Thank you!

I haven't had a chance to reply to individual comments, because I've been dying quietly on a sofa in West London, but now that my brain is slowly starting to drift from syrupy fog to the usual small wisps of cotton wool confusion, I've been checking back.

Thank you all so much for your kind words. They mean an awful lot to me, and Cynth and Patricia in particular have pushed me to leave the guilt at the door. I managed that on my wedding day thanks to many people, and they share their part in that!

I am now just anxiously awaiting the photos, and I want to find a copy of the amazing reading my friend David wrote for us and read during the civil ceremony. He said he based it on evenings out with us, watching how we respond to each other and, in a crowd (and certainly bride)-pleasing moment, added a quote from Tennyson's Ulysses:

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

I will find the full reading when I'm back at my desk (I think it's in my work email) and add it - it was very hard to hold back the tears and everyone loved him instantly. He is a great, great asset to the Catholic church (he's currently in seminary).

Anyway, I just wanted to acknowledge your kindness and I'll update properly on married life when it's gone beyond making cups of tea and bowls of soup for each other (although I'm aware that when it comes down to it, what better expression of love is there for someone than caring for them, loving them and finding them beautiful even when they're hacking up their guts?).