Goat Tavern, High Street Kensington

Have a wonderful weekend! We are off to the Isle of Wight tomorrow inspired by the adventures of this lovely couple, who seem to have the most charming camping style. So charming that to Dave's delight I've agreed to give camping another go (German campsites put me off while we were touring Europe in 2009). I'm looking forward to trying out our new paraffin lamp, crab pasties, coastal walks and visiting the Royal Osbourne. It's my last few days off before I start my new job next week.

Home

On our third date, we were waiting in a slow line for our wellies (gumboots) so that we could go and see the installation. I think the conversation must have turned to what music we liked, because Dave said 'Here' and handed me his Ipod and earphones and we shared the left and right piece between us. I remember such a warm feeling, realising that the person I was with shared the same taste in music. There were familiar well-loved songs on his playlist that were like an old friend and there were new songs there that I loved instantly.

Recently we both fell for Cinematic Orchestra's 'To Build a Home' and it's been quite apt as we are beginning an early search and ponder into buying a home of our own. I've called many places 'home' and still do - home is a diverse place for me encompassing my family, my past and my memories. One of the realisations I had when I went back to New Zealand is that the houses that we call 'home' are always changing, even when you are not there. When we were in Malayisa, my paternal family home had also changed in the six years I'd been away but still had such a draw and familiarity, though only full when my family members inhabited it. Perhaps a home is just the place where you have your family, and your memories reside. A sense of security and comfort.

Seremban

Seremban is my Dad's hometown, and where his family home is. We lived there for a while when I was a toddler before immigrating to NZ and we went back for many summers in December to visit my grandparents and extended family. I have many fond memories of my family, playing with cousins, swimming at the Club and reading lots and lots of books there. With Dave this time it was a flurry of introducing him to my family and lots of yummy food!

When Dave and I were met by my Mum and Dad at the airport, Mum asked me what Malaysian food I was craving and I didn't hesitate to rattle off a long list. I think Dave was a bit surprised by how long the list was, but seriously, Malaysian food is wonderful! We managed to work our way through most of my favourites including eating satay after stepping off the plane, being treated to wonton noodles in Penang by Uncle SP, waking up early to go to the wet market where they have a superb beef noodle stall, nine-layer cake, my step-grandma's 'red tortoises' (the cakes with a red dot in the photo below), and a the grand finale of a delicious wedding feast personally chosen dish by dish by my Uncle TM. My Mum's best efforts to go to the restaurant that serves Marmite Crab and Duck-Egg Crab before we left for the UK were unfortunately thwarted but I think I will just make up for it next time by ordering double portions of each. Mmmmm.

Dave also earned respect from my family by showing an appreciation of the pungent, creamy king of fruits, the durian. I still think the best description of it remains 'garlic custard', but there are a lot of less favourable descriptions! We watched 'Eat, Pray, Love' recently and the love interest warned Julia Roberts saying "Tastes like dirty feet".




Top left photo, the sugar cane stall above the wet market.

I found it difficult to describe the family house to Dave before we visited - it's a almost a collection of buildings joined up by a roof. My cousin did a wonderful post about the house and being in Malaysia a couple of years ago... My step-grandma had adopted a new dog called Snowy.



Raising a toast at our wedding dinner, for my family who could not come to our wedding in England. I wore a traditional Vietnamese dress called an 'ao dai' we had custom made overnight at a Hoi An tailor shop. We came straight after the photo shoot which is why I look a little different. I still had my false eyelashes, red hair-spray and double-eyelid tape on! It is a strange experience but does seem to make a difference in the photos as I look more glamorous than normal.



My lovely, huge Malaysian family.

Bramble Ramble

We came across an unexpectedly beautiful walk when we found our way from Eltham Palace to Mottingham Station. There were hidden meadows with grazing horses, wildflowers growing taller than me, and some early blackberries hanging sweet and juicy from the brambles ripe for eating. I've seen more foxes this month than in the whole time I've lived in Britain and all during the day. Once, a fox running across the field from the hot air balloon; the second time a fox watching the tube from the side of the railway, the third time a magical encounter seeing a fox in the garden while talking to my sister-in-law - we stopped chatting and marvelled at how beautiful it was. And the fourth time, I spied a fox sleeping on top of a pallet of bricks while on the train to London.

Pretty Treat

It's been fun catching up with friends since we've been back. Last weekend, Dave went on a stag do while I met up with Jamie and Alix in London. We went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace just by chance, had coffee at the National Gallery, ate lunch in St Martins in the Field's Crypt and indulged in some macarons from the Covent Garden Laduree in a city park. It's a luxurious treat not just because of the subtle seasonal flavours (I chose coconut, pistachio, rose, blackcurrant and violet, melon and salted caramel) but also for the beautiful packaging. Last night Alix, Dave and I narrowly escaped the downpour and made it to the West End to watch Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre.

Lilac Wine

Glamorous

On the day of our celebration dinner in Malaysia, we did a bridal photo shoot. While in Western cultures it is more common to book a wedding photographer to attend your wedding and take pictures of the event, in South East Asia it is more the norm to book a bridal photo shoot on the day of the wedding or before the wedding, then to hire a dress for your tea ceremony and reception. My aunt and my mother teamed up to organise an amazing experience for us!

I went into the bridal shop the day before the shoot to choose my dresses, and entered into an Aladdin's cave of beautiful dresses. I was allowed to try some on and pick eight in total including two traditional costumes. I really felt like a princess putting on dresses with elaborate trains and amazing details.

The next day, I went to the shop early with my Mum to have my hair and makeup done. It was my first experience with double eyelid tape and false eyelashes. Unlike Western bridal makeup, you do not get a say in what your hair, makeup or accessories look like. To be fair there's not enough time to be a picky bride because there are 8 costume changes to account for in a short space of time! It is a strange but fun experience to feel like a glamour doll (like Barbie) for the day.





We posed with a variety of backgrounds, including an outdoor shoot. We look cool and relaxed but were actually followed by a hardworking photographer's assistant who fluffed my train, mopped our hot and shiny foreheads in the tropical heat, and picked up fallen rose petals. She was quite diminuitive and afraid of tall men, so she worked in fear all day! Although I tried to convince her that Dave was really a softie. We were also very lucky to have my Mum with us as we did the shoot in at least 3 different languages.

My makeup and hair stylist was amazing at her job, changing my look with each dress so quickly and with practised ease.




My favourite part was the traditional costumes. The costume that Dave is wearing is supposed to be a famous Kung Fu artist's. It's not actually very easy being a model for the day - posing is often difficult (you must remember to keep your head tilted down but keep your chin up etc) and there's a lot of smiling to be done. I had a private joke running in my head to help me smile more naturally - Eddie Izzard's male tomboy sketch "Running, jumping, climbing up trees, putting on make-up while you're up there". A bit of a reference to my big, big false eyelashes!
It did the trick.

Many thanks to my Aunt HY and to Mum for making this happen.

Fields of Gold

We've been enjoying being back in England and taking some walks in the country to enjoy high summer. Last weekend Jon and Sarah joined us for a ramble around Turville. We saw lots of poppies and wheat fields, sloes in the hedgerows (they are little purple fruits that are too sour to use for anything much apart from sloe gin) and even a car that might pass for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang parked next to our car in the Bull and Butcher car park. We had a delicious pub dinner seated outside.





Perhaps Dave has come here before, but he denies any knowledge of carving this tree in 1990.

Hue Market

The many markets in Vietnam are still the source of food for most people in Vietnam. We went to the big supermarket in Hue the night before we visited the market, and we asked our guide if she shopped for groceries there. "Supermarkets are for looking, not for buying" was her reply. Most Vietnamese go to the supermarket to relax and enjoy the air conditioning, or go to the foodhall on the top level and drink beer with friends.

It was easier to take photos in this market compared to the many others we'd visited, because it was open and light and also the aisles were not as crowded and busy. There was a huge array of dried and fresh foods, and the air was pungent with smells familiar and unfamiliar.

Come Fly with Me!

As a beautiful end to our honeymoon, we finally got to go on our long awaited hot air balloon ride! We had rebooked this no less than 5 times, due to the nature of British weather, so were expecting bad news again. A beautiful day awaited us though and so we headed down to Tunbridge Wells in Kent for take-off.

As it turned out, the flight was well worth waiting for! I can definitely recommend the experience to anyone. Just be prepared for a long wait if you book in the UK!



Airborne Balloons in Kent took us for the ride.





Inflating the balloon is quite a spectacle!





Oast houses and hop farms were everywhere.



The animals below us weren't too keen though - they all ran away in confusion, and we heard dogs barking at us constantly. We even saw a fox bounding away across a field.


A glass or two of in-flight champagne went down a treat!



The wind was at its maximum allowable, and we flew pretty quickly covering 10 miles in just 40 minutes. The landing was pretty exciting too - tipping us over and bouncing us 25 metres or so along the ground.



Here's Char demonstrating where we first hit the ground. Even the pilot was surprised by the distance we bounced!

July 2nd 2011

Here are some photos of our wedding day from the cameras of our family and friends. We were very lucky to have a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a garden wedding. Everyone was amazing and it was just a dream!

One of the happiest days of my life.
































Also a big thanks to our dream team of vendors - Picasso Caterers, Janelle of Lux Hair and Makeup, and Jimmy of BluePrint Wedding Portrait Journalism. You are superb!