Month: October 2015

As part of the requirements for getting married in Gibraltar, Jacquie and I were required to spend a night in a Gibraltar hotel so we had booked a room in the Rock Hotel. We were therefore perfectly placed to meet our guests when they arrived. Jac went off to get her hair done, while I met the photographer to discuss the arrangements.

The wedding ceremony was to take place on the sunset terrace, a perfect location overlooking Algeciras Bay and the hotel staff had set the place beautifully. It was warm, the sun was shining and all was right with the world except a slight hangover from over indulgence the previous evening.

The last of our guests to arrive were Allan, Eduardi and Lorcan Dunne who had driven over from Sanlucar in Spain. When going to get changed Allan discovered that they had left his and Lorcan’s suits behind, so we were greeted with Allan and Lorcan dressed in shirts, ties and shorts. It all added to relaxed atmosphere of the occasion.

One thing that Jac and I were unaware of, but all the wedding guests knew was that Jacquie’s son, Richard, on a trip up the Rock the previous day, had been bitten badly by an ape. Pouring blood he had been taken by ambulance to Gibraltar hospital to have it disinfected and stitched up. Richard had spent the rest of the day making sure that Jacquie did not see the damage to his leg. We only heard about the incident during the speeches.

Richard before monkey bite

Richard after monkey bite!

 The wedding was a superb affair. All the people closest to us, a very happy and relaxed occasion in a beautiful setting. It couldn’t have been better. After a wonderful meal of the most delicious canapés a followed by the  speeches, including the revelation of Richard’s monkey bite we turned up the music for dancing until we were all worn out. We then adjourned to The Lounge, the nearest restaurant/bar to the boat, where we had arranged an evening meal for the party.

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2nd October 2016           Gibraltar

By 2nd October all our guests had arrived and were firmly ensconced in various hotels around the Rock or using “Synergy” as a temporary base. Sarah, Jacquie’s daughter, had arranged a night out which was supposed to be a secret from Jac and I, but as so much had to be organised from a distance and we were on the spot, most of the arrangements were known to us. Indeed, Jac and I, at great expense to our livers, had done some “research” to determine suitable venues.

The original plan had been to stage Hen and Stag parties at different locations on the Rock, but we seemed to have lots of hens and few stags; some of our guests were not arriving until late on the pre-wedding evening. Therefore a combined party was arranged. What we hadn’t expected was the “sailor” theme. Sarah had brought with her some fancy dress hats and Naval collars, sufficient for all the guests to wear for the night out.

Suitably dressed as sailors, with slogans drawn on our hats and feeling very silly, we met at The Lounge, a bar conveniently placed 2o yards away from the boat, and made our way to The Clipper, a restaurant in Irish Town. After a very good meal, we walked around the corner to the Jazz Café in Chatham counterguard to continue the party. This was a bit flat and we were considering moving on, when the owner asked us what all the sailor hats meant. I explained what was going on and he asked if he could borrow some hats to photograph his bar staff in for publicity purposes. I struck a deal whereby he could borrow the hats if he would turn off the dirge-like music that was playing, put on some Dixieland Jazz and turn up the volume.

After that the party went with a bang and we had an outstanding evening with much merriment all round.