Feasts, treats and reunions
Of all the many Boris announcements these past umpteen months none was greeted with more enthusiasm than this one on June 28th this year:The 30-person limit on weddings will be removed in England from June 21, despite step four being delayed.That means there will be no numerical limit on either receptions or ceremonies - either indoors or outdoors.Instead, capacity limits will be the highest number of people venues can accommodate while still being Covid-secure.Yippee – WhatsApp texts and messages zinged across Wales, from north, to mid, to west and into England and Scotland. A family wedding, initially booked on 11th July, 2019, first set for September 2020, then postponed to March 2021 and again to July 2021, could go ahead with a full complement of guests…For The Nephew and his bride (seen here in 2016 in Llangollen, the Injured Soldier with his Matron 
) it had been a long wait.Starved for so long of face-to-face meetings with sisters and families, what a joy it was to converge in Shropshire. First to arrive had been Senior Niece, seen here in 2015. (Left to right: 
Pony Lover, Senior Niece and Hamble Sailor. Baby Sis had arrived next from West Wales via Bristol, 
then the Cleddau crew from Bedfordshire, then Senior Sis and Saltie from mid-Wales, and finally after a nine hour drive from the Highlands, Scottish Sis and Sheepman arrived… A fine dinner (The Haughmond) 
and a delicious breakfast
were excellent preparation for the wedding a few miles south in Wroxeter (Roman Wroxeter, that is.) 
The thrill of pampered nails 
(thank you, Pony Lover), a sisters’ line-up, 
a quartet of brothers-in-law, 
a wedding setting approached through summer flowers, 
a Very Happy Couple… 
and the Bristol nieces attending the evening party made the entire weekend a total success! 
(Afterthought: after all these months what pleasure there is in conversation and laughter the old-fashioned way, three dimensionally, unimpeded by Zoom hiccups or being “timed out” …)Already well west of home base, a north east to south west slow drive of about four hours plus took the Cleddau crew across Wales to the Cleddau Bridge (now toll free) and over the Haven into South Pembrokeshire. 
En route it was spotting with rain in Machynlleth and day trippers were cramming the promenade pavement in Aberystwyth.
“Took my finals there,” 
gestured the Captain, pointing out the Old College on the sea front. (That was so loooong ago!)Lunch stop overlooking Cardigan Bay 
Pembrokeshire is much discovered these days, hyped as a ‘staycation hotspot’ for those who in different times would jet off to the Med. 
For the Cleddau locals there were favourite places to be revisited, 
, birdlife to be observed, 
heather to be noticed, 
grasshoppers to be heard, clifftops to be walked, 
a gatepost reflecting the training period of the Panzer tank forces, 
picnics to be had, 
, sea to be swum in, 
– and more family reunions...Siblings: 
Homeward bound was due east, over the Severn Crossing 
(remember cruising UNDER this bridge six years ago...? )The Cleddau crew are back now in Cheshire for another boating stint: will it be a Monday or a Tuesday departure from Victoria Pit – and what might be the destination this time…?
Relatives seen face to face: 15 + Groom and Bride
