Category Archives: Family

Two Become One (And Yet, Still Two)

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My school friend of 25 years, Matt, got married in Luxembourg today, so the family flew out to be a part of his Hindu wedding.

They had flown out a Hindi priest from Birmingham, not that anyone would have known how priesty he was; he was speaking in a strange language throughout the ceremony, and could quite have easily been reciting a string of dictionary entries for all we know. From his emotionless face, the slightly confused state he’d occasionally reveal when not knowing whether to sprinkle something on an orange, set fire to things and sprinkle them with something (maybe the same liquid, I don’t know), or throw rice on the bride and groom and sprinkle them, and the (undoubtedly normal to him, though disconcerting for us Hindu-tourists) dead intonation in his voice, he probably was.

Added to this, the discussions he seemed to be having with other Hindus in the congregation about what to do next (some things traverse the language barrier), plus the frequent pauses to explain to Matt and Carley how they should hold various items of fruit they were handed at various intervals, made for an interesting, sometimes comical, ceremony. I’m glad it wasn’t the three-day version or we’d have been there until Christmas.

Most of the invitees, including us, decided to dress up in traditional Hindu garb, and this, along with the superb decoration and food, made for a fantastic experience. I’m not sure how traditional a Bugs Bunny bouncy castle is, but it gave the children present plenty to occupy themselves.

We had plenty of time to catch up with some long-lost acquaintances Jo and I knew from our partying days in Luxembourg. We kept ourselves on the right side of alcohol (i.e. not too much). This enabled me to last the evening without wanting to go and lie down, and to be able to function properly the next day (where we met up with some of the previous night’s crowd, plus a few others we’d wanted to socialise with).

Considering we only spent one and a half days there we managed to see more people than I’d hoped to, but this was Matt and Carley’s weekend, so we wish you both the best of luck for the future.

First Mission Of 2007

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Chris and we finally got our act together and went on our first “explore Sweden” trip, something we haven’t done for a couple of years. Our destination for the revival was Linköping, since I’d read there was an exhibition there of Swedish videogame history.

If videogames is your thang then avoid Linköping. The exhibition was shite, with very little information on offer. The Altair 8800 that was in place had no description, which, unless you are reasonably hardcore, just looks like a box with lots of switches on it. I was proud to have my picture taken resting a hand on this important piece of gaming hardware, though the expression on my face made me look like the Altair smelled of rancid pooh, so the photo was discarded. There was a playable Wii there, but I need more than that and a few old computers to be impressed. I was worried, when we got lost on the way to the exhibition, that we would get there after it had closed for the day, though the 15 minutes we had was ample.

Thankfully, Jo suggested going to Old Linköping, which was far more enjoyable. In most of the houses there were interesting things to do/see, and it was a shame we only had half an hour there before all the main places closed.

We spent the last hours of our Linköping mission sat outside at an O’Leary’s pub in “new” Linköping. It seems Chris was suitably impressed with the Wii, he wanted to find somewhere on the way home that was open to buy one.

A Sporting First

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We were at Mattias and Linda’s this afternoon, for their BBQ and Basketball party. I was less than enthusiastic about playing a sport I had managed to avoid for 39 years of my life, but when I actually got on the court I found myself really enjoying it.

Both Jo and I put forward the idea of having a weekly game. It’s a great way to socialise, and a much better way of getting fit than going to the gym or running. I’m not sure just how the others took our proposition, but I felt they were less bitten by the thought than we were.

Hooked On Classics

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At the moment it is quite fashionable to put on concerts with a live orchestra and play music from videogames old and new. Actually, I wouldn’t say fashionable, more that there are two different tours currently making their way across America and Europe. One is “Video Games Live” who, according to their website, are scheduled to play Sweden sometime this year, and the other is “Play! A videogame symphony“, who played in Stockholm this afternoon. Jo and I were there.

The public was made up of a large amount of gamers, along with a sprinkling of normal concert goers. I have no idea what they (or for that matter the orchestra) thought of the event. Some of the pieces are taken from modern games that are already orchestrated, so I can imagine it’s not so different; however, the retro pieces/melodies are, because of the audio limits of the time, a different kettle of fish. I wondered a few times throughout the concert if the orchestra members were bored because of the (assumed) simplicity of the songs. Arne Roth, the director, did say that the Mario Theme was one of the trickiest to perform, so perhaps it is not at the case.

I enjoyed the whole concert immensely; not only to be presented with game music in a way my ears are not accustomed to, but the surreality of it all. It felt wonderful to be surrounded by folk who have chosen to be a part of geekdom for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.

Whilst we were there Freya was spending the afternoon with Jack. When she woke up in the morning she was pretty much ready to go, standing around with her bag full of toys to take with her. When we eventually did go (the wait must have seemed like an eternity) she had absolutely no problem with our leaving her. We hadn’t expected her to, but she almost seemed happy to be rid of us.

We had planned to pick up Freya after the concert and go home to an important football match, Denmark vs Sweden. On our arrival we were asked by Mark and Sara if we were hungry (always a yes, at that moment incredibly so). We accepted the offer of food and ended up staying a further 3 hours or so, enjoying their company fully.

Freya was very sad when we got ready to leave, wanting to stay over. It’s fantastic to know that Freya has such a friendship with Jack, and opens up the possibility of a safe haven for Freya in the future, when we go off to do similar “adult” things.

Teddybears’ Picnic And Back To Jack’s

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Freya had her first ever Teddybears’ Picnic today, which her school had arranged in a local park. She wanted her entire teddybear collection to be there with her on this very special day, which meant a somewhat encumbered Jo cycling to school in the morning with Freya and her friends.

The idea was that all the children were to sing “Teddybears’ Picnic”. Freya and I had practiced the song the few weeks previous to the gathering, but when it came to standing in front of the paparazzi parents, she and her best friend Jack refused to perform. It was a prime photo opportunity missed, but I understand her apprehension.

After the show, we headed off to Jack’s house, having received an invitation to dine there. I’d seen Jack and Freya playing at nursery school before, though this was the first time we got to see them for a prolonged period, and they really do have something going on. They are incredibly alike in so many ways: their looks, disposition, physical forms (except for the genitals), way of speaking.

Jo and I had an excellent time with Jack’s parents, Mark and Sara, and I can certainly see us meeting up for more social evenings like this one. It was easy to talk (maybe because it included a fair bit of chat about videogames), and they have very amiable personalities. Once again, I have been pleasantly surprised with an evening of socialising, which is filling up our diaries (and the blog) quite nicely.