Morna and me ...........

The weather in Skye has been VERY variable in the past three weeks since the wedding,  but we will not complain (let it rain!) because of the miracle of all-day sunshine on Friday 3rd June.  Though there have been sunny days for the bride and groom, who have returned from a fabulous honeymoon on the island of St Lucia in the Caribbean but now even they are back at work.  

opening wedding gifts

Lest you or any of us forget June 3rd,  there is the opportunity to browse the wonderful collection of photographs (a mere 400!) taken by Iain Smith of Skye Photo Centre.

http://iainsmith.e-printphoto.co.uk/c/170311/morna%20_%20john

     

    

With the Impett family flying off home to Australia tomorrow, I think about how pleased Granny would have been to see all the members of the Martin family gathered together once again, the last time being at Calum and Sandra's wedding almost three years ago.



 Granny requested this family photograph on 3rd October 2008 



    John Murdo, our former minister and family friend who was originally going to perform the marriage ceremony,  is much in our thoughts, with the loss of his son.  David was born on Morna's second birthday and passed away on her wedding morning.   I considered as we attended the funeral, that the grief and sorrow felt at the loss of a son aged only 24, goes very much against the natural circle of life.   

In memory of David       -      05.10.86 - 03.06.11

Therefore there is a realisation of much to be happy about today - my children, a baby grandson .......... and the joys of all the years we have had with a mother and granny and latterly great granny.   We will cherish Granny's memory and let it live on in her family where we all recognise what we have gained from her yesterdays - her humour and her laughter and her love and a strong sense of family life.

And so we go on, moving into tomorrow and looking ahead to the future .... Morna and me.

Me ........ and Mrs Butcher 



PS.....  Anyone need a hat?



Oh happy day!

The day surpassed all expectations -

• the sun shone
• the bride was radiant
• the groom was happy and relaxed
• the minister was delightful
• the organist played an Ode to Joy  
• the cake did not collapse
• the band was declared the best ever
• the day was filled with family and friends and laughter and love 
• and the mother-of-the-bride did not cry ........

• Order of Service

confetti

Kilmore Church

                                                                                                 

on the terrace at Fàs

                           

Symbolic of hope and a happy future!

.........................................................................

Laughter with Granny at Calum's wedding
 October 2008

              3rd June 2011 -
        
              Her smile was in the summer sky

              Her grace was in the breeze
              Her memories whispered in the grass    

              Her laughter in the trees  .....

              (based on a poem by David Harkins)

Angela's Ashes

Reminiscing with my Australian sister after the wedding, we speak of our early memories of Granny washing dishes in the little scullery while she sang to amuse us, her children, a particular favourite being:-



Granny pictured, years later, with one of her daughters' dolls



"I once had a doll that was all dressed in white
I called her my baby and I'd hold her tight .......

.........

Mama, Mama,

One little word she knew
Mama, Mama,

To me it meant I love you."

She also had a fondness for Irish ballads and would sing  "A Mother's Love's a Blessing" by Bridie Gallagher.  Now fast forward several years, and I foolishly share this verse with my (then) teenage children who are amused by the emotion evoked by this memory!  

But in her late teenage years, Morna and I watch the film Angela's Ashes (a memoir of Frank McCourt's impoverished early years in New York and Limerick, Ireland) at Aros cinema in Portree which ended with a grand rendering of that verse.......

              "A mother's love's a blessing
            No matter where you roam
            Keep her while she's living
            You'll miss her when she's gone
            Love her as in childhood
           Though feeble, old and grey

           For you'll never miss a mother's love
           Till she's buried beneath the clay".

.......... and we look at one another and know that this film has got to be shared with Granny. 

When it became available on Skymovies, Granny was duly brought to Sleat for an overnight stay, other friends invited and the men in the household dispensed drinks to the many ladies resplendent in front of the main TV, where they were normally accustomed to be sitting watching Saturday Night sportscene!   Granny enjoyed the film and no doubt shed a tear or two, along with the other emotional ladies attending the viewing.


Mother of the bride kept her emotions under control on 3rd June,
seeing Morna looking so lovely and wearing Granny's pearls.


  

Iain beag's perspective on Friday 3rd June

" Don't know what all the fuss is about - but it's not me.


First of all,  it's my Mummy's birthday but they don't let me near the candles on her cake. 

Mind you I enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine for breakfast though I don't get any Buck's Fizz.

Then they dress me up in this skirt though you must admit I look very good in the MacLeod tartan which was the same as Dad's and Seanair's and dare I say that having youth on my side, I even look better than them in the family tartan!. 

I then pose for lots of photos with the family including one where my Daddy makes me hand over a lovely teddy horseshoe to  my newly-acquired Uncle John and his bride, my Auntie Morna (she who shares my birthday and normally gives ME the presents).  I wanted to keep it myself.   

Quite honestly, I'm happiest when I get my kit (oops kilt!) off and am ready for a bath!    I am really looking forward though to my own christening next month when Auntie Morna and Uncle John are going to be my godparents and I will once AGAIN be the star of the show!"



I was the youngest person at the wedding and possibly the best-looking!







I did think that the oldest person (my great GreatAuntie Katie, aged 91) wasn't bad either! 



and all too soon, we come to 3rd of June!


 


Sleat sunshine meant family had a champagne breakfast outdoors
to celebrate Sandra's birthday!

  Oh what a perfect day! Despite days of unseasonal weather including rain and hail and an early morning forecast for drizzle, the day proved to be one of the sunniest this summer. 








states ........... of dressing, dresses and undress




















There was so much activity, including hairdresser, make-up artist and photographer, not to mention Karen from Aird kennels coming to collect Sorcha after her photoshoot with the bride, that no wonder Morna was 23 minutes late in arriving at the church!

Sorcha, a reluctant bridesmaid, hides in her basket!

here come the girls!

so much to do in the last few days ....

cupcakes, church decorating and table decorations

It was great fun to have so much help from bridesmaids, from friends of the bride, not forgetting sister-in-law and mother-of-bride and also the bride herself!

Gloriously imperfect!



My first and last attempt at making a wedding cake!



 Don't look too closely at either the cake or the mother-of-bride



 Got out of bed at 5 am this morning as stressing about getting the wedding cake assembled.  Father of bride called upon to cut the dowels to appropriate size (I cannot cut in a straight line).   He can also lay claim to having made the stand for the cake.   My only comment is that I do not recommend this task for mothers-of-bride who are novice cake-makers as the stress levels are very high and as the title suggests I have settled for glorious imperfection! 

  I now need to get changed out of my pyjamas as it's  10am and other tasks need to be done - 3 days to go till the big day .........................

PS The sun is shining is Skye ..............

Something new, something blue ......



Lace garter-making in progress



I'm lucky to have crafty friends (they are not fly and sly, just talented) and not least Sheila Robb,whose hobby is lace-making.   I received an email last week to say she had made the bride a garter which duly arrived in the post and indeed it is exquisite.  As you can see, Sheila also has a wonderful collection of bobbins which are definitely collectors' items and, like the garter bound to become family heirlooms!

Morna admiring the intricate detail on the finished article

The bride was not willing to pose for the photographer wearing the garter - not today anyway!

Something old, something borrowed ......


  

The pearls getting the treatment on Shirley's new craft table





It's now less  than a week until the wedding and the bride has arrived home in Skye for the final preparations.  Morna is going to wear a set of Granny's pearls to complement her wedding dress, possibly the oldest set Granny owned,  as I remember them from my childhood.  Being in need of repair, Shirley, my creative and crafty (oops - good at crafts, I mean!) friend was called to action and she restrung the pearls and cleaned them up.   Shirley had just returned return from Texas, having been visiting family to celebrate her ?0th birthday.  The craft table was a birthday gift and so was put to good use immediately.  They pearls now look fantastic so well done Shirley and mòran taing!  Now, if any of you need your jewellery sorted please contact ......



Granny wearing her pearls in the 1980s as she returns from visiting daughter Mairi in Australia



Hens do the Royal Wedding!

Getting wedding tips from HRH!




The Royal Wedding provided the perfect excuse (and a Friday off work!) for a ladies get-together, lots of cake, Prosecco and Pimms.  Mother of bride (not Mrs Middleton) did however introduce a place-card making activity into the proceedings, so that she could tick off another task for June 3rd.  So, if your place-card is squint, blame it on the Pimm's.  There were also cakes a-plenty!

 

Nephew Iain helps the bride cut the Royal wedding cake

 
  

This male prefers to eat cake than jump out of it!



 



Granny would have liked the fact that the decor from her cake was then used on Joan's!



30th April was the official Hen Night Out, culminating in dinner and cocktail-making at Arta in Glasgow City Centre where we met up with Mog and other members of the Butcher family.

Joan's birthday was an excuse to have even more cake and we thought of Granny on her last birthday.   She would have enjoyed seeing her granddaughters all dressed, hair done and ready to party.   The diets have now started again so it sounds as if May will be a cakeless month!




 



Bogged down blog

    



Home-made invitations using dried lavender from last year's Dubhard garden



1. Invitations made, written and sent ....... replies arriving
2. Candles ordered from http://www.skyecandles.co.uk/
3. Mob outfit bought from Catherine's of Pertyck, including very, very large hat, in order to get ahead!
4. Cake practice still happening, including birthday cake for mother of bridesmaids on 30.04
5. Ladies get-together (aka hen-night) planned for this weekend, beginning with Royal Wedding viewing which will no doubt provide some hints and tips - lol! .......

Cakes

The bride is of the opinion that her mother is obssessive about practising cake-making, especially coping with fondant icing which is unknown territory and causing some angst.  It is therefore tempting to peruse the following recipe which was passed on before Christmas and not as yet tried out by Mob!

Plain cake, no brandy made for bridesmaid Julie's 21st birthday!

Cake with brandy
* 2 cups flour
* 1 stick butter
* 1 cup of water
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* Lemon juice
* 4 large eggs
* Nuts
* 1 bottle Brandy
* 2 cups of dried fruit

Sample the brandy to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the brandy again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and
drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the brandy is still okay. Try another cup... Just in case. Turn
off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the
cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit
gets stuck in the beaterers,  just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the
brandy to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.
Check the brandy. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one
table. Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find. Greash the
oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget
to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish
the brandy and wipe counter with the cat.

Bingle Jells!

Cherry Mistmas!





The first cake made by Mother of bride in her new Lakeland wedding cake tin was for Granny's 81st birthday.

 .

By yon bonnie banks .......

 



Granny's ensuite four-poster bed-room complete with jacuzzi bath (we are not sharing the photo of her posing in the bubbles!) was  perfect for a gathering to open Morna's birthday gifts.

   


Morna's 21st birthday in October 2005 was held at Drymen, Loch Lomond and we were lucky to be the first occupants of a five-star chalet at Foxglove Cottages.   Granny was delighted to travel down from Skye with us and be joined by various members of the family in the course of the week,  including Morna as she commuted back and fore to Glasgow University for her classes.

         The highlight of the day was an outing at her insistence, (for Granny, her daughter, her granddaughter and not forgetting granddog Sorcha) which included a sail on the Sir Walter Scott on Loch Katrine followed by lunch.   She was in her element as she loved being the person giving the treat and even ordered a Cointreau and lemonade in honour of the birthday celebrations!   The day ended with a family birthday meal in the chalet with the only complaint being from Sorcha who, totally unimpressed by the noise of the party poppers, escaped and on being found wandering had to be coaxed back inside, minus her tartan bow which was retrieved in the grounds on the following morning!

          Granny's shopping purchases at Lomond Shores included a pair of Ara shoes which became a legend because of their constant companionship to her feet for the following two years!    Her continuing to wear them long after they needed replacing became both amusing and exasperating for us.  Our quest to trace an exact pair once again proved  fruitless and despite purchaing alternative comfort shoes for her, Granny was long afterwards discovered  to be still wearing her Ara shoes, despite their sorry state!   She often  talked about her expedition to Lomond shores, her outing on Loch Katerine and Morna's 21st birthday.

     

It was indeed a memorable occasion. 

         

  " Oh ye'll tak' the high road
and I'll tak' the low road,
An' I'll be in greeting before ye',

But wae is my heart until we meet again   
On the Bonnie, bonnie banks
O' Loch Lomond "

  



 

  







Does ring recovery mean another celebratory lunch at Kinloch Lodge?

 John and Morna, accompanied by a Dalmally policeman, visited the car accident scene last Saturday morning taking John's newly-purchased metal detetctor with them. They recovered Morna's watch, one ear-ring and......................... her ENGAGEMENT RING.    So everyone is delighted, not least the bride who feels that she is newly-engaged.  It was rumoured that a bottle of champagne was being opened last Saturday evening to celebrate this fact!

           Morna reports she has discovered that peat, tree roots and broken glass are good for cleaning jewellery.  Mother-of-bride reports that she is now back in full wedding-prepartion mode. 

          This incident must give the ring added value and will surely make a good story for Morna to tell future generations!  

Uncle Billy rescues the bride





                   

     Morna and brother Calum with Billy and his bride (their Auntie Joan) -  Independence Day 1986!

          My blog has been on hold for the past week because the scheduled "get together for wedding preparations" day Mob and bride had planned for last Monday was postponed due to the bride recuperating from being in a traumatic car accident the previous week. 

          Morna skidded on early morning black ice on the Tyndrum-Oban road, turned full circle and was stopped from going down an embankment by the car colliding into a tree.  Luckily she escaped with only bruising and whiplash,  for which we are all very thankful.  The car is beyond repair and contents including her mobile phone and laptop had to be recovered as they went flying out through the broken windows and items are still missing. 

          At times like this we are so grateful for acts of human kindness, not least the lady from Dalmally who, en route to the train station, missed a day's work in Glasgow, because she and her husband took Morna back to their home following the accident.    Many thanks also to Uncle Billy (aka father of bridesmaids) who responded immediately to a call from John before 7am in the morning and, missing a day's work also, drove him out to assist Morna.    He helped them both to sort out all the accident aftermath with police and vehicle recovery, driving them back to Glasgow and taking  Morna to be checked out at the hospital.  So we celebrate the fact that there are people out there who love and care!

          Now apart from dealing with insurance claims, Morna and John are considering borrowing a metal detector to go and look for her engagement ring (which was lying in a compartment along with her watch) lost in the impact of the crash.  It's a shame but hey, we remember that it's life and love that are important!

  


Morna showing Granny her ring in March 2010




"Friends

We rejoice and delight in you,
we will praise your love more than wine."

Solomon's Song of Songs 
Ch 1  v.4

Meet our wedding planner

 



Carlotta, busy planning the venue decor

16 weeks to go and today Carlotta demonstrated how fabrics can be used to change the appearance of the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig atrium into a perfect wedding reception area.

Her clever use of the voile against the wonderfiul backdrop of views to the Sound of Sleat creates the correct ambience and covers and sashes on the chairs transform the dining-room into the perfect restaurant for the wedding meal.

Mòran taing Carlotta!

PS  Now do you think she can transform Mob into the perfect mother-of -bride?

PPS  And is she able to transform unpredictable Skye weather into a perfect sunny day on 3rd June?

Legacies

I very much empathise with the poet Seamus Heaney's remembrance of his mother in this poem, where he writes of his feeling of closeness to her as they prepare Sunday lunch in the kitchen.

"When all the others were away at Mass
I was all hers as we peeled potatoes.
They broke the silence, let fall one by one
Like solder weeping off the soldering iron:
Cold comforts set between us, things to share
Gleaming in a bucket of clean water.
And again let fall. Little pleasant splashes
From each other's work would bring us to our senses.

So while the parish priest at her bedside
Went hammer and tongs at the prayers for the dying
And some were responding and some crying
I remembered her head bent towards my head,
Her breath in mine, our fluent dipping knives--
Never closer the whole rest of our lives."         

This poem evokes all kinds of memories for me of Granny in her kitchen,  not least the literal scenes from my own youth of the preparation of Sunday lunch while my father was in church.  I think of the camaraderie between mother and daughters as we helped get numerous meals ready for the incessant flow of people who gathered round her table over the years, our common bond and the sharing of our lives, over the preparation of  roast beef dinner.   My memories fast forward to later years, as I stealthily join her early morning in the kitchen, and we sit resplendent in nightclothes to chat about babies, husbands and homes, with cups of tea and pancakes defying our desire to diet.   As the grand-daughters grow up their initiation into adulthood include tea and chat and pancakes with Granny at her kitchen table during their visits to Waternish. 

In my remembrance poem we sit early morning bereft at her kitchen table with her legacy -  the freshly-made pancakes -  which we eat in silent, tearful tribute.

                            Granny and her five grand-daughters - another legacy

Progress and to how to get ahead

In the last month:-

1. Bridesmaids's dresses purchased - details not being published yet, but needless to say that having been purchased from Catherine's of "Pertyck" (well it sounds more upmarket than Partick!), they are posh and lovely and very fit for purpose. Most importantly both bride and bridesmaids are very happy with their ultimate choice.
2. The bride has now been initiated into the properties and uses of voile in wedding venue decor (please note not for making wedding outfits - lol!) having been accompanied by parents on visit to Glasgow fabric shop.
3. Rev Iain Urquhart, the Gaelic chaplain at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has rescued us from our ministerial plight and agreed to conduct the marriage ceremony.  This is wonderful news as he is erudite, eloquent and a wonderful Gaelic speaker and can be relied on to entertain the guests with his pithy comments re the bride's family (causing only a very slight concern to mother and father of bride at present!).
4. Kirsty, aka chief bridesmaid of bride (aka Cbob) spent a few days at Dubhard assisting and encouraging (well insisting that we remain on task!) with the production of the wedding invitations.  Readers should note that in the interests of research, the aforementioned bridesmaid had to forfeit her diet in order to sample a selection of chocolates (these having been made in order to be measured for the ordering of favour boxes - this was duly done after the consumption of the chocolates for which we thank Kirsty). 
5. Mob has finally succumbed and joined bride, bridesmaids and mother of bridesmaids in quest for sylph-like figures on June 3rd.  However a slight hiccup by way of a three lb weight gain was encountered during family weekend attending Celtic Connections in Glasgow and being forced (writer's licence here!)  to eat heartily (not least black pudding brought back from Charley Barley in Stornoway by the bride!), drink, ie alcoholic beverages (will blame sister Joan, aka mother-of-bridesmaids, for this slight indiscretion) and generally helping one's husband, aka father-of-bride to celebrate his birthday.  This is now being rectified,  though another few hiccups loom in the guise of a works' night out and a bridesmaid's 21st birthday .......
6. Meanwhile, though mother of groom, aka Mog, is busy shopping for outfits she has not succumbed to the idea of buying a matching HAT for her outfit.  Fascinators rule at present ...

Fascinating fascinators modelled by the bride and bridesmaid Julie

If they want to get ahead, should they get a hat?

Tiaras and Churches


 


Morna and bridesmaid Kirsty trying on outfits
 in the late 80s!

       Morna had bought a tiara but not a dress when she returned from the wedding show last November.   She did have both a minister and a church booked at that time but we have just learned that our family friend and former minister, now in Canada, is unable to be with us in Skye for the June wedding so we have a vacant minister or is that a minister vacancy!

         On the positive side, the bride and her bridesmaids have shopped, tried on outfits and selected dresses so options are being discussed and a decision about to be taken.  Mother of groom (aka Mog) begins to shop for her outfit while Mob (aka me) struggles to begin diet. 

     So at present we have a tiara and a dress for the bride, bridesmaids' dresses almost purchased, a church but no minister and Mob about to begin her "lose-weight" regime.

                       

  

Just been on long walk to exercise Mob!





Most importantly, Sorcha is a happy dog!

When Harry met Sally



My birthday on 22nd October 2003 in the Ferry Road flat

 Granny was very pleased to be taken to Glasgow in the October holiday 2003 to see the Flat that Calum and Morna had acquired the previous summer - not least because some of the furnishings had come from her own attic!  She was delighted to spy some old friends from Skye (whose daughter lived in the flat downstairs) coming in to the close which resulted in her cèilidhing with them over the next couple of days.  We drove her round Glasgow visiting relatives and had a memorable meal out with Joan in the Islay Inn to celebrate my approaching birthday.    
Morna did not admit then to having a new boyfriend but as I happened to be in Glasgow the following week, I was asked to drop her off for her date at The Curlers in Byres Road.  Following  interrogation (a right held by mothers!) Granny was duly informed by me that Morna's  boyfriend was called John Butcher.  She was tickled by the surname, having not encountered it before and so used to enquire of Morna "Ciamar a tha Am Bùidsear" (How is the Butcher?). 
My mother is to blame therefore, that for the past seven years I have made and failed to keep a New Year's resolution to stop referring to John as "The Butcher"!   Perhaps in 2011 as my daughter becomes Mrs Butcher, a more polite form of reference to my son-in-law is required.
Granny got to know John well in the intervening years and I was touched by his own tribute to her, in saying to Morna - "Your Granny liked the simple things in life, a nice cup of tea, plain food and most of all her family round about her".  He remembered her never-ending hospitality and her tubs of pancakes, unfailingly sent off with them, as they left her home in Waternish after a visit. 
I know such a perceptive and empathetic person as John will be an excellent husband for Morna, so I will be extremely happy to toast The Butchers on Friday 3rd June!

From pink to ivory

   

 Pink baby dress circa 1980 bought for Morna by Granny in 1984

 

      Between mothers and daughters moments of irritation often surface and I had such an experience in 1984 when pregnant with my second child.  During a visit from my mother, when she and I were alone in the kitchen,  she thrust a package containing the above dress into my hands.  "For luck", she chuckled leaving me feeling ominous about her fostering an expectation that this baby would not be a second son!  

"Bidh an dreas pinc gu math feumail", (the pink dress will indeed be useful) were the words used by her son-in-law phoning from Raigmore hospital, to say that the baby had been born three weeks early, on 5th October 1984.   That was  her first  introduction to Morna and there followed a long and loving relationship between them over the years.

     It's very comforting  to remember that the last conversations she had with both Morna and I were about the ordering and purchase of Morna's wedding dress.  I phoned her from the posh dress shop during the initial fittings to say that she would have enjoyed sitting back with me on a chaise-lounge and watching the proceedings.   Granny was then one of the privileged few to be given all the dress details immediately after the final decision was made.  She said, of course that Morna would be stunning what ever she wore.

 I agree - Morna is stunning in the dress, but apart from having already written that it's ivory (oops!) I will tell no more but leave you for now to admire the little pink dress which I have kept for over 26 years  .......

Do you think it's time to clear out my upstairs cupboards?

A Lady in Lavender

   

The idea of being a hands-on craft-competent
    mother-of-bride was very appealing last August!

 Tasks done:

1. Lavender picked last August and one entire day spent handling it, after it lay on kitchen table for two days.
2. Lavender dried for five months in wardrobe resulting in seed all over the place.
3. Use of lavender discussed in depth with nearly every visitor to Dubhard.
4. We smelt it, pressed it, glued it, sprayed it, tried it, dried it and gave out samples.
5. Decided it may (or may not) be used for invitation decoration.
6. Meanwhile linen card bought for and tri-folded by bridesmaids (thank you Kirsty and Julie) while bride and mother of bride attended wedding show at SECC and mother of bridesmaids made dinner and supplied anesthetising beverages to soothe aching feet and complement free cocktails sampled earlier at show (thank you Joan!).
7. Very large reel of purple ribbon bought from ebay by mother-of-bride (hereinafter referred to as Mob) of which the postal package, due to quirks and intricacies of postal deliveries in Sleat, was discovered inside the car one week after expected delivery (through the letter-box).  Please note, however this statement cannot be used as an excuse for tasks not done (see below)....

Tasks not done as at 13 January:

1. Invitations not completed (target December - oops!)
2. Diet not started by Mob - (oops - oops - oops)
3. Every other wedding task cannot be classified under this heading as not done, as target dates had not been set for their completion .....

Is the moral of this then, to not set targets?

A' pòsadh

Mary Fraser Martin (nee MacNab) and daughter
Janet Martin (now MacLeod) -  11th October 1979

In 20 weeks' time on 3rd June 2011, my daughter Morna gets married and this is an attempt to record the journey over the next five months, the preparations and my thoughts as we get ready for this lovely family event.  Motivation has been difficult for me recently because there is less than five weeks since my mother died suddenly and unexpectedly.  We are devastated by our loss and very much miss Granny's involvement in the wedding preparations.  I know she would want Morna and I to have as much fun and joy as she and I had back in 1979, when preparing for my own wedding on the Isle of  Skye.   As it's now over 31 years ago (yikes!)  I decided a B&W image of mother and daughter would be kinder, though I think I've changed just a little over the years!