Part 3 - Brizzle

Our final major excursion was to Bristol, where Martha and Graham were holding their 'We ran away to Hawaii to get married' party. The family drove down early in the day so we could get in a spot of sightseeing. One of my favorite spot in probably the whole country is the Clifton Suspension Bridge. It always strikes me as exactly the right bridge for the setting, spanning the Avon Gorge. On one of the adjacent hills stands a camera obscura at the top of a short tower, and it's fun to go in and watch the cars crossing the bridge.
We were soon in need of some lunch, and the man manning the dark chamber suggested we find a pub in Clifton Village. We stumbled across the Portcullis, run by a friendly young chap who actually came out the front door to gain our custom. In the end, I'm not sure the fare was to everyone's liking, but I rather enjoyed the experience. As you may have guessed, this was because the barman served beers from small, local breweries. He had selected which varieties to have on tap and was able to recommend and talk knowledgeably to those of us to desired a fine ale.
After lunch we popped into the City Museum, which pretty much took care of all genres of history in a very small space. I took in some Natural History (including a hedgehog), Egyptian history and some ornately decorated pianos. They were also displaying the entries from a nature photography competition. The room was very crowded, and many of the pictures, while stunning, were your usual nature photography cliches. The standout for me was a shot of a lopsided mushroom in the rain. I think most people would have completely overlooked that mushroom, but the composition is great.


Having had our fill of sightseeing for the day, we checked in to the Travelodge and made ourselves pretty for the party. Well, we did our best considering the Travelodge was the grimiest place I've ever stayed in! We arrived at the hotel and met Martha, looking stunning but a little chilly in her wedding dress. Soon other family and friends began arriving and the party got started. Everyone was very interested to hear how I was getting on in America, and more importantly to meet my gorgeous fiancee. We had to spread ourselves thinly to get around everyone and still get some dancing in! It was great to see so many people again, albeit far too briefly in many cases.
We were treated to a short speech by the bride and groom, and the best man did a grand job of digging up some of Graham's embarrassing past, as is the British custom! Graham and Martha wowed us on the dancefloor, and will probably never live down the fact that their 'first dance' was to ABBA!
Soon the party was over, and ever the old folks had made it through to midnight. In the next installment: One final day in London before we bid farewell to Blighty.

Part 2 - Belly Dancing

When we got back to Reading, Martha and Graham had arrived chez Evens, having visited with his family oop North. We all went up to Henley-on-Thames to take a look around. Braving the cold, we took a walk down to the lock and weir, then strolled around the town and did a spot of shopping.



We stopped for a beer in Wargrave at the George and Dragon, which appeared to have changed owner again and got a complete facelift in the process. Still, they had some pretty decent beers on (although the local brew was tapped out to the disappointment of Graham and I - we both like to sample something brewed nearby when we can). After a round of drinks we headed on down to Twyford, where I used to live, to find a curry house. For some reason, Twyford has a large selection of Idian restaurants, the most famous of which (in my opinion), is the Gaylord. You wouldn't believe the places I've been where when I mention I lived in Twyford someone mentions the Gaylord. And not just because of the humorous name - lots of poeple rate it as one of the best Tandoori places around. So of course we had to try it.
It didn't start off too well. It smelled a bit funny, and the poppadoms didn't come with the cucumber/yogurt dip that I like. Still, we knew we were in for an authentic experience as we could understand a word the waiter was saying, nor did he comprehend us. Always a good sign. When the main dishes came out, they were excelent. Kristal sensibly opted for a mild chicken tikka masarla which was one of the best I'd ever tasted. I tried to find something middle of the road, heat wise, but it turned out slightly hotter than I'd anticipated. Delicious, though.
The best part came at the end of the meal. The waiter came round with two Baileys and two scotches, and when we tried to explain that we hadn't ordered any drinks he said, 'On the house'! Not only that, but the ladies got complimentary roses. So there you go: If you fancy a curry tonight, go to Gaylord. It's on the High St opposite Waitrose.
After a short stay in Reading it was time to hit the road again, this time down to Guildford, where I was at University. We left around dinner time on the 30th, and spent the evening at Corinne and Pete's flat, with almost all my old uni mates. Was great to see all you guys! We had a bit more fun that we had intended, so spent most of the next day resting in preparation for the big one in London.
It was awesome riding the limo up to London, mostly because it was really quick and we got dropped off right next to the restaurant. It was so quick that we were early for our booking, and we were a bit worried that we would have to go wait in another pub, but it turned out that they sent us straight to our table and started bringing the food out!



The restaurant was Moroccan themed and the food was out of this world. We had just about got done with the appetizers when the belly dancers came out for their first routine. This girl was clearly a professional - I mean it takes skill to shake your hips like that! I was happily enjoying the show (purely as an art form, you understand), when she beckons for me to join her on the floor. Well, some invitations one just can't refuse. Needless to say, I am not a professional. If you haven't seen the photos yet, they you must have been hiding in a cave, because people have been commenting on them since New Year's day when they hit facebook!
The rest of the night was basically awesome, just hanging out with some good friends, smoking the hookah, drinking extortionately priced cocktails and generally having a good time. The announcement that 2009 had arrived was a bit, err, non-existent, but somehow we got the message an engaged in the requisite kissing and hugging etc.
The next day we did a quick driving tour of Guildford High Street, UniS, the cathedral and most of the places I'd living during my studies there. Then is was time to head back to Reading once more. Next time: the "Main Event" - we celebrate the marriage of Martha and Graham.