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It's been a long time since I posted I know, so this is going to be a long one as lots has been going on since I was last on here (hence no time to keep my blog going). The first weekend I missed was spent at a pre-wedding tea on the Saturday and celebrating Jim's 60th Birthday on the Sunday. We celebrated at the Half Way House on the Larne coast...


Andy had his work cut out keeping his nephews amused...

The following day was St Patricks Day which is a public holiday in Northern Ireland so Andy and I drove into Belfast to watch the St. Paddy's Day parade. It was like a mini Nottinghill Festival. The weather was kind and the atmosphere was light and fun-loving. The parade was followed by a free concert starting off with some traditional irish sing-alongs...



The following day was the day of Stephen and Paula's Wedding (Stephen is Andy's cousin) so we headed off to Ballyclare on a very chilly Tuesday. The reception was at Queens University, Belfast.

We then had one day back at work before heading off to England in the evening. My apologies to friends who didn't know I was in England, but this really was a flying visit.. no time to socialise other than to celebrate mum's birthday with a very pleasant lunch which Dan managed to attend along with my sister, Pete, Biddy and Margaret. We literally left the restaurant and travelled straight up to Wakefield to see our Over-clock friends. At one point it looked as though we would be spending the evening at the side of Steve's hospital bed after he was admitted with chest pains the night before, but fortunately it wasn't anything life-threatening and he was there to greet us upon arrival.

It's been a year since we've seen them and it was such a great weekend. Friday evening was spent at a Working-man's Club where Rockin' Dave was doing a gig. It was a great night.

The highlight of the lan wasn't so much the games tournaments as the Playstation Guitar Player that had everyone joining in (including me!)

Like father like son... (Rockin' Dave junior)

We travelled back down south on the Monday and I was able to grab a couple of hours with Jess which was a pleasant surprise. Then it was back to mum's and an early start home on Tuesday morning.
As this is turning into bit of a long haul, I'm going to break off to get something to eat and continue this weekend in a separate post.
Kxx