La Boda

Blasted into the modern world
Fast plane cars & people.
To the horses! Our gorgeous boys there in Englands green & pleasant lands (thoughb they were brownish!)
Then into the embrace of the woods, hugs, laughter, enthralment, excitement, comfort, security, talking & loads of energy!
Food, drinks & total pleasure.
A day of rushing, from one lovely thing to another - whisked off with my hens to an unknown location which beautifully turned out to be 'Pussy liqour' in concert in a wonderful dive miles away in Basingstoke! ...several tequilas later I'm invited on stage for the last number & I'm ok! I dance, I sing the one word chorus sharing Tallulahs microphone & totally hold my own on stage with the most explosive new young lesbian punk band on the music scene! I felt so right on & totally saciated - Can't tell you the lines of the song. But they're certainly cunting edge.
Luckily this was on the Wednesday night & I had time to recover.
Thursday Mark went panic wedding outfit shopping and surprisingly came back without notable stress.
Friday we all moved into Garstons Farmhouse, our 3 day airbnb mansion. Woah!
We rode the horses in & around the woods to accustom them to their surroundings & prepare them for their job on the big day. They both had a minor cough...
We loved the woods, Long wood, owned by the cutest wood nyphet you can imagine & managed like a man.. Fenella, our host Miss yes to everything & a laugh you just have to join in with.
Julian, my brother, my knight (Mark's the one with shining amor) arrived with a 7.5 ton lorry size present to be our honeymoonmobile.
My sister Rachel, her unbounding take it all in her stride energy & selfless giving.
Poppy my beautiful heart, my daughter & often my mother!
Suzy, who just like that said yes these complete strangers horses can stay at my place - a huge paddock vieled with trees, stables, tack room, the lot & alot more.
People, they can place you in such awe of their kindness. And when you're getting married, you can quite wallow in it.
I felt I might explode, so full of loveliness.
Does every bride cry the day before her wedding? It was a wierd day. It rained, which was horrifying. Everyone else was out being incredibly busy with preperations. Mark wasn't even there. Alone in a big house, no horses & a huge day lay ahead.
I did some bridey prep things, I brushed my hair, did my nails, stuck the sole on my boots with superglue, tried the dress on, sewed some final touches, even put face cream on.. Looked out of the window alot, cried a bit, mainly at the unfairness of rain after 3 months of reliable sun in England. The wind blew too, the floors creaked..
Then suddenly everyone came back & it was full on again, things bought in (mostly hidden). Places I could & couldn't go.
We all ate, we drank, but not too much - apart from the boys, currupted on Kraken rum by Andy K.
I went to bed after ironing the bridesmaids dresses, they had never ironed before & I having had some experience years ago, found it a brief novelty.
Mark came to bed & we memorised our vows in turns, I had to ignore his last minute attempt at changing the words - for richer for poorer - why mention money? I put this down to drunken ramble - I mean the reference is infact disregarding money & anyway we've been poor for so long whilst living richly.
Then I actually slept.
The day dawned & the sky was blue.
My betrothed on his great white steed arrived at 'The Bolney Stage' bridely late, at a trot with my bay beauty trotting beside them. It was love at first sight, in a bowler hat, suit & cowboy boots, he was perfectly turned out.
Our families met us there for early Prosseco toasts, hand shakes & hugs & we all looked glorious! Smiles on everyones faces!
Rayo had a white plume on his head & my dress (Thank you Niki Bee) hung perfectly over his rump & bellowed in the wind! We rode side by side my man & I, on the bridge over the flyover, down the lane & now avenued with thick trees, we turned into Long wood lane in a lone buzz of expectectation, just us & the horses...
Then we heard Taffy, saw Caitlins Maya approching, they flanked us to the gate, rushing for photo's & then we were greeted by the throng of guests at the entrance, given our bouquets precariously while the horses jiggled, mainly because they recognized the entrance of the place they had been before.. They pranced perfectly side by side up the first aisle, our guests in all their finery made way for us to pass, Wows cheers and happiness rang out!
At the wagons, we dismounted & prepared ourselves for the short walk to the floral bower (courtesy of Candy) waited for people to gather in the copse.. Ray charles 'Come rain or come Shine' serenaded us as my brother led me into the woodland wonderland while his grand daughter Zoe laid our path with petals, to my mother (the vicar) who stood infront of the bower, it was so personal, we all made it what it was, hugs, wiggles and giggles & holding hands.. Mum, so tiny, but so loudly & clearly, spoke the blessings & led the promises, the bridesmaids, Rachel, Alis, poppy & Tallulah, a heavenly row of beauties stood by, Alfie came with the rings set on an engraved slice of tree.
We weren't heard as well as my mother, but we said it all right - Mark reckons I said I'd serve him, but I don't remember that bit...Anyway Im sure he'd have to have said he'd serve me too & niether of us mind that too much!
We hugged mum & each other & kissed under the bower lit with twinkling fairy lights.. Oh my! It was wantonly romantic.
We were wed!
Then to the tables under the colourful morrocan tent (Thankyou Rachel) lined with wonderful bunting of photos of us over the years (courtesy David) & the fooood!! Julia heading the chefs team turned out a banquet!
People turning up infront of me that I hadn't seen for years! All looking just the same as ever! Moments between them, a few words, hugs & then we took our seats..
The food tasted as good as it looked, the spread was phenomenal.
The speeches were informal & spontaneous - mostly girls spoke actually & it all came out fine.. I think I remembered to thank everybody & that wasn't an easy undertaking! My darling big sister Ruth recounted an embarrassing childhood tale, the best man, lovely Matt produced some witty & genuine words - But the speech of the day by a country mile was made by our darling Poppy, she drew tears & smiles on all the listeners faces as she recounted her childhood dreams of our marriage.. I had announced earlier that Poppy too would officially become a Fray-Irvine & her speech was so perfect, our pride spilled over..
Weddings should definitely last a week, a day isn't long enough - even if you stay up half the night.. Towards evening, My husband & I, as had been demanded, produced the most amazing, seemingly corriagraphed opening dance performance & on my part I looked on with disbelief & wonder as Mark actually danced so cool. Phwoar!
Sadly nobody was really watching while I twistled & twirled swung the pole & met Mark for back bending embrace just like you see on Strictly..
Our gorgeous bar ladies Deb, Gerda, Sydney & Lisa kept the drinks flowing..
By then, I had tied my dress into an enormous bustle at my bottom because it picked up every twig & fallen leaf in it's fringed hem as I walked, slowing me down considerably.
Taffy said I should change my dress 'it looked like a nappy'. I changed my dress & she said that was boring. So I went to see Sydney who has every little number a girl could ever want & she supplied me with a selection of 5 (& looked herself like a goddess by the way..)
The first goldie frock stayed on all night. Taffy liked it.
I danced the night away, everyone did, there were lots of fabulous pole efforts on the centre rigging, though many fell in a heap on the ground, including me..
The next day dawned with torrential rain & those who hadn't quite made it inside their tents for the night, woke drenched & hungover!
We however, cosied up in our delicious bridal suite come woodmans hut, had a glorious lie in marital bliss.

Calm before the Crazy

We all gradually unfolded in Rasquera, we made the horses a temporary paddock on an upper terrace which was thick with trees giving day long shade, they became hay eaters again, a new variety called 'heno' similar to English hay, very nice - but lacking the forage seeds they so enjoy! they preferred the alfalfa, which we gave in the evenings along with their usual 'home'  feed of sugarbeat & a little grain..

Our living quarters were divine, so luxurious & spacious ! Though most would say a yurt is rather small, it's considerately more roomy than a two man dome tent! And you can stand up to dress! - You know how annoying it is to put trousers on in a sitting position for two & a half months?
During the day we hung out in the shade by the outside kitchen & had cold showers in the bathroom unit across the terrace, all built by Rob, who is clearly an expert carpenter with an eye for practical simplicity & a knack to create everything so pleasing to the eye.  
The compost toilet was built on the edge of an upper terrace - a common tactic - which allows a natural drop into a container below, the toilet itself was a modern clinical unit in which you can pee & poo in the same sitting! It cunningly divides the waste with an oversized she-wee frontal attachment in the bowl. The poo lands with a delayed audible thud way down below, which makes you jump at first! But is very satisfying once you get used to it! The design is brilliant, keeping all odours out of the bathroom & shower area. 
Lisa had left us a healthy vegetable patch with fruits ripe for picking, Mark enjoyed some idle weeding and I was finally able to match my leg to arm tan by sunbathing next to a little plunge pool..

This life was physically undemanding but mentally fraught! I had a linguistic conumdrum in planning the horses transport, having to pass on specific requirements from English to Spanish to Catalan.
Elena, the ministry vet from Mora de Ebro was a great help, but the detail of needing the actual ministry vet stamp on the health certificate was never properly understood and thankfully the vet Elena had appointed, went in his own time to get the stamp at the office on the morning the horses were due to be collected. 
Parkers had mis informed us on a definate collection date & we had to re book our flights at our own cost. 
We also had to get into wedding planning mode, though our dream team, Rachel, Julia & Candy, headed by my daughter Poppy had covered almost everything, there were inevitable questions re preferences of this & that and getting our heads into gear was difficult. Mark hadn't yet got his outfit sorted & struggled to shop online. I confidently ordered my special wedding Dr Martins Leona Temperley boots on a dodgy site & was ripped off for a hundred quid with no delivery. 

We got to know various locals as we were quickly recognised simply because we always went to town on horseback - on one occasion I impressed a crowd of old boys outside a bar by successfully drawing cash out of a cash machine without dismounting! Not many horses would stand so close to the wall inset with its bright lights, beeping and emerging money sounds! Rayo was just about still enough for me to tap in the pin number right and didn't run off before I got the money! - Good boy Rayo! He does me so proud!
We went on a couple of treks around the area, visiting new friends, punctuated with local bars of course! We met a beautiful young spanish couple, Esmerelda & Ishmail who have horses too & spent a night over, delicious food & lively conversation, whilst Mark deflated blow by blow as the massive TV (for the whole game) didn't connect well enough to the wifi for the quarter final of the world cup!
They had the most varied collection of laying birds out in the garden & some lush home grown veg.
Incredibly kind too, they drove us around to offices & feed shops (I mean for horses!) without us ever needing to ask.

During the whole time we stayed at Rob & Lisa's finca, we would often hear birds, they became a familiar sound, starting early evening, perhaps with squarks from the young, then louder and clearly adult and of the preying kind. We discussed what they could be with visitors & I imagined exactly where the flock were living, in a bunch of high trees between us & the main(ish) road. We rode nearby a couple of times & I listened & looked eagerly to see one.

The day finally came for leaving our hide away & facing the fantastic, impossible to imagine, so nice we daren't think of them, days before us, the reunion with family, friends old and new, and a celebration of our love in a magical woodland location in surpringly sunny Sussex.

On the way to meet the lorry, full packs on the horses, who are not so sure about leaving their new found home.. We're riding past the clump of trees to our right, the birds had begun, up close, they were really loud!
Rayo's ears were twitching, his head going up, speed increasing, then the bird screamed so loud as if amplified with a 2k sound system! We fully expected to see a huge pterodactyl approaching us from the trees & Im sure Rayo did too, Tio jumped out of his skin! Then it dawned on us & perhaps the farmer was even sitting there watching & turning up the volume on his recorded bird scaring machine!

Today I can barely speak of the ill fated departure of our 2 boys on the transport lorry.. though they travelled well & arrived safely.. Us bound by plane the next day.. Unbeknown to us all, it would radically change the fate of our marital adventure.