The London Party

London is a little laid back compared to Philadelphia, to say the least, so when Lance of the Fulham Wheatsheaf Pub assured us that we did not have to book food or champagne in advance we were a little nervous but there was no need! The food was great and the atmosphere perfect. Exactly what we wanted for a very low key affair.

It was attended by my family in the UK and some old friends, some of whom I had not seen in years. My sister-in-law Frances and my brother Don provided the excellent Lavender and Lemon cake and an excellent time was had by all. At least so they said!

Again more pics on Flikr

Day 2 - The Saatchi Gallery Kings Road

Well, I guess that I would not be marrying Sabrina if I did not know that she likes a) Art and b) shoes and bags (more about the shoes tomorrow). So a visit to the new Saatchi gallery on Kings Road Chelsea was a must. Pretty interesting too, it's a shame that there is not a single force in contemporary art in the USA that supports emerging artists as much as Saatchi does.

The new gallery is dedicated to emerging London artists and it was a very pleasant visit.

There are more pics on our Photostream on Flikr

Next on to the party!

Day One - London and the World Cup

The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the World - except in the USA where most of the population does not know it even exists! We are talking, of course, Soccer and the entire World (again except the USA) is in a frenzy of national team support. You cannot drive or walk anywhere here without seeing large England flags (white with a red cross) in windows on buses, flapping from car windows, everywhere.

And what better day to arrive in London with an American than the England vs. USA match. So we took some good old American flags to show our support (a dozen for $3.40 from Humphry's Flags in Old City Philly), and drove out to Little Wymondley, about 30 miles north of London, to my nephews house for a barbecue. Not necessarily the best way to win friends and influence people carrying American flags and passing them out to the bemused children but hey!

We discretely left after America scored (well not so much scored as the goalie fumbled the ball) the equalizing goal early in the match. The drive back to London was uneventful as the roads were deserted with everyone inside glued to their TV's.

The England Supporters in Little Wymondley.
Above: Sabrina showing the flag

The beginning ...

Welcome to everyone who is following this blog, it follows our "Long Wedding" which starts on June 11 and finishes on July 10th. Why? Well we have friends and relatives in the UK and realized that many of them would not be able to come to Philadelphia for the actual wedding so we decided to have a little party in London on June 13th.

Then because of other commitments (mainly Sabrina's) we could not have a honeymoon after the wedding so we decided to have it first so we booked two glorious weeks in Gozo. Gozo! I hear you say, where is that and why. Well Gozo is a small Island about 7 miles long next to Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean somewhere between Sicily and North Africa.

We discovered Gozo about 6 years ago when my nephew got married there. My sister-in-law, Frances, is Gozitan so we have family there; from the day we arrived 6 years ago Frances large extended family have made us as welcome as if we had born there. Not only is Gozo one of the most beautiful places in the world but we really feel at home there. We are having a small celebration in Gozo with the Gozitan family and some friends from Philly on the 19th.

So that's the story behind The Long Wedding we will try and keep this blog up-to-date so that friends and family from around the world who can't make it to the various venues can feel part of each one (without the long flight).