Congratulations, John and Suzie

What a very good party!
And what a surprise, too. John and Suzie got married in the afternoon, at Hay Registry Office - I caught sight of them walking down the road, he very smart in a suit with a buttonhole of double snowdrops, and she in a white suit with a fur shoulder wrap and a big hat. I missed the moment when they came out, though, to walk through an arch of walking sticks held by members of the Hay Walkers!
They'd kept it a surprise from almost everyone. John said that they wanted to have a party to celebrate finishing the new roof (there was scaffolding up around the house for ages), and then thought, why not get married at the same time?
They first met at a Hay Walkers meeting - one of the interesting people I chatted to was the Chairman of Hay Walkers, who's just come back from a holiday in Kerala, at Phillip the Photographer's beach houses. When he still had the photography shop on the Pavement (now Hay Baby) he always had pictures of South India in the window.
Daphne, the lady who runs the Buddhist retreat centre in Brilley, was there too, and so were neighbours, friends, and a whole houseful of people. Suzie seems to know everybody. I found out that Eric Pugh is a great fan of real ale, and met a lady who exhibits her prints of local scenes in the shop on Castle Street. And I was asked by one gentleman to mention how dashing and handsome he was!
Out at the back, a brazier was burning for the hardy souls who wanted to risk the garden, with a gazebo next to the back door. The garden is full of snowdrops - against the grey stone walls around the garden, they look wonderful.
A lot of guests brought food, and the wedding cake was chocolate, with the contents of a box of chocolates stuck thickly across the top and round the sides, and a chocolate 'lid' over that. Absolutely delicious.