My brother's wedding
on 12 Months in Kenya (Kenya), 24/Nov/2009 11:42, 34 days ago
Ollie and Leanne got married on Sat 14thNovember inCashelchurch, Connemara. I was glad I could make it. It only took 14 hours to get there-Nairobi to London flight, London to Dublin flight, Dublin toGalway busand car trip deep into the wilds of Connemara.So back in Ireland again after 3 months in the Dark Continent.Funnyenough, it was Ireland that was dark. Grey growling clouds threatening rain, or sleet and then torrential rain the rest of the time. Very few people seemtocarry umbrellas and of course it's unsightly to weara bag over your head as is the fashion in Nairobi when it rains. And the pain in people's faces when it rains, their mental health taking a nosediveuntillthe bleakness passes, if it does. It is grim when it rains in Ireland.Luckily, there was no rain on the day of the wedding. My mother had put a "child of Prague statue" under the hedge and prayed for weeks for sunshine. Idon'tbelieve inpiseogsbut it seemed to work.People arrived from the US- my first cousins Patrick, Yvonne andauntyRena; Ollie's friendEamonnfrom the Jersey shore, many fun people fromKilimordaly, a general sprinkling of people from all over. Elaine arrived from Florence, where she is working very hard drinking red wine, eating pasta and researching law.The church ceremony was surprisingly the funniest part of the entire event. The priest must have watched and rehearsed Father Ted because he was in fact Fr. Ted. He spoke about the holy sanctity ofmarraigeby referring to how women and men fall in love, from experience of course, and how to have a fight before you go to bed to clear your head or wait the next day and through dishes at your partner's head if you feel like it. He spoke about how single couples walk hand in hand and then proceed to one walking in front of the other. In general, tips on how to survive amarraige.The prayers of the faithful were executed with grace and precision, having been rehearsed twice live. I blame myself. Mycousinasked me if it was time for the prayers just before the first reading which I was in charge of. I, so focused on the first reading fromTobiet,respondedyes and then all five of themtrapsedafter me uptothe altar for company. They got a clap on the way down though and were ready for the next time they were actually called to say the prayers of the faithful. Dave forgot his and read out cousin Elaine's part. She was hiding in back of the church. She said later that he made a much better job of it than she would have.I was like the paparazzi for the day. Armed with my RebelXTsuper power Cannon camera, I made sure to capture people usually with their mouths open or crossing their hands yelling "no more" or dancing at the disco.EamonnS has some crazy moves on the dance floor. A mixture of finger pointing, floor sliding, standing on chair routine and hipgirating, all with a broken collar bone. He had broken it while attempting a somersault inSullivans(classic disco inGort) the week before. As one man said, its dangerous at 25 but even worse at 35.My Dad gave a moving speech, welcomingGalwayhurlerstothe event and of course Leanne, saying "he wouldn't have chosen better himself".Ollie spoke about how lucky he was to have Leanne and how much our parents have done for them. My mother Agnes, who saved lives during the day and looked after five brats and Paddy as well. She deserved that bunch of flowers and much more. Ollie spoke about how Dad had written the book on how to live wellandsupported him through years of hurling training, blaming the referee or JoeRabbittif he had not played well. It was emotional and I was proud of themBy the end of the meal, jet lag kicked in, but first the Old Timers band and much later the disco. If you would liketoview pictures of the disco shenanigans, view myfacebookpage.Now I'm back in Nairobi. Back tothe sunshine, blue skies, few shillings and the noise. Unlike the peace of Connemara, this place keeps you alert and awake even when you are supposed to be sleeping.I'mgetting up at seven to the sound of horn beeping, and the constant buzz of cars andmatatus.It was worth the trip. I met great people, caught up with old friends and even managed to fit in the Ireland vs France game on Wednesday where Ireland were cheated out of theWorld Cup. Great company that night despite the loss. I had to leave McSorley's pub in Ranelagh just before Thiery Henry struck the ball twice with his hand. I can't believe I am writing about football in my blog. Africa is really changing me!