The Photographers

Thursday


Greetings all, Thursday afternoon came really quickly didn’t it? Well, that was because I finished Thursday morning only about 2 minutes ago here on Saturday. Confused? Please do keep up…..

Thursday evening was, as you can imagine, kind of slow after the night before. We spent the night in the Kirkstile Inn, a super pub with a dinner of Stilton and Spinach Vegetarian Lasagna and beer. Bedtime was at 9pm though….ouch.

Friday dawned, and yes it was still raining. Did you expect anything else? Kippers for breakfast, cooked by yours truly, and then we had an appointment with the photographers to keep. They are located in Bowness on Windermere, and like everything else, having booked them two years ago, I was really eager to finally meet up. We had a great meeting with them. We clicked (ha ha…pun intended) straight away and spent just over two hours chatting and going over the day. Steven and Josh were so great to be with and I can’t wait to see their work. I spent ages looking at wedding photographers, and was thrilled with what they had done for others, and even more excited that they were available. They have done a number of Civil Partnerships before for women, but we are to be their first male CP couple. I hope we do a good job for them as well! There is a chance that as long as we don’t both look like trolls in the final images that they may use us in advertising. Fame at last! It is an honour to maybe be able to help out such great photographers and really nice people. If you haven’t done so, check out their website at http://www.steventaylorphotography.co.uk/

Afterwards, as it was still raining (surprise!) we stopped off at our Florist and picked up our quote for flowers. We then decided to continue the hunt for shoes. Having checked out many Marks and Spencer’s stores and finding shoes that we liked, but that were not available in our size, we headed to Carlisle. There, at last we got shoes sorted, so our wedding outfits are now complete! Such fun!

Then of course it was time for dinner. Having had Kippers for breakfast, Sausage and Chips/Fries for lunch, Scones and James for just after lunch (at Brambles in Windermere for those who watched “The Lake” on telly last year), and chocolate for after an “after scone” treat We really didn’t feel like eating much. So we went to a fabulous pub in Cockermouth called “The Bitter End” (Alan and & Phil, this is a great place if you are looking for some good beer and top tucker when you arrive in a few weeks). The dinner menu looked so good that we are now booked for Saturday night there….One pint later, we were off to The Wheatsheaf in Lorton for our second pint before bed. Such a busy day!

And now it is Saturday. We are back up to date! Sitting here in Keswick drinking coffee and typing has been quite relaxing. It feels weird not to have to be going somewhere and meeting somebody. So today is to be a relaxing day. Yes, it is still raining, which is a little annoying as I have had no chance to take any pictures since we got here. Some photographer eh? Still our days have been plenty busy as you, dear reader, have seen. Walking/Hiking has also been non-existent too. I have no problem in getting the waterproofs out while in the middle of a hike, but starting out in a downpour is far less appealing. Hopefully that will all change soon, as we need a few walks to help with the waistline after all this food!

So, there we have it. We hope that all are well. Not sure when the next update will be, but watch this space! We’ll be back soon!
Big Love to all,
D&J

“The Bag of Very Important Things”

So Wednesday we hear you cry? Well, the day dawned and it was…..raining. Again. Well, this is the Lake District, and the weather is always unpredictable. Everyone has been asking us what the weather will be like for the wedding, and I always respond that “I don’t know. It’s the Lake District so it could be sunny, rainy, windy, grey, blue, hot, or cold….or all of the above at the same time. Being so high up you never really quite know what to expect. So a word to those who are coming…..be prepared for anything!

So, the day dawned and it was raining. The rain then stopped, and I thought that it had finished. So I started to cook breakfast. No sooner had I lit the stove and cracked the eggs into the frying pan…well you can guess the rest. It began to rain again. James retreated to the car and I stood there frying eggs and bacon in a downpour. This is the life! The raindrops did make the fried eggs go a little funny on top, but they tasted fabulous, and that is surely what it is all about right? It is about soggy socks, wet trousers, and looking like a drowned rat with a frying pan….right?

Next it was in the car and off on a road trip. Today was to be a day of fun, as we were heading to see our friends Christine and Sheridan. The last time we saw Christine when she came to visit us in Menorca back in March 2008. If you feel the need, you can scroll back through the blog archives and look for her. She is the one in the picture standing doing the “I’m a little tea pot dance”…’nuff said. Anyway, Christine and Sheridan live in Tottington and we affectionately refer to them as the Top Totties from Tottington. So of we headed down the M6 for an evening of fun. On the way we stopped off at the parking lot of a pub called the Pheasant. We thought that we had been there before, but couldn’t remember, so wondered if a visual would jog our memories. A quick pull in to the car park confirmed that we had indeed, and recalled having a fabulous meal. I quickly got something out of the boot/trunk of the car, heard a little thud of something falling out of the trunk, promptly forgot all about it, got back in the car and drove on………

About 2.5 hours later, just before a motorway service station/rest-stop I suddenly remembered the little thud. And I remembered that right by the area where I was getting stuff out, was the bag with….dum dum duh…..

THE WEDDING RINGS

So can you imagine the stress levels in the car at this point? Now I am normally calm, cool, and collected in almost all situations. I am the steady one when everyone else goes to pieces. Not this time. The realization that I had let platinum wedding rings fall out of the car, in a pub car park that was now 2.5 hours away, in the middle of the Lake District….well, for the first time ever James saw me have a meltdown. I burst into tears while driving, and blubbed to James what had happened. James, poor love, wasn’t really quite sure what was happening, but I think that my total disintegration into hysteria clinched the deal. We pulled off at the service station which thankfully was only about 500 yards further. I leapt out of the car like a gay man being chased by the leader of the American Family Association, followed by James in hot pursuit and opened the trunk. I grabbed the bag that contained the wedding rings, our Dunhill Cufflinks, passports, check/cheque books, and other important goodies and started hunting through it in desperation, like Brittany Spears hunting for her virginity. And so, dear reader, what do you think the answer to this mystery was?

Well, the rings were there. So were the cufflinks. So were the check/cheque books. And so seemed to be everything else. What fell out of the car? I have no idea, but I know that something did and it was from “The Bag of Very Important Things”. I guess we will find out what it was when we are standing in line somewhere and need “Item X”. With relief, while clutching the wedding rings like some tragic bride from a reality show, I burst into tears in the middle of the parking lot. At which point, a Jehovahs Witness selling brushes appeared next to us and asked if we would like to buy something…..(actually it was some strange looking man offering to sell us a book of jokes, but I thought the JW line was funnier). We told him that we were kind of busy (and by the way if someone is in floods of tiers in a parking lot, the last thing they need is some wise-cracking weirdo trying to flog them a book of jokes….try offering Scotch or a Martini next time please) and he scurried off back to his parallel universe. Disaster and tragedy averted, we headed on our way.

A quick trip around the shopping centre of Bury, (which fixed mobile phone issues for David, and slightly fixed them for James) and we were on our way. Next stop…The Totties! Arriving at about 4pm we were greeted by Christine and Sheridan with wine and hugs. What more could we have asked for! Well, a hot-tub, caviar, and David Beckham spring to mind….but seeing as that was unlikely we remembered our manners and hugged and kissed back. We had a fabulous time with them. We chatted, and drank, chatted and drink, drank, ate, drank, drank, drank, and went to bed. Yes, that was where the 8 bottles of wine came in…and went. I guess when you open the first one at 4pm, and go to bed at 1.30am (David and Sheridan…separately of course), and 2.45am (James and Christine….also separately) you have to find something to fill the time. Morning came awfully quick……

More hugs and kisses and we were on our way on Thursday morning. We stopped off at the service station on the way home and that, dear reader, is where the previous blog came in. And I am still behind as it is now Saturday…..lol!

So, on we go! I’ll see you in the next post!



Big Love,

D&J

Catch up - Part one

Hello!  This is David, finally getting himself together in the online world.  It has not been an easy last few days from a tech point of view, but we are well on the way to being sorted!  This, however, means that we are now about four days behind on blogging.  So, it is time for a catch up.  I'll be posting a few blog entries one after another to bring you all up to speed.
Saturday and Sunday

So as you saw, James and his hat worked their magic and we finally left the US on Saturday evening.  We were pretty bummed that we had not been able to take our daylight flight, as it is the only way to beat jet lag, but the overnight flight on American was great.  We secured some bulkhead seats, and had a great flight over, helped in part by a steward who was drop dead gorgeous....lol.  Well, you have to have something to look at for 7 hours don't you, and he just fitted the bill nicely!  We watched some TV and movies on the PC, had some nosh, a few drinks, and managed to sleep a little.  I, of course, managed to fall asleep and wake up 2 hours and 20 minutes later, which for some reason seems to the maximum amount that I can ever sleep on planes.  Arrival into Heathrow at 6am was uneventful, and was also 1 hour early which was a real bonus.  Arrival at passport control was great.  James proudly presented his passport and enclosed Civil Partnership visa to the nice man there, and the man stamped the visa, smiled, welcomed James to the UK, and wished us both luck and congratulations on our upcoming ceremony.  It was really an amazing experience to have an immigration official say congratulations.  This may seem like a small and trivial thing to many people, but to a gay couple who are finally getting the opportunity to have their relationship legally recognised it was a significant experience for both of us.  So with big smiles on our faces, we headed off to baggage claim, picked up all the bags, and headed through customs and off to the rental car company.

The car process was quick and smooth, and we were off and on our way to the Lake District by 7.15am, a total win!  A stop off at a service area for chocolate, maps, sandwiches (thank heavens for Marks and Spencer's on the motorway), a one hour nap in the car, and we arrived in the lakes at the Winder Hall at 2pm, just in time for our meeting with Suzanne, the manager.  You will recall, dear reader, that this was to be the first time that we had seen the Winder Hall in the flesh.  All I can say is wow!

Of course I can say more than that....you didn't think you were getting off that lightly right?  We were just so excited to see the place.  It is gorgeous and is every bit as fabulous as we were hoping.  The grounds are amazing, the hotel itself is just awesome.  All oak panels, comfy leather coaches, old world feel and charm, and just fabulous people.  Suzanne gave us a tour of the property and we enjoyed every minute of it.  After two years of waiting and planning we had high expectations, and we were a little worried that it couldn't possibly meet our mental images.  But it did...and more.  We are sure that all of our guests on the 21st are going to love it to bits too!

The next three hours were spent finalising details with Suzanne.  We did ceremony stuff, dinner stuff, evening reception stuff, Friday afternoon reception stuff, Sunday morning reception stuff, and everything in between.  It was nice to see all of our plans just drop into place.  The whole weekend promises to be great.  The theme for the event is "A weekend in the country with friends".  Although it is centered around our ceremony, we have always wanted it to be more than that.  It is about spending a weekend with people that are really important to us, and who we don't get to see as often as we would like.  The whole event will start off with a tea, coffee, and cake reception at Winder from 1.30pm to 5pm for everyone to just drop by and say hello and meet each other.  I can't wait!

After we had finished with Suzanne we were supposed to be heading off to the campsite.  However, we were really tired, and the last thing on my mind was pitching a tent.  So Suzanne called a few bed and breakfast places for us, and we decided to check into the Meadow brook B&B just around the corner for a good nights sleep.  The owner, Christine, was a highly strung, swishing around kind of lady who was quite lovely.  Reminiscent in many ways of Maggie Smith with flailing arms and a wild head of blond curly hair, she directed us to our room.  Resisting the urge to have another nap, we showered, changed our clothes and of course headed off the the pub for beer and dinner!  We went to the Wheatsheaf in Low Lorton, which is next door to the Winder Hall.  It is also the venue for our Friday evening at the pub event for all of our guests the night before the ceremony.  We sampled the beer, ate lots of food, and had a great time.  We met Mark, the owner who I had been speaking with via phone/email, and firmed up all the arrangements for the Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.  Hooray for lots of planning!  Then we headed back to the B&B and hit the sack at 9pm, and slept straight through till 8am the following morning!

Monday

Showered, and freshly groomed, we arrived at the breakfast table to be greeted by a gushing Christine armed with eggs, bacon, sausages, tomato, mushroom, fried bread, toast, tea, coffee, yogurts, grapefruit, and more toast.  Not wishing to seem rude we felt compelled to eat everything in sight and we did.  We were joined at breakfast by an elderly couple who were also staying there.  She chatted away nervously to us, and he looked at us suspiciously all the way through breakfast, as if we going to swipe his toast.  I suspect it was more to do with the fact that he knew that we had come from the bedroom with only one bed in it though.  So breakfast quickly became 30 minutes of cocktail party chatter, after which we paid our bill, said goodbye to the effusive Christine and went on our way.  First stop was a trip to Cockermouth (pictured here), the village nearest to Low Lorton to do some shopping and to meet with the registrar who would be performing the ceremony.

And then it started to rain.  And just so you know, dear reader, it is now Thursday and it is still raining.......

We arrived in Cockermouth and went straight to the grocery store to stock up on a few provisions.  Then with a few hours to wait before our meeting we wandered around town.  We found a great place for haircuts and booked ourselves in for wet shaves, facials, and haircuts on the morning of the ceremony.  For those of you who have never had the pleasure of an old fashioned wet shave with a cut-throat razor, I highly recommend it.  The last time we did one was in Lisbon in 2008 where the barber spoke no English and James and he spoke in Portuguese for an hour.  This one will be in Cockermouth, and will also have a strange accent, I am sure!  A little more wandering and then it was off to the registrar!

We arrived and were met by Sandra, the registrar.  She was quite delightful, and spent about 1.5 hours going over the details of the ceremony.  She was fully supportive of what we were wanting to do, and with a few minor tweaks here and there we are now sorted.  Again, it was a really exciting process to be going through!

Next up was a quick trip to Keswick, and then off to the campsite.  The campsite we had chosen was actually quite close to the Winder Hall, but it was across the River Cocker.  Unfortunately, the floods last year had washed away the 200 year old bridge!  So we had to drive all the way around to get to it, but once there we were greeted with a very quiet campsite and about 20 chickens.  Ah the bliss of the country!  Tent up, sleeping bags unrolled, car tidied, and by then it was time for, yes, you guessed it, beer and food.  This time we were going to try the Kirkstile Inn, highly rated in the Good Pub Guide, our travelling bible.  It didn't disappoint.  Fabulous real ales, and for dinner James had Steak and Ale pie, while I had  Chicken, Leek, and Stilton pie.  The setting was beautiful and we can't wait to go back again.  Across the room was a table of four, and they kept us entertained all the way through the evening with their conversation.  One lady had a voice that would cut through a dockyard like a supersonic jet, and she had no idea as to how loud she was.  She also wouldn't let anyone else at her table get a word in.  It was fascinating watching someone talk, eat, show pictures, wave hands in the air, and not even breathe for about 2 hours.  It was little like watching a vacuum cleaner that was out of control.....not stopping for breath and maniacally devouring everyone and everything in its path! 

Tuesday

And so, off to bed once more.  Our Monday was complete!  So you want to hear about Tuesday?  Of course you do!  But in the interests of time, I'll keep tuesday brief.  We got up, cooked egg and bacon (of course) drank coffee, marvelled at the rain (again), and drove to Keswick.  Once there, we discovered that our 7 year old rain jackets were, well 7 years old and were useless. So, 400 pounds later we were kitted out for another 7 years.  Next stop the florists.  We had spoken with our florist over the phone, but now we had the chance to meet in person and finalise the flowers.  Just like everyone else, she was totally delightful and we can't wait to see the finished arrangements in the Winder Hall on the 21st!  Evergreens is the name, in case you find yourself in Keswick and need a florist.....Tuesday afternoon was spent in Penrith trying to sort out phone issues (with no luck) and then dinner was in Bowness on Windermere at "The Hole in T'Wall" pub, with more beer.  Not a Martini in sight.......might have to change that soon.

Wednesday.

Well, you'll have to wait for this one as now James needs the PC.  I'll write a little later on, and post when I can.  But it involved a trip to a good friend, and 8 bottles of wine.......ouch!

So with that, dear readers, I'll sign off for now.  We still have a few tech challenges with James' phone.  A dodgy radio in the phone seems to be the root cause, so if you can't get through to him on his UK number, then try mine.  For reference our numbers our:-

James:- +44 7904 614 970 (011 7904 614 970 from the US)
David:- +44 7950 185 421 (011 7950 185 421 from the US)

We both have email access again on our phones (service permitting), so you can also get us at dnmartin@mkaconsultants.com and james.koschoreck@uc.edu  We'd love to hear from you!

So that is it for now.

Big Love to all!

D&J

Yes, we made it....

Greetings all!  Yes, we made it to the UK again.  We have had more than our fair share of technology challenges since we arrived, so have not been able to blog or be in phone contact much.  Today is the first day that we have had any kind of online access, and this is at a motorway service station.  Part of the technology battle has been telephony issues.  For those of you who have both of our UK cellphone numbers, James' number is messed up at the moment.  So if you need to call us, please use mine.  The number is (from the USA) 011 44 7950 185 421.

Anyway, we have much to share with you all, but that is going to have to wait for a little later on.  Just wanted you all to know that we are fine!

We'll post soon....

Big Love to all!

D&J

Up up and away!

So here we are, finally in Chicago. Everything seems to be in order at last! The flight is on time and James is wearing his hat. What more could we wish for? We are going to be heading straight up to the lake district in the morning for our meeting. It will be the first time we will have been in the Winder Hall! Who would ever plan a wedding in a place they haven't seen? We would! As soon as i can get online tomorrow, by phone or Pc i'll post an update. Till then, Big Love! D&J

On our way.....take 2!

So, after much to do, we are back on our way to the UK.  As you will have seen, dear reader, due to weather in Chicago, our 6.50am outbound flight from Cinty was cancelled this morning.  We were told that all the airlines had cancelled their flights, and so we couldn't even been booked onto another airline to make our 9.30am daylight flight to the UK.  Ok, we said, and waited to be re-booked.  A few taps of the keyboard and we were booked onto a flight leaving Cinty at 3pm this afty, and then an overnight flight to London (booo...)

We thought "how nice they are all being".  Then as we moved to one side, another group of passengers moved up and went through the same process.  Except the check-in lady told them that she could get them on the United Airlines flight to Chicago at 7.56am!  A quick process and karma check told us to leave it, rather than haul the lying witch across the counter and ask her why she had told us there were no United flights.  So we skulked off back home for an extra few hours of kip seeing as we had only slept for four hours the night before.

Karma paid off.  I managed to cancel our UK "non-cancellable" reservation at the hotel in Birmingham for this evening and get a refund, and I managed to rebook our car rental with Budget instead of Hertz, reducing that cost by 40 pounds too.  So, despite the pleasure it would have given us to rip the check-in ladies head off, we made out okay in the end.  Now we are back in the airport and getting ready to head through security on step 1.  Lets hope that the weather fairy plays ball when we get to Chicago for our next leg.

So now we will be landing in England tomorrow morning at 6.50am.  We will have to drive straight to the Lake District as we have a meeting at the Winder Hall at 2pm!  Nothing like jet lag and meetings!  Oh well, we are thrilled to be on our way at last (hopefully!)  I'll post more when we get to Chicago!

Big love to all,

D&J

Oh Dear! The weather fairy became weather bitch.

Thanks to weather in Chicago our flight was cancelled. This also means that we will miss our england flight now too! Stay tuned for more info as we try to stay chipper! Big Love, D&J

The Night Before (NOT The Morning After!)

Well, this is James here.  It's 11:15 p.m. on Friday night, the 23rd of July, and we're finally ready for our trip.  Good thing, too, since we have to get up at 4:15 a.m. tomorrow morning to catch a flight to Chicago.  From Chicago we head to Heathrow in London, and then on to the booming metropolis of Birmingham, where we will spend the night in a hotel.  This, dear readers, is likely to be the last of the comfortable night stays since for the next two weeks we'll be roughing it in a campground somewhere in Low Lorton in the Lake District.

Packing for this particular trip has been very strange.  Well, I suppose you'd have to talk to David about the actual details of the packing, since he has done it all.  But we've travelled enough together for me to know that it's not something that I should interfere with!  He has lists....and a system.  And woe is he who interferes with the system.  Kidding aside, he's done an amazing job.  What makes this trip different is that not only are we packing for a month of camping in the UK, but we're also packing for a week at the condo in Menorca and formal clothes for the wedding on August 21st.  We have more stuff than when we went to Spain for six months for my sabbatical a couple of years ago! (And if you weren't following the blog at that time, you might be interested in checking the archives. Then again, why I would imagine that you would be interested in the history of our travels is really beyond me!)

So....are we ready?  Toothbrush? Check! Passports? Check! Credit cards? Check! Sanity? Sanity? Sanity? OK! Check!

This trip is going to be extra special....and not just because I am being betrothed to the man I love.  We'll be joined on the 21st by 34 of our dearest friends from around the world, including Lisa (daughter) and Joel (her husband), Sonia (daughter) and George (her boyfriend), and a cast of VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE.  (OK, that was a little too Pooh!)

So, onward to Bedfordshire (as they say in England) or to the Feather Ball (as my father used to say).  In other words, to bed....to rest....for at least 4 hours.

Until next time...

James and David

Only a few more days...

Greetings BlogPickers! I thought that it was time for an update on this wet and rainy morning in Hebron, Kentucky! We are now in the home straight for the upcoming trip, as we depart this coming Saturday 24th July!

It is a little nerve wracking as we have only just started to pack! Sure, getting ready for only a month away is a lot easier than when we went to Spain for 6 months, but the wedding makes things a teeny bit more complex. We have so many things to take over for the ceremony itself, not to mention loads more luggage than normal too! Wedding suits, evening outfits and so on. And on top of that all the camping equipment too!

As for the wedding preparations, we just sent out the menu choices to our guests. We have had a lovely time sorting it all out as we both love to cook and eat. When we first started to work with Nick, the owner of Winder Hall where we are having our weekend, we asked him if we could make requests for the meal. He was thrilled with the idea, saying that he often cooks the same kind of thing over and over again. As he is a top rated chef, the idea of being able to stretch his wings again was something very appealing. So we took him at his word and spent many months crafting our menu! Here it is:-

1st. Pimiento Bavaroix (Red Pepper Mousse) - or - Parma Ham, Asparagus Tips, Poached Egg, and a foaming Chive Hollandaise

2nd. Vichyssoise

3rd. Citrus Sorbet

4th. Best End of Lamb, Crusted with Green Peppercorns, Mint, and served with a current sauce - or - Fillet of Pork, stuffed with Prunes and Sage, with a Sage Cream Sauce - or - Fillets of John Dory

5th. Lemon Torte

6th. Local Cheeses and Crackers

7th. Wedding Cake and Champagne

After all of this we will be handing out a pair of stretchy trousers to everyone! Although it is only 8am in the morning, now I am starving....

More details of the wedding weekend will be posted soon. We wish that we had been able to invite everyone to come to the UK with us, but as that wasn't feasible, we will try and keep you all up to date via the blog instead. Of course, there will be all of our wild and wacky travel adventures too. Those of you who have been following our blog for a few years will know what we mean. Perhaps we can throw in a few more videos too!

So over the next few days we have to finalise elements of the ceremony and we still have to work on the actual important 45 minutes were we get hitched.  We have music sorted, entrances and exits, some readings, and a sketch of the vows.  Time to get busy though!  We have, though, finally succeeded in choosing all the music for the evening event.  It promises to be a totally random affair as both of us sat down and created playlists of some of our favourite music.  We have everything from Bing Crosby to Lady Gaga, with a stop over on Marilyn Monroe, Doris Day, Spice Girls, and Vicky Carr.  Quite eclectic to say the least!

So, there we have it dear reader, a smallish update.  The first main blog post will likely be from the airport on Saturday.  Keep watching!

Big Love,

David & James

Re-entering the blogosphere....

Greetings all! This blogmeister David returning to the blogosphere once more. But wait, I hear you all cry...why now?

Well, dear reader, in case you didn't know, James and I are heading off on our travels again this summer. Though this time things are going to be even more exciting than usual. We are heading to England on July 24th, and will be away until August 24th. And the exciting part? On August 21st we will be getting married/civil partnered! Oh the excitement! Oh the joy! Oh the....planning!

So, in preparation for that, it is time to dust off the blog once more. We will be keeping you up to date as we prepare to leave, and of course, once we land back in good old Blighty (England for all the Americans.....) we will be posting lots as we travel around too. Will we be posting on the day itself? If I can smuggle my cellphone into my wedding suit, most certainly!

So, sit back and enjoy. This blog exists on blogger.com and can be accessed directly if you want to by heading to www.rovingtheworld.blogspot.com . It also gets feed into facebook pages through the wonderful world of Networked Blogs. It would really help us if you became a follower of our blog through Networked Blogs. The more followers we have, the more frequently Networked Blogs and Facebook will check our blog for updates. If you are reading this on Facebook, then you will likely see a button to follow us somewhere! Please click it!

Happy Trails, and watch this space!

Big Love,

David and James