twice and didn't save a thing in draft so its third time lucky)

We have been lucky, indeed blessed, in joining Lady Scott and her husband Sir Knackers on their annual sojourn to Africa (completely untrue however it sounds fun and we have been on holiday together on two occasions which has been truly wonderful)

As one can see from the photograph above, Lady Scott takes great care in dressing and drinking like the locals. Her choice of the 1 litre gin glass with hints of tonic of course harks back to another age and the damp patches on her top I can assure you are from wrestling lion cubs away from Virginia McKenna (alleged great aunt "once removed" of my beloved) to ensure the cubs at least have a small chance of life expectancy.

Below is the real Lady Scott (of course not her real name but more related to her other life as international jet-setter and Antarctic Explorer) in more formal dress however not wearing the correct hat in London, much to the distress of the South African Raffia Hat Weavers Association for which Lady Scott was asked to be Patron. Unfortunately she could not accept due to not being able to get into her office while wearing the hat.

Introducing the Dark Empress (DE) aka "H" - provider of futons, medicinal alcohol and dancing, spiritual guru, siren of sea and shore and mother of our beloved goddaugher "JJ Bean" (good name for a company if somebody wants to buy the copyright)

caught eating a non-ecological shrimp at her own wedding!!

So few have been so afflicted as the Dark Empress with one's self landing on her doorstep (emotional trauma and cheating boyfriend!) however once embedded on the futon in Camden therapy began. If anybody ever wondered what life is like in London all I can say is "The Black Cap". Of course times change but in the early 'noughties' the only person to see was Her Resplendantness Regina Fong http://www.reginafong.com/ I cannot recall half the therapy session however I do feel it made us both better people.

However the good life never last forever and for Her Darkness it got better! Not only did she manage to marry my boyfriends dream lover (well what other reason at H and Lozzer's wedding reception would he scream to the entire ensemble "I love you Lozzer, I love you, it should have been ME!") but life realised in rural Cornwall with daughter (our godddaughter, and I am so proud), dog (lovely if it was even vaguely trained :) and a lovely cottage with our own bespoke bedroom suite (when other people aren't using it! how very dare they). We are privileged to be part of their lives.

I love this photograph, the serenity is merely covering the fact that H has just caught Daisy after 15 minutes of scampering over the sands, devouring sandwiches from Northern folk who have the adventurous spirit to picnic on a wild Cornish beach in March, disobeying all instructions, weeing when any new BIG dog came and sniffed! How Daisy coped with H doing this I will never know but it shows a deep trust and understanding with pup and owner.

So how did we end up here?

The first countdown counter doesn't work? (why?) result as twiddled with html and got it working!!! even impressed with myself and the second one is somewhat tacky however it works.

This is my online journal cataloguing the ups (and perhaps the occasional downs) of the preparations for our civil partnership in August 2009. Comments and advice always welcome.

The past month has been very hectic. After quite happily strolling on through life after our engagement in Zurich (more of that later perhaps) all of a sudden there was the realisation that the wedding was a year away. No problem there until I found out that we seem to have picked one of the busiest weekend for weddings to get hitched.

Personally I blame the wedding magazines as all those brides out there really are on the startling block and when the magazine says "book early", they do! How stupid is that. So we are now having to join in the race.

Mid October and so far we have a confirmed venue, the wonderful offer of a wedding cake, marquee almost sorted, catering underway, quotes in for dj's, photographers (how bloody expensive, I think I should become one!) and various other goods. We have a tight budget and at this rate its going to be fish paste sandwiches and a can of lager though we will have a beautiful venue, a fantastic wedding cake and lots of friends and family with us.

I accept that of course most weddings are your normal heterosexual occasion and have had great fun in going for competitions offering all paid weddings, free receptions, etc. However when it comes to filling in the details there is never a groom/groom option. Fortunately both being John means that we both have had the opportunity of being the "bride" in competition land.