Last Saturday I attended my friend’s wedding. I’ve talked about her before – the one getting married to a Zambian. Well, she is now. I didn’t attend the church service – they’re born again Christians and their services take so long. Before you even start saying anything, I’m well aware I should have been there. After all, we’ve been friends for nearly ten years. But, I just couldn’t bear having to sit in one place for 3 hours while all this ‘sing song’ went on for about three hours. ‘Born-agains’ are also a bit shouty whilst preaching I find – why though? They also say too many halleluiahs. Having never been to Nigerian-Zambian wedding before, I kind of assumed the service would end at 3.00pm then there would be photographs and those things in between and then get to the reception for six. I was spot on. I went with my cousin – no, the pilot wasn’t allowed to come for obvious reasons. I imagine if someone spotted us having a sneaky kiss.
We got in, looked for where we were supposed to seat. They had a seating plan you see. We got to our table only to find it had squatters – bloody typical! They wouldn’t budge even when we showed them our names on the table. We didn’t make an issue of it. We just went and sat somewhere else. It was a shame because my friend had put her friends near where she could see them. And now we were sat amongst the ladies with flamboyant head dresses – they always remind me of antlers probably because they’re all tied high and all look different. So it was a bit like being amongst a herd of dear. I’m sounding negative, but that was the first impression I got. Also no one on our table said hello. Yes we did try – I even tried smiling but we just got blank stares with expressions asking where/who this foreign lot was or from. We’re were mostly African.
We settled down then our eyes started to wonder about the place noticing things. I forgot to mention that the reception was held at Porchester Hall in Bayswater. I was a bit doubtful about the location but on entering we found that it was quite lovely. The setting of the room where the reception was held was Victorian with wood panelling and the loveliest chandlers across this really high ceiling. It was actually really stunning. Me and my Cousin were busy showing each other all these little details for around 30 mins. The room was just so beautifully decorated for the wedding. Then suddenly they started playing music. This was followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen and then the bride and groom. They were doing this kind of mid temple dance – I can’t explain it; but it appeared to be of Nigerian origin. They danced all the way to their seats.
The MC, God bless him took over and asked everyone to stand up. Then he started praying then he asked other pastors to come pray. The pastors had their on table of about 12 – the high priests I called them. The praying went on for another 2 hours. There was me asking whether I’d actually managed to dodge the church service but obviously not. I decided I was going to have a drink. All the drinks they had were none alcoholic. I didn’t mind so much but my cousin did. She didn’t like any of the drinks so when she asked for some wine, they brought a bottle of red non-alcoholic wine. The expression on her face cracked me up – no, she’s not an ‘alkie’ in case you’re wondering. I haven’t laughed so much in ages. She felt a bit cheated that the wedding was held on a Saturday without alcohol. I’d never been to non-alcoholic wedding before so I was also a bit taken back.
The first dance was between the bride and her father – he’s got to have the last dance before giving her away for good - it’s an African tradition. She started to cry which me made me kind of emotional too – yes I know, I have emotions too. It was quite beautiful to watch. It made me realise how we’ve all grown up. Then the bride was traditionally given to the groom to dance with. The dance was just so romantic. She was still crying and he was holding her really close as if to say ‘don’t worry I’ll look after you from now on. One of the things that made me laugh was this lady who came up and prayed for the wedding cake. Only the bride and groom tasted it. Now this left me puzzled. What? No wedding cake for the guests? I really love wedding cake by the way. It was right next to me as well which was even more annoying because the cake kept on making eyes at me. I’m sure it winked at me at some point. Sorry, I think my imagination went a little crazy there. There was also the part when the couple changed into their Nigerian outfits. I have to say my friend looked really stunning in hers. Then the dancing started again. This was followed by lots of people coming and throwing money at the couple. It was actually quite a lot of money. This was £20 and £50 notes. They had a tray full of cash in bundles by the end. Well my friend’s family is quite well off. I think they had a 5 figure amount to get them started by the end of the night. What a nice way to start a marriage? Even better, they own their house already.
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I’m starting a new job this week. I’m so excited about it I can almost not contain myself. I’ve been waiting bloody ages for this. So, woo hoo!!! On the other hand, I keep asking myself whether the role is challenging enough. The job I currently have is a piece of piss – even my boss once told me I could do it with my brain shut off. That said something to me and made me even more determined to make a move out of this place. I was also starting to feel like my brain was wasting away. One thing it’s taught me is to ensure that you research and find out as much as possible about a job before applying for it. I did that this time. I didn’t when I applied for this one.
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On another note: I’ve been feeling really randy lately. Not sure this is a good thing. I even find my self looking at men’s crouches on the tube (this I can understand – there’s really no where else to look if you’re not reading a paper or book) and on the street. I haven’t felt like this in ages, I wonder if it is a sign of something. I’ve to rejoin Gaydar after deciding a couple of years ago that I’d never use it again. Yes it’s been lovely traipsing around London and looking around all these men’s houses. I wonder how long it will last because I’m actually enjoying it – probably when the next semi bf turns I guess.
That’s all folks.
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