Personal Grooming and other pre wedding stuff

Now, This may not surprise any of you, when I say that I am not known for my fastidious personal grooming habits. Now, let's get something clear here......I bathe daily and never wear dirty undies two days in a row, so I don't smell like a two week old half eaten pork pie!, but I have to concede that the choice of Chris' array of facial moisturisers do leave me somewhat perplexed after I've given my chops a quick rub down with a soapy flannel.
Today, I going to make an effort.
I have my face pack organised. My hair conditioner ready ( conditioner! What the f*~k is conditioner?) and intend to give my nether regions a good scrub with something abrasive a bit later!
Gawd all this intensive grooming lark!
Its a bleeding palaver! But I am seriously convinced that I shall look neat and presentable before the sun sets tomorrow night.
I understand there are some sceptics out there... ( next door neighbour John did give me a short lecture about not kneeling down in my wedding pants this morning).....put for once in my life I shall look the part

Chris has left me with the dogs and Albert this morning with strict instructions not to eat anything fluid in 24 hours. It may have been easier and cleaner for someone to pass a nasogastric tube on me....

YP's wedding card....the wag!

Today we've been showered with gifts and cards and best wishes, and its been ever so slightly
overwhelming and rather humbling. Thank you bloggers, friends , villagers and family alike......
I am now off for a relaxing soak in the tub!.....but before I go..I just need to thank Sarah for her telegram....she has won the telegram competition

Disaster in Ambridge

For 15 minutes this morning, I wandered around Trelawnyd in a bit of a daze. I didn't notice Gay Gordon's Welsh Flag still flying in front of his and Big Mary's bungalow ( a sign that he's still in residence) and I only took my earphones off when Barbara Parry bellowed a lusty " congratulations for the wedding" from her front doorstep in Bron Haul.
The reason for my preoccupation was a rather exciting podcast episode of last night's edition of The Archers!
Now, for those not in the know, The Archers is a famous BBC radio soap Opera which has been running most nights since the 1950s. It tells the tale of a small farming community in the fictional village of Ambridge and has entertained generations of  gentle folk when they are doing the washing up after supper!
The soap has gone off the boil somewhat recently, but has come back with a bang when disaster reared its ugly head and the river Am burst it's banks!
I loved it.
Old Jill and the other village grey hairs found themselves trapped in the Church with the vicar and I found myself giggling in delight on High Street when Neil Tucker started to ring the St Stephen bells to encourage the villagers to head to high ground! Shula, Alistair and Auntie Caroline battled the flood waters at the Stables while Clarrie and Lynda Snell saved a coffee table and the ever silent Freda Fry went all hysterical and tried to rescue husband Bert in a futile mercy dash across the village bridge!
And all this on the radio in just 15 minutes
Wonderful stuff!

Shit.....ive just remembered I ve just run out of furniture polish and the vicar's coming for supper

Pussy Galore

I only took a short video of this lurve fest

But it did go on for around 20 minutes

Wide eyed slightly disabled cat adores fat lump of bitch

Its an old story

Eirlys My Hero and a collective Thank You

Trelawnyd in Winter...dont worry its not snowing yet!

Now I know most wedding plans have the occasional fly in the ointment so to speak as I am sure some of the followers of Going Gently can testify to.
So far, ( touch wood) things are going ok ( ish) . Thanks to my nephew the Berlingo will be back on the road within the hour, which will allow me to drive to Llandudno to sort out a few last minute payments for things on the day. Unfortunately the dog sitter let me down a few minutes ago so I was left with the prospect of finding someone to jump into the breach . Luckily my friend Eirlys ( she of the poultry farm and same taste in gravy fronted jumpers as I) gallantly said she would take the pack for the duration so that's another tick off the list.
I bumped into one lady who enters the flower show yesterday who told me that she was looking forward in coming to Church on Friday with her confetti and that she was surprised that the Rector was marrying us seeing that she didn't think that the Church of Wales " didn't do the gay thing as of yet!" Apparently she'd heard all this from someone at the Friendship Group over a cup of tea and a custard cream !
I put her straight ( so to speak)
and got home just in time to take a delivery of a VERY nice Marks' food hamper from Jimbo And Ron over at Ocean Breezes......I was cock-a-hoop when I opened it..... Thank you so much guys for the kind thought

The postman has been working overtime as every day we are receiving cards from all over the blogging world addressed to " John & Chris, Cottage near the Church , Trelawnyd , Wales"
"You seem to get a lot of fan mail from all over the world" he chuckled " why is that?"
" i'm an internet sensation" I told him

I don't think he was impressed.

Ps
I've just got back after jobs and found more cards through the letter box and two apple trees wrapped in red ribbons by the front door! More Wedding pressies!
Thank you to friends Wendy & Alan xxxxxx and thank you too for my Daryl Dixon fridge magnet!
Not many bridegrooms would have got one of these!

Apple trees

And Daryl Dixon

Oh and to really finish

A big thank you to K McLoughlin

Who sent us these delightful and beautiful items of Welsh pottery

Hey ho

The Walking Dead Episode 12 Remember

For the fourth time in five series, the battle hardened "team Rick" have suddenly found themselves in an unfamiliar community. This time Alexandria ,( which is a suburb of Washington) seems to be a safe, democratic but slightly sanitised " safe zone" presided over , not by a demon autocrat , but an intelligent, former politician who needs the survivalist skills of Rick's group in order to keep her much weaker community safe in a dangerous new world.
Of course team Rick are a mistrusting lot, and for the first time in the series' history, it is him and his group and not the new community who possess the potential for being a threat to living a peaceful life. The question sits like the elephant in the room.....is Rick and co too far gone to live in the new order? Or will the group fragment as it adjusts to civilisation?

As Daryl sulked at the clean order of Alexandria and its Matriarch Deanna ( Tovah Feldshue) tried to get the measure of everyone, it was nice to see the survivors try to acclimatize to their new surroundings. Rick cried having his first haircut ,Carl got all shy with the new kids, Michonne brushed her teeth for 20 minutes straight and Carol, well Carol grabbed all the best scenes as she cleverly wrong footed the Alexandrian folk by pretending she was a ditzy bubblehead and not the badass we all know and love.....
I'm sure that will come in handy later on
Anyhow the new direction the series is following will be an interesting one, I'm sure.

Man/Woman Crush

I know Im a sad fucker but I do enjoy the cleverness of tv adverts. Adverts that can sell a 30 second story. Tick an aspiring lifestyle choice and sell a mobile app all in one go!
Genius and clever manipulation.
I have a big man crush in the bloke from the beef stew advert......
If I was playing his character
There would be gravy down my apron
( the apron wouldnt have fitted so snugly)
And I would be alone in the kitchen watched only by a salivating bulldog
Who is your tv crush?
Come on! Own up,!

The Cadbury man

God Bless

Yesterday Auntie Glad left us a bag of scones on the cottage doorknob

This afternoon I returned the favour with a dish of homemade lemon meringue pie.

It was raining and cold when I called and I had the dogs with me

So our interaction was brief and on the doorstep

" good luck for Friday" 

She called out in her sing song welsh voice.

I reminded her that we will have a party in the village hall in the summer
which she and the other villagers will be invited to.

And she held my hand for a brief moment and added with feeling and with a smile

" God BLESS You both" 

I could have cried at her sincerity 

A woman of 95 who has never left her village all her life!

Just Shamed the likes of UKIP 

without flexing a bleeding muscle

A Tart's Boudoir

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY
I don't know how serious shoppers do it, but after a day in Chester I was fit for nothing. I think I must be slightly allergic to the whole retail thing because when we got home, I had a low grade temperature. Thankfully affable despot Jason had kindly  delivered some coal ( remember the Berlingo is " resting" at a garage in St Asaph) so after getting the cottage all warm, I fed the dogs and then went to bed at 8 pm which is unheard of in these parts.
( btw Chris' new wedding haircut IS very impressive!)
Today I feel miles better, so as the dogs and Albert have their lie in, I thought I would share some wedding details with the blog.
Did I tell anyone that I was getting married?

Anyhow, we get married in the registry office in Llandudno.
For those that dont know Llandudno is the only Victorian seaside town in North Wales which has survived the modern day lust for foreign holiday breaks and still remains a popular destination for Brits seeking a bit of " bracing sea air"
The town boasts a pier, a wide and pretty Promenade and Victorian tram which takes visitors up the great Orme, which is a huge peninsular of Limestone which dominates the town.

It's all very........well........nice!
We have twenty eight guests. Chris ' entire family (Mum, Dad, brother, sister in law, nephew, Uncle, Aunt and Cousin ) are coming up from Kent and my family  ( sisters and sister in law, bros in law, nephews & partners, great niece and matriarch Aunt Judy) will be coming over from the most part from just down the coast. In addition we have a nice selection of friends " jetting in" from such  cosmopolitan places as Sheffield, Manchester, Snowdonia and just to be that extra Showbiz, ....from JAPAN!
( Hello magazine take note!)
Chris' witness is his brother Jon. My witness will be my best friend Nuala . Our dear friend and fashionista John H (Bel Ami ) will be " performing " the reading at the wedding........he is wonderfully suited to this sort of thing as he has the stage delivery and cheekbones of Marlene Dietrich
( in her latter years)
After the deed is done, we shall all pop off for a meal at our favourite restaurant at Osborne
House....which does somewhat resemble a " tarts boudoir"
My sisters have been busy beavering away behind the scenes with flowers, favours and other such titivating bits...which is a real treat......its those kind of attention to detail that makes the day a special one

Everything has been organised, so the only thing now to do is to prepare my speech, sort out dog babysitters and make a collection of umbrellas as it looks as though its going to be a wet day!

is there anything else we've forgotten?

I'm sure one of you will prompt me!

Hey ho