In the beginning there was cake…

Thank you Bryony!

Wow, what an amazing week! Strictly speaking, it didn’t start with cake although this was definitely a running theme for the week. It began with a most enjoyable trip with good mate Polly to Sojos – the best Chinese in Oxford. No doubt the awesome staff in there, who know our regular order off by heart, suspect I’m suffering from some kind of eating disorder given both the regular order and the regular customer appear to have halved in size since the last visit. Most enjoyable nonetheless though. A great day got even better when Bryony arrived in the evening with not only a cake stand but some delicious brownies to go inside. I think the smile speaks for itself.

The week continued in this spendid vein, with visits from Roberta and Owen on Wednesday and then Richard on Thursday (naturally involving more tea and cake, displayed in pride of place in new cake stand).

And then my second wonderful surprise of the week arrived…

Thank you Peter, Matt and Lauren from Shutt Velo

Thank you so much Shutt Velo, you are stars! Needless to say, the new toy was instantly broken in with some close-run tournaments between Richard, Sam and myself. A late entrant to the competition emerged in the form of Bailey the cat, who sat with head whipping from left to right as the mini-cyclists whizzed past, before finally spoiling the party with a well-timed paw swipe.

The amazing week then met its climax with Sam and myself tying the knot on Saturday. It sounds like a cliché, but it really was the most perfect day from start to finish – everything we could have hoped for and more. It brings a huge smile to my face just thinking about it. That’s not to say there weren’t some quality comedy moments – the bride and groom nearly crossing paths pre-ceremony in the outdoor toilet (a crisis narrowly averted by the bride dashing round the back of the outbuilding as her husband-to-be emerged) – the bride comprehensively failing to ‘make a slow and considered entrance’ as instructed, but rather bounding down the aisle like a hyper-active labrador puppy. What can I say? I couldn’t restrain my excitement, seeing my beautiful boy there, ready and waiting for me!

This most special day and indeed the week closed with yet more cake, this time furnished by my sister in law Lucy and my sister Jess. I can assure you, both tasted as good as they look!

For the family members that shared our special day with us – thank you so much for the parts you played in making the day so memorable – everyone else, watch this space for an invite to a big ol’ knees up in the summer, aka Wedding Celebration b)  when my treatment is over.

Talking of which, the treatment seems to be continuing to go remarkably well. Cycle 3 starts next Tuesday but something positive is clearly happening because the swelling has all but disappeared now. When Sam and I played ‘spot the alien’ this morning, we could barely make it out.

The week began and ended with cake. I started as Miss Anderson; I finished as Mrs Hemmant. A truly amazing week, I think you’ll agree.

Courtesy of Will Hayter, photographer extraordinaire