J-M's Confirmation

With the house all but complete and 99% handed over to us we all get to sleep in it for the first time on Thursday 26th April 2012. We did not yet have the proper super-king-sized mattress delivered yet by then so we were not going to; we were going to wait till the Friday. By the time we'd done the evening in there though and got it all nice and warm with the stove going, and ourselves full of good food and all relaxed, it was too tempting not to return to the cramped conditions of the caravan which has been 'home' off and on for the last 3-4 months. Dad pulled the single mattresses off the spare room guest-bed and laid those across the big main-bed bed-frame and Mum made a good bed on those, so indoors we stayed. On the Friday the super-king mattress did arrive, so we were able to do it properly on the Friday. Moved in, after all these days and weeks of dreaming of the day. It is very warm and comfortable as well as being black-dark to an unfamiliar degree and very quiet. In Kent you have so much ambient light from street lights it's never really dark and there's road noise. Even in the caravan with it's thin 'skin' every noise from outside comes in (all be it mainly 'nice' noises), the dawn chorus, cattle, a milking machine thrumming away, even voices and tractor sounds from a distance. In the house with its thick walls and double glazing, even this is kept out. More recently we have been sleeping with windows open because we miss the birdsong and dawn chorus. Anyway, with the house christened thoughts turned to Silverwoods and an important booking in J-M's life, being her Confirmation, which all the schools put their children through at the age of 12. It's the occasion of a big party and a big day for J-M so everyone (especially J-M) gets kitted out in new clothes and there are relatives invited from far and wide, friends drop in, masses of food is laid on. J-M will also get some nice gifts of money, so she's more than happy! Mum volunteers to go down the day before to help prepare food. They are actually up til 02:00 the night before chopping up salads and getting the place ready. We are banished for the weekend as the idea of 5 dogs under-foot, especially as one of the main guests is blind, was thought to be just too much so it is arranged that Dad drive down on the day in the 2CV and just stay for the church bit and to take a load of photographs. That way with a 2 hour drive either end, we'd only be abandoned 8 hours, with which we can cope. So, the big day arrived and everyone was up early and getting fettled into their glad rags. The house was full of people. J-M's 4 Grand Parents were all there, Steak Lady and Mr SL down from Dublin, Nanny Morag and Granddad Jeff over from England, J-M's sponsor Ashley with children, Auntie Shiela up from Gorey (Co. Wexford) with kids and no end of friends dropping in from round the estate. Every one is getting under everyone's feet and at one point Dad is posted as 'bouncer' on the kitchen door to stop anyone getting into the kitchen who did not have a specific mission or a job. If yer name's not on the list, yer not gettin' in! J-M looks gorgeous in a blue dress and Mum's even done the cake colour coordinated to the same blue. The day goes well and it is a troop of very exhausted children who are finally wrangled into beds that night while grown-ups relax and Face-book bubbles over with nice photographs and excited positive comment. Deefs