Friday September 18th 2026
Yes, Friends, once again the Italians are dominating the headlines, with their natural sense of 'style' beating the pants off us poor gauche, ungainly Brits - and that's a 'given' !!!!
They're certainly making all the running in today's Onion News - no surprise there !
And all these headlines bring an expectant smile to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, here in semi-regional Liphook, Hampshire, that's for sure, because tonight, we'll be dining at a classy Italian restaurant 134 miles away, in semi-aquatic Ipswich, Suffolk, which is a twist, to put it mildly!
my wife Lois and me - a recent picture
[Really, Colin? I'd like some signed statements to that effect, if you wouldn't mind! - Ed]
You see, our daughter Alison and lawyer husband Edward, will be coming over at 11am from their home in nearby Headley, Hampshire, to 'whisk' us both away for the long 134-mile car journey to Ipswich, where we've been invited to the wedding of my niece Lucy to her fiancee Rosanna, taking place tomorrow, Saturday.
Lois and I thought that Edward must be taking the day off from his hotshot lawyer job, but during the drive, it transpires that for him, it's 'business as usual' and the poor guy, while negotiating the busy M25 around London, somehow also has to spend most of the journey talking on his phone to his co-workers and associates, not just in the UK, but also in America - he's due to fly to Boston on Sunday evening for talks about some 'big money deal', or other.
What madness!!! But that's the modern world for you, so take it or leave it haha!!!
Our hotshot lawyer son-in-law Edward stuffs his over-excited 'old codger'
parents-in-law into the back seat of his swish, comfortable car, somehow
managing to negotiate the busy M25 around London, while also
talking on the phone to his associates both in the UK and the US - what madness!!!
At least Lois and I know we're in a safe pair of hands for the drive to Ipswich, and we thrill to the sights and sounds of a route we've never taken before - going round London on the 'wrong' side, i.e. the east side, taking the Dartford Tunnel option across the Thames Estuary, before finally arriving at the iconic Ipswich harbourside hotel where all four of us are staying, although Edward and Alison are in a superior 4th floor room, with a superior view of the car-park.
Lois and I are meanwhile 'slumming it' on the first floor with the 'rough' guests, but we don't mind, we famously "like a bit of 'rough' now and again" haha! We also have a view of the car-park, but arguably a 'more informative, and detailed one', because it's 'a lot more nearer, like', which is nice!
And in a boldly 'inclusive' move by the hotel management, guests from the superior rooms are now allowed to meet their first-floor 'rough' friends and relations in the hotel bar, which is a comfort, so before walking the 10 minute walk to the Italian restaurant for the pre-wedding day dinner, we enjoy a quick drink with Alison and Edward.
Oooooh, that's a relief - make mine a 'Stella', Edward, my man, if you wouldn't mind !!!!!
17:30 We detach ourselves, all four, from the hotel bar and embark on the 10-minute walk through the "mean streets of Ipswich" to the delightful "Bella Napoli" Italian restaurant for the pre-wedding day dinner.
Lois and I, plus our daughter Alison and husband Edward, join the friends
and family of the happy couple, for the pre-wedding day
dinner at Ipswich's flagship Italian restaurant, the Bella Napoli
My goodness, what a lot of 'chat', and much of it 'lawyer chat'! You see, the happy couple, Lucy and Rosanna are both lawyers, practising in Ipswich, although at their law firm, there is "no overlap in their responsibilities", we hear: a situation due to well and truly end tomorrow, that's for sure, although not on the work front presumably!!! And there are an awful lot of lawyers (in a nice sense!) present here tonight in this restaurant, no question about that!
There's also a lot of 'Anglo-American chat', because my niece Lucy's fiancee Rosanna is the product of an arguably 'mildly mixed marriage'. She has an English mother and an American father, a couple now based in somewhere like Illinois (Belleville?) or Missouri (?) or that kind of 'malarkey', at any rate. Somewhere in the "Great American Middle", in other words, so very much 'in the thick of it' over there, which is nice!
faraway Illinois, USA, and the town, Belleville, where Rosanna's parents are based (roughly!)
Tonight, a lot of Rosanna's friends and family are here from the States, including some US lawyers, so no surprise there!
The two legal systems are basically the same, in many aspects - the American one could be dubbed 'Magna Carta without the wigs', as I was once told. And American lawyers are allowed to quote the outcomes of British cases as long as they're at least 250 years old, or older, which can be useful in some circumstances, believe it or not!
So "Bob's your Uncle, fair enough!" - that's what Lois and I say !!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz!!!!!
Saturday September 20th 2026
Friends, are YOU ever tempted to dance at a wedding? A lot of us are, aren't we, although it can be unwise not to practise for a few hours (or days maybe?) beforehand, so as not to upstage the couple and, particularly so as not to upstage them in in a not very good way, to put it mildly!!!
Some days, everybody seems to be dancing - have you noticed? [No! - Ed] And once again, dancing is dominating the headlines, today, if we're to believe our print copy of this morning's Onion News, no question about that!!!!
And these Onion headlines bring a cheery grin to the faces of me and my wife Lois this morning, here in Ipswich, 130 miles north east of our home in semi-attractive Liphook, Hampshire, that's for sure!!!!
Lois and I actually find ourselves dancing today, the first time we've danced together for about 2 years, tempted by a joyous occasion - the wedding of my dear niece Lucy to her fiancee Rosanna at Ipswich. However, wisely, I think we stop after 2 numbers - well we are 80, so we don't want to cause a medical emergency and upstage the happy couple, as noted above (!), so fair enough - that's what we say !!!!
my wife Lois and me - a recent picture
Call us "unnecessarily unassuming", if you can say that 'mouthful' without spluttering, that is !!!
The venue for the wedding is upstairs in the august Ipswich County Library, so a somewhat 'bookish' feel to the occasion, but very pleasing for us, especially for Lois who spent her working life in libraries, so she feels completely at home!
(left) the room at the County Library where the ceremony takes place, and
(right) the steps outside, as guests gather
the happy couple 'tie the knot'
Lucy and Rosanna's joyous 'confetti moment'
It's a ceremony that somehow combines both the emotional gravity of the occasion with joyous hilarity, as this unashamedly 'giggly' couple pledge their troth before an excited crowd of friends and emerge first into the gardens of the nearby Ipswich and Suffolk Club and then into the club dining room for the reception, and the many heart-felt speeches from the couple and some of their guests.
There are lots of lawyers present - both Lucy and Rosanna are practising law in Ipswich: they'll get it right eventually, they promise us! And there are also lots of Americans - Rosanna has an English mother and an American father, and her family hail from Missouri / Illinois or that kind of 'malarkey', adding a cosmopolitan feel to the occasion, which is nice!
Lois and I feel "all talked out" by the time the reception ends around 5 pm, so we do the 15 minute walk back to our harbour-side hotel and collapse on the bed [not shown].
Well we are 80, you know! And we need to recharge our batteries [not shown!], if we want to return to the club for the evening part of the 'do', which starts with the happy, giggly couple leading off and doing the first dance, by tradition.
(above) Lucy and Rosanna, the happy, giggly couple 'lead off' the evening's
dancing, and (below left) in the bar, our daughter Alison and husband Edward,
and (below right) my wife Lois and Yours Truly grabbing a quick 'nightcap' -
well we are 80, you know! [Final warning! - Ed]
And that, in brief, is how you do it, if your niece finds her soulmate and you want to be a part of this special moment in their two young lives, which we did. So simples!!!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!
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