Love in a time of Covid
We left Barrydale early’ish the next morning, heading for Kleinmond and then driving coastwise to Somerset West where we would spend the night with Jonathan and Debi. Jonathan advised against taking Sir Lowry’s Pass due to the bad weather and high winds. Clarence Drive took us from Rooi-Els to Gordons Bay. The route was scenic and the drive very enjoyable.
Bottom: Clarens Drive looking west
We parked in Jonathon’s driveway, as we normally do when visiting friends. It was a tight squeeze once again, but Roger had become rather good at this. While watching him park I always think about the fact that he used to manoeuvre Boeings, no wonder he makes parking a truck look so easy!
We bought the wedding wine a while ago and at the time decided to buy the bubbly once we arrived in Cape Town. That was of course now out of the question. However, when we mentioned it to Debi she told us about a really good sparkling wine that she bought on a special just before lockdown. It was for their son’s wedding that had now also been put on the backburner thanks to the pandemic. We’ve never had Miss Molly MCC before and that statement was all our hosts needed to suggest a tasting session. Debi was right, it was good. They had ample stock so she offered to let us have the six bottles we needed. All we had to do was pay for her replenishment order once the prohibition was lifted. Offer gladly accepted!
After spending a most enjoyable evening catching up with Jonathan and Debi we moved on the next morning. It was the 2nd of July. The wedding was the next day, and we had not yet met Paul, Lucy’s dad.
Roger brought along two of Glutek’s Vernier tools that had to be recalibrated at the supplier in Constantia. We contacted Kevin and arranged to meet up with him in the cul-de-sac outside the service provider’s premises. There we had lunch and a good, long chat in Ufudu.
After lunch Kevin led the way to the Sturrocks’ home. Paul insisted that we park inside their property rather than on the pavement, despite our protests that the grass was too soft after the good rains. Ufudu weighs roughly 5,5 tonnes, and we worried that the lawn would be ruined.
We met their minister at a five o’clock rehearsal. Duncan had been part of the family’s spiritual life since Colleen was a young woman and he had known Lucy all her life. Kevin’s friend’s mom is an interior decorator and they helped out with some items of décor and the layout of the furniture on the patio. We brought the wine and the bubbly. Colleen had a Zoom meeting set up for the ceremony and before long everyone was comfortable and confident that everything was under control. Except for the weather, of course. For that we would have to wait and see. But Kevin, ever optimistic, ‘promised’ Lucy that the sun would shine for the ceremony, so here’s holding thumbs…
After dinner and a glass of wine we all opted for an early night. It had been a long day.
And then the big day arrived. Lucy wasn’t feeling too well thanks to a restless night. Being a schoolteacher she had her J&J vaccine the previous day and was nauseous during the night. Was it the vaccine, or wedding nerves, or stress due to pressures of the school term being shortened? Probably all of the above, who knows…
Me waiting in the wings
WhatsApp pic from the Visagies with message: “Ons sit al in die kerk’ (we are already in church)!
Lucy was a radiant bride. She looked absolutely beautiful. And Kevin was as handsome as a groom can be (we are not biased, of course!). The ceremony was well organised and inclusive; Colleen read the scripture in English, Adri’s reading in Afrikaans was pre-recoded (due to the Gauteng lockdown she was sadly not able to be there in person), I presented the rings, the fathers both signed as witnesses. While the paperwork was being finalised, the couple interacted with Zoom attendees. It all worked really well.
After Duncan left some family members joined us. They had been sitting in their cars in the street outside, watching on Zoom. How sad is that? Lucy’s brothers and their spouses, Kevin’s gran Annetjie and her sisters, and a few others all piled into the house. There was much laughter, hugs and congratulations.
We all enjoyed some bubbly and wedding cake that Annetjie had made, while taking the opportunity to share stories and anecdotes about the couple. That was fun! Then we all went to a parking lot at the Groot Constantia wine estate where Kevin and Lucy had arranged to meet up with a group of their friends. The friends watched the proceedings on Zoom, and they now shared some bubbly and snacks with the family. During the ceremony the sun was shining, as Kevin had predicted, but now it started drizzling steadily. It was very cold. I felt sorry for Lucy; she was so cold that her lips started turning blue. Roger and I did not stay long; I don’t do cold very well, let alone cold and wet!
And then it was all over…
