Jo and Rob got married

4th April 2012 - Red letter day for Robert Duncumb and his new wife Jo. They got married in the Temple of Apollo at Stourhead with 30 of us crammed into a tiny, circular and somewhat chilly room lit only from a circular opening in the dome and what little light could make it through the doorway. I was chosen to be Rob's best man, quite a privilege in my opinion as Rob is certainly not short of friends.
This gave me a front row seat in the proceedings, which meant that I could hear all that was said by bride and groom and the registrar and assistant. Everyone gets a bit tongue tied in these situations, even the registrar, but I was happy to witness that I had seen a wonderful event, the joining of two people who are so in love.


The photos (as usual) seemed to take a long time and we were all getting somewhat chilly by the time we set off on a 'round the lake' walk, calling in at all the grottos and stopping for a photo call on the bridge (normally closed to visitors and out of bounds)

There was some hilarity as many of us had been issued with those bubble-making devices though I had little luck with mine. A little light rain was starting to fall but it was such a nice occasion that no-one minded at all.
After the walk we all arrived in the function room of the Spread Eagle Inn in Stourton village which is a lovely pub, carefully kept up to feel old while staying in the modern era to cater for a massive clientele which visit during the course of a year.
The food was superb and Robert, Jo and I got up and made short speeches. I am not a confident public speaker but I felt as if I had done my bit quite well. Then we chatted to old friends until quite late in the evening. Many of the guests were staying in the Spread Eagle and surrounding cottages but we drove back to Chippenham. I was quite glad that Lynne had volunteered to drive as I was quite exhausted but elated by having had such a great day with my favourite people.