My parents met at school, dated for several years and got married. That was the best part of forty years ago. Meanwhile, I've just been to see Hollywood's latest take on romance: The Lakehouse. Oh, it's a highly predictable story about an impossible romance about two people who are almost always separated by two years of events. It's the kind of inoffensive but enjoyable date-movie film that would have been perfect for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. They got Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock instead, but...

In the week after the trip I slept a lot and wrote a lot and got half the things I should do done. I e-mailed with Kerry, Dawson, Holly, Shaleah and Fran and made promises about the speed of getting photos sorted. Sue me, I got distracted. No, wait... lawyers reading. Don't sue me, forgive me, I'll get right on that.Kerry was in Paris for several days, but with the change in weather and with most people who ahd been staying over in the city gone within a few days, I think she was looking forward...

Saturday 27th May - Saturday started early, but by the time I was 'up-and-at-'em' most of the chateau crowd were gone, away to catch flights or trains which would whisk them up to Paris or elsewhere. By 7:30am the only people left were myself, Kerry, Ellen and Alex. The decision was made to get down to the train station early - both to give Ellen a good start on her six-hour + road trip back north and in the hope that we train-travellers could possibly get an earlier train to avoid the repeated...

Friday 26th May - It occurs to me I haven't mentioned the ninja-kittens. The local cat (we think it belongs to the chateau's caretaker) had a bunch of kittens who would run for cover at the merest sound of you breathing when we first arrived. To most of us they seemed to be incredibly cute, but I do think that maybe they were (literally) milking us for every moment of sympathy. Charles' patience paid off later in the week when they finally took food from his hand and by Friday some of us had managed...

Thursday 25th EVENING - No, one big event in the ballroom in a week wasn’t good enough for this reprobate bunch of journos, lawyers and actors, so Thursday evening was the ‘masked ball’. Firstly there was some filming of extra footage (probably forthcoming on the Director’s Cut DVD) and - with the main door finally being opened - a chance to greet guests in style (just mind the ping-pong table as you go through, please).As festivities began much of the ensembled players sang to Ariel on the balcony....

Thursday 25th. There was some confusion as to who was going to do what on Thursday. Though the Bilbao trip had been too early the previous day, I'd planned on accompanying the group that might start out much later on Thursday - probably to San Sebastian rather than all the way to Bilabo. However it soon became clear that with Ellen's car insurance not covering a journey across the border, spaces were suddenly very limited. While several people including myself wanted to go, there would never be...

Wedneday 24th May... Despite the success of the wedding, I think everyone let out a huge sigh of relief that all had gone well and from the Wednesday onwards there was less a sense of urgency and more a case of 'What can we fit in in the rest of the week?'. On Wednesday it was decided that everyone could do what they wanted, separately or together. Holly, Dean and Fran had planned in advance to go off to Bilbao, but though they ahd space in the car, was too tired to be dragged up for a 7:00am start...

Some pictures paint a thousand words.Clockwise from top left: 1) Holy trinity, Batman! The bride, the groom and the pre-ordained. 2) Lighting of the candles. 3) Frock n roll! 4) I do, They did. 5) Olympic Pouting 6) The full chateau ensemble (minus the darned photographer!) 7) Candle-lit!8) Come hith...

The wedding went off without a hitch. Or rather with only one hitch which is the hitching that's supposed to happen. The non-chateau dwellers (we will refrain from calling them the tail section survivors as the Lost metaphor is getting old) came up from the villa/townhouse in plenty of time and around 7;30pm I went to get changed. I'd brought the traditional collarless suit (mandarin/grandfather style) which Kerry referenced in her 'vicars + tarts' speech. It's my best suit, what can I say... and...

Tuesday 23rd. Early. (Pic: Shaleah, Laura and Ariel... in prep)Have you ever had one of those dreams when you find yourself alone in a house? That's pretty much how Tuesday started. I woke up at a relatively civilised hour only to find Kerry and Ellen gone and Holly still sleeping. A trip downstairs to the first floor (second floor if you're US based) showed no signs of intelligent life and I went down to the ground floor (first floor, if you insist) to find the house still and quiet. It was...

Monday 22nd May: Monday morning came early... with just a few hours sleep to be had before the dawn broke through the sky-light of the room I was in. Myself, Holly, Kerry and Ellen had the three small rooms at the very top of the chateau (because we were obviously the most important, or maybe because they looked suspiciously like the servants' quarters in days or yore) and by the time I dragged myself downstairs some people had been up an unfeasible amount of minutes. Breakfast was eaten, nay consumed,...