I have been MIA for a while now! Reason being that l am spending time with my family in England. The main objective was to attend one of my niece’s wedding. This is a solo trip. Federico stayed behind to watch the dogs. London was cold and grey. l then moved on to Leicester which was also cold and grey. I am currently in Sheffield, where..yep! cold and grey. It makes you understand seasonal depression. It might become unbearable if l lived here year round. A major reason why a lot of British people move to Spain l suppose. Chasing the sun!
The wedding was a rather small affair by Nigerian standards, with a mere 150 guests, mostly family from both sides. A lot of my siblings and cousins etc were sort of shocked at the “tameness”. A one day affair as opposed to two. Being cheated out of a proper Nigerian engagement, something l think the groom’s family would have enjoyed very much. It was however nice to see everyone fly in from all areas of the world to witness the union. The groom’s family turned out to be quite close-knit Irish family and they obviously had a great time. We were all surprised as they had a fierce liking for Nigerian food, and ate it with gusto. We found that pretty amusing.
The bride and groom requested no photography except for the hired pro lady so you don’t get to see them. That was a bummer as l had taken the camera. I did end up taking a lot of pictures of everyone else as they ( my family) refused to let me put away my camera at the reception. They were like ..oh hell no! I paid for this outfit and l’ll be damned..Haha!. They insisted the lone camera woman could not capture all the moments since she was focussing on the wedding couple. Anyway, it was a great day filled with lots of dancing, drinking…and then more dancing.
I am currently spending the days hanging out with two of my older sisters and a niece’s kids. A four year old and twins that are almost one, all boys. I have seen more cartoons in these days than l have my whole life it seems. Paw Patrol! Yeah!!! :-). It’s been pretty good, but l don’t know how parents do it all day long, day in day out.
Valencia will be in the thick of fallas when l get back so that should be a whole lot of fun. I am not looking forward to the noise from fireworks, the dogs get jittery and hopefully the little one won’t get as many seizures as last year. A lot of locals rent out their places and head for quieter pastures. Since this will be our second one, I’m not even sure we will go around and see ninots and displays, save for the biggest ones. A friend is visiting so it might be fun to show her around. Our neighborhood entry will be set up right behind our building, so very convenient.
How’s the weather over your way? Hopefully not too cold. I am actually looking forward to the sun in Valencia.
What a fun wedding Kemkem. I love the colors of the women’s outfits. Brilliant. Cold and rainy here in Turkey today, too.
It really was Ryan. I was at first thinking blue and silver? Once l saw the outfits though, I changed my mind. The weather sucks in most places doesn’t it? Hope it warms up for you in Turkey soon. 🙂
Love the dress and the color! Too bad you weren’t allowed to take photos of the couple, but I am sure you have a lot more of everything else to compensate. You made me laugh with the “small” number of attendees 🙂 But I really think it’s really awesome to have family fly over from all over the world to attend the event. That’s something that you no longer see as often these days, with people too busy with routine to do this for family. Really nice!
The weather is getting better here in Romania, but I enjoyed my fair share of seasonal depression in mid-february, as each and every day was cloudy and cold and miserable. I don’t think I’d be able to make it either in a place that’s usually like that…
Have fun in England!
Thanks C. The colors turned out wow! Yeah.. I was a bit put off till my relatives said to take pictures of them instead which was great. For us, that number is indeed small and maybe part of the reason she didn’t want us taking pictures. The other family members might be put off not to be included :-). It’s her day though, so she could make up the rules as wanted.
Glad to hear the weather is getting better over your way. I sometimes forget just how dreary it gets in England and other parts of the world gets in the winter. I then remember the other reason about from expense why l couldn’t live in London. It would get to me after a while. Let’s hope Spring gets here like really quickly and stays :-).
Kemkem, I love your outfit. You looked fabulous! It must have been great to meet up with relatives that you only see at this kind of occasion?. Usually it is weddings or funerals that I meet my relatives. The food looked yummy. Sorry you missed the “early Spring ” that was enjoyed by most in the UK 2 weeks ago…but yes mostly “blighty” is rather gloomy in the winter. Enjoy being back in gorgeous Valencia…we loved your city😄
Thanks Gilda! We definitely like to shine and stand out as part of the culture :-). It was fun to meet up and l am kind of sad it’s almost over. It does suck that with everyone being so far-flung, it’s hard to get together except for weddings and funerals and that is often the case for us too. The food was definitely delicious. I heard about the early Spring from everyone.. it figures doesn’t it?
So glad you loved Valencia. I can’t wait to hear your take on it :-). Somewhere down the line, we will meet..haha!
Congratulations to your niece! Glad you got to spend time with your family, as well.
Thanks a lot. It is a whole lot of fun and l am so glad it happened.
Hi! I loved the dresses! And the “hats.”—-The food looked so good, and I had to go look at the post you linked to so I could see more! I’m so glad I discovered traditional foods, because all those foods you showed looked amazing to me now. Plantain. Stew. Cassava. Wouldn’t have 15 years ago!— Sorry you had to be inside watching Paw Patrol on gloomy days. Days with kids inside can get pretty long! Still blizzarding in SD, but we got away to some sun! Best wishes to you!! —-Terri F
Thanks Terri! I have come to love the geles (hats) as you put it. I always hated it because it takes so long to wrap around the head..and it has to be tight and sit there for a long time and when you wear it only a few times like l do, it’s quite jarring, especially when l have no hair to support it under.. :-). Plantain will forever be my favorite food in the world. I’m glad you have discovered the good stuff :-). The kids left me with a parting gift too in the form of a nasty cold. The older one kept sneaking into my room at night to sleep..haha! I haven’t had a cold this bad in a loaning time. Kids! 🙂 :-). Hope the snow disappears in your neck of the woods soon :-).
Aww I would have enjoyed seeing the couple. Still, you clean up really well Kemkem & look so beautiful! 😉
Yes it’s grey & cold here and I’m heartily sick of it.
Yeah.. I had been looking forward to splashing them all over the place :-). Haha! I do clean up well don’t I? 🙂 :-). I came back with the worst cold/flu thanks to those kids and l am still suffering 🙁 so l feel grey and cold despite the good weather. I can’t even bring myself to enjoy the fallas festivities. Don’t even have the energy to see the display set up right behind our street even. 🙁
It’s warm and sunny here in the Algarve Kemi and I imagine, now that you’re back in Valencia, that you’re enjoying the sunny, warm weather there as well. Your blue dress is incredibly lovely with the traditional headwrap and, having read through your comments, I have to agree that you do “clean up well!” I’d love to meet your family one day as I have such a fun time reading about your celebrations, dancing and the music. I can’t help but imagine that your get-togethers are non-stop talk and much laughter! 😁 Anita
Well, it is sunny, but not super warm except for one day during the fallas, but went back to colder the day after. Thanks for the compliment on the outfit… haha! whenever they can sit me down long enough to wear one of the traditional outfits and headgear, my whole family is always in awe..haha! It would be lovely to have you at one of our do’s, they are pretty fun. 10 years after Federico’s first time at one of the weddings, he still tells stories about it being just like “Coming to America” .. haha! Ye..lots of catching up and stories and definitely laughter :-).
Wow! What knock-out outfits! The color, the style. . .simply WOW! And that weather probably explains why we have so many Brit expats in our part of Greece (nervous ones right now, I might add, as they wait to see what happens with Brexit and impacts on their immigration status (all are hoping they don’t end up like Americans do here – if you saw that post of mine you’ll understand). But the weather in Greece is just how the tourism folks describe it: sunny and warm — of course we just ended three days of rain and wind, but perhaps, just maybe, spring has finally arrived.
Thank you :-). Yep..the weather does play a great part in the mass exodus. It can get awfully depressing. I am still in the throes of the flu/cold that the kids gave me. I have truly never had it this long or felt so bad. If not better in a couple of days, off to the doctor l go. In Spain, the government is going to change some laws to accommodate the ones here, and they have been urging everyone to become legal residents, something most haven’t bothered to do despite being here years! and using their U.K health benefits as regular insurance, not for emergencies as they should. Something that costs the U.K billions and they are putting an end to :-). Spring came for one day during the fallas but immediately went back to winter :-).
Wow. Love all the colourful dresses!
Haha! Thanks 🙂