Introducing Mr and Mrs Jarman!

All hopes of a lie in on the 1 September were dashed as Anna burst in to check if I was awake!  Before long the hairdresser had arrived and wedding preparations were underway.  Champagne was sipped and a few tears shed over a lovely card from Antony to Anna. 

After a fairly relaxed morning getting ready and lining our stomachs suddenly it was time to get our dresses on and go.  The cars arrived, and after a few photos with some neighbours we were off. 

Mum, Ellie and I arrived at the venue first and were greeted by Oliver and William looking gorgeous in their tailor made suits!

Anna and Dad arrived and we went in to meet with the registrar.  Some people feel that a civil ceremony can lack the personal touch of being married in a family church with a family vicar.  However,  Sam and I, Ellie and Dan and now Anna and Antony have all been very lucky to have all been married by the same registrars who also know my parents.  It has given each of our weddings a special, personal touch.  Also Sam is rather pleased that he is up there with my father as having accompanied all three of the Smith girls up the aslie!  Albeit as a wheelchair pusher on the second and third occassions!

Anna looked gorgeous and Ant scrubbed up pretty well too!

Anna and Antony's ceremony was lovely.  William and Oliver enjoyed walking Ellie and I down the aisle and the readings and service were perfect.  Following the ceremony we had photos in the grounds and I did my speech.  John and Jo then arrived to take William and Oliver home and for Sam and I the party began!

The speeches, food, quirky Swedish traditions (all the guests had to kiss the Bride when the Groom was absent and vice versa) and the dancing were all brilliant.  Anna, Ellie and I certainly enjoyed ourselves as is evidenced by the fact that Anna didn't mind when the taxi driver shut her dress in the door, Ellie spent the whole journey home focussing on not being ill and I fell asleep on the sofa!

 (more photos to follow)

Friends and Family

We headed back to Guildford for our last week in the UK to see some more friends and to help with the preparations for Anna and Antony's wedding. 

Most of the week was spent getting essentials to take back to Shanghai and popping in to town for last minute wedding bits.

However, on one day we headed up to London for the day to meet up with Hannah and Mike.  We had a great day at the Tower of London and there was no queue for the Crown Jewels!

One afternoon was spent with the Rowland's family.  The children all got on well despite not having seen each other for a year and even jumped in the bath together.  Sam and I then took the boys home to bed and went back for a more grown up evening with Phil and Caroline.  Although Phil showed that he can't be grown up when it comes to barbeques!

On the day before the wedding Sam took William and Oliver swimming with the Grant's then over to Kent before heading to Kingston to spend the night with Ant, Dan and Hadley.

Anna, Ellie and I went for a two hour session in Chanmpney's Day Spa and last minute underwear shopping (a bit of a pre-wedding tradition in the Smith family!).  We then met Mum in a bar in town for a quick drink but before we knew it we were two bottles of prossecco down! 

We headed home to spend the evening with Dad.  We had a fab evening taking a trip down the musical memory lane of the Smith family.  Featuring were the Mermaids soundtrack, Glen Mederos, Chris de Burgh and Queen among many others!

After a curry and a few drinks we all headed off to bed to get our beauty sleep.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The road trip continued with a quick dash across London to Sue and Suresh's in East Finchley.  The first afternoon was spent in a local park with Robin where we played and took in some more wildlife. 

On our second day we decided to head up to London to cross the river on the cable car that had been built for the Olympics.  We set off from East Finchley on the underground and headed for the DLR where the trains are driverless.  Here, in true Chinese style, we got ourselves to the front of the train and appointed Oliver and William as our drivers.  They took to the role with great gusto much to the annoyance of a man in our carridge!

The cable car is run by Emirates and feels rather like boarding an aeroplane for a short flight over the Thames!  The views and expericence were brilliant and this is bound to become as popular an attraction as the London Eye.

 

After a quick lunch by the Dome (in Costa Coffee!!!) we continued our journey by jumping on a river taxi.  It is a great way to see the sights and William and Oliver especially enjoyed seeing Tower Bridge and the HMS Belfast. 


We also got to see the huge aircraft carrier that has been moored in the Thames for the duration of the Olympics.  I was also pleased to see the Cutty Sark fully restored again.

After the boat trip we headed home using a variety of methods of transport.  At London Bridge we went on an overland train to Charring Cross where we picked up the underground to East Finchley.  As we stepped out of the station we were welcomed by a huge thunder storm which resulted in us jumping on a bus up the high street!

The following day, continuing the transport theme we went to the RAF museum at Hendon.  It is free and is a fantastic day out.   There are so many different types of aircraft from the first planes to stealth bombers.  Sam, Sue and the boys enjoyed the flight simulator - I declined in case I got travel sick! 

Oliver and William also enjoyed the interactive room.

Sue and Suresh kindly offered to babysit for us so that we could go out and celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary again! We had always wanted to eat at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, Fifteen, after watching the television series on it. So we booked a table and headed off to begin our evening out at the 'longest champagne bar in the world' at St Pancras station.

The setting doesn't sound particularly glamarous as the bar is up next to the international departures! However, the restoration of the station is amazing and it was actually a great place for a glass of bubbly or two!

When we got to the reataurant we discovered that they are also celebrating their tenth anniversary this year! We were seated at a good table and had a fantastic meal.

Garden of England

Our arrival in Kent was timed perfectly to coincide with Kaytie's birthday which we have managed to celebrate with her for the last three years.  During the day the extended family gathered to enjoy a very civilised lunch in the garden.  After putting the children all to bed the Hawkridge siblings gathered, with other halves, me, Richie, John and Lottie, for a night of cocktails and James Bond style raids round the garden with supersoakers!  Needless to say there were lots of aching muscles the next day!!  Especially from the older four!

After a slow recovery the next morning we took William and Oliver to Zoe, John and Chloe's new house to see it and meet their new housemates.

That evening William and Oliver and Charlie experienced camping for the first time with all of us and Alice.  All four children loved it and were delighted by the bbq breakfast the next morning.

The Hawkridge bandwagon then rolled on to John and Jo's at Bucket Nut.  From there we visited Pooh Bridge and, of course, played Pooh sticks. 

William even found Pooh's house.

We were also keen for the boys to see some wildlife, as they don't see much other than on the table in China, so we spent a day at the British Wildlife Centre.  The five cousins had lots of fun together spotting different animals and having a picnic.  We also had the chance to swim in the neighbours pool.  Unfortunatly it wasn't 30 degrees in the water and 35 degrees out of it so we suffered a bit and felt like we were swimming in the Arctic!!

Of course a visit to Bucket Nut wouldn't be complete without a huge curry!

Back in Blighty!

We were very excited to be heading back to the UK in time to see the second week of the Olympics.  The flight went smoothly with ice creams for the boys

and the only disruption was a man who played one note continuously on a wooden flute until he was asked to stop!!

The first weekend was spent in Guildford with the Smiths, Smiths, a Jarman and soon to be Jarman!  We had a fab night watching the Golds roll in for Team GB.   Sam then headed to Essex to work.  I made the most of live in babysitters and headed up to meet Sam, the Emmisons, the Jardines and the Browns for some cocktails etc. 

Beth and the mini Magees came to spend the day with us. We had lunch all together and took the children on a tour of our old haunts on the downs.










It was lovely to spend time outside with out being too hot or bitten to death.  William and Oliver loved playing in the garden and eating supper outside and Mum and I loved sipping G and Ts on the terrace looking at the sunsets over Guildford!

It was a perfect week to recover from the journey, catch up with some local friends and prepare for Anna's Hen weekend!

Anna's hen night and Antony's stag do took place on the first full weekend we were home. It was on the platform at Guildford station that I had my first China moment. The train pulled in and instead of waiting for people to disembark I barged on to the train with my suitcase! After a quick apology we settled ourselves in to the carridge and opened some champers!

Five of us spent the friday night in Reading warming up for the main event on the Saturday with a practice night out!

 Luckily Ellie had brought the crisps and coke and the hotel breakfast was good so we were able to recover the next day. The day was spent in a spa having various treatments and a long lunch. We then went out for a meal and hit the local nightspots, where everyone seeemed underage!

After returning to Guildford on the Sunday, Anna had an afternoon tea party for the hens who preferred not to be in a nightclub in Reading!

Ant's stag do was boating on the Norfolk broads and exploring the nightlife on offer in Great Yarmouth and Norwich.  A good time was had by all and they all made it home in one piece!

The following week Sam and I made another trip in to London to catch up with Louise and Dan (visiting from San Francisco) whom we hadn't seen for over two years.  It was just like old times with copious amounts of wine being drunk.  The night ended with promises to meet in Hawaii!

Oliver, William and I then headed over to Essex.   We caught up with the NCT lot and had a great day at the farm with all of the original babies plus a few more.  William and Oliver enjoyed teaching their friends how to pose for pictures 'Chinese style'!

After a couple of days staying with Ellie and Dan we moved on to Anna and Ant's where we also caught up with Tim and Sian followed by a night with the Magees before heading to Kent on our road trip of the South East!