Ogeous craic

2 ½ hours after setting off from Torrequebrada I arrived in the stunning Arcos de la Frontera area, the location for Hursty and Shemiah’s wedding. I was staying at the venue up in the very swanky villas next to the main house so after arriving I soon caught up with Dutchy, Cadden and Conks who had taken the very smart option of getting a private taxi from Seville while the rest of the crew battled across from Seville in what sounded like the bus journey from hell. It was so great seeing Dutchy and the rest of the Fermanagh crew again as they slowly filtered in from the bus. An amazing group of friends who I don’t keep in touch with anywhere near as regularly as I should. We spent the rest of the scorching hot afternoon around the pool drinking lovely cold beers and generally having the craic, again something I had no idea how much I had missed, Irish craic just hits different and I missed it so much.

Friday evening we all made our way into Arcos itself, which is a stunning old town, and one of the world renowned Pueblos Blancos, or white villages, perched high on top of a massive bluff overlooking the Andalusian plains full of olive groves, vast fields of blooming sun flowers and citrus orchards – it really was stunning. We spent the evening at the pre wedding dinner catching up with everyone, most of whom I hadn’t seen in years, and just enjoying everyone’s company again. We called it a night fairly sensibly around midnight but apparently the stragglers were out until very late, no point getting first night fever with the wedding the next day.

A leisurely start to Saturday for Dutchy and I as we enjoyed a cooked breakfast and a couple of celebratory glasses of Buckfast to mark the occasion. With the ceremony not starting until 5pm we spent another day lazing around the pool slowly getting through a few cold beers before it was time to get our glad rags on and head to the ceremony. The ceremony itself was amazing and made all the better by the fact that Shemiah’s brother was the celebrant. By this stage though it had to be at least 40 degrees so we were sweating the bit out. Shemiah looked incredible and Hursty actually scrubbed up really well too, definitely the first time I have seen him in a suit though – ha ha.

Following the ceremony we all went down to the main house for hands down the best pre dinner canapes I’ve ever had – I gorged myself on octopus, tacos, these amazing tempura anchovies and pretty much anything else I could get my hands on. The diner itself started at 10pm and the speeches followed before we all hit the dancefloor and I finally dragged myself to bed, as one of the early leavers at 3am – the Irish just do it differently and I was sorely out of practice – ha ha.

Sunday was the pool party day so just for a change we all sat round the pool in the scorching heat again and drank more cold beers and Prosecco to ward off the hangovers from the night before . The day after weddings are always my favourite days of wedding weekends, so much more relaxed and you actually get the chance to chat the bride and groom and just chill for a bit.

It was an absolutely amazing weekend celebrating the marriage of Hursty and Shemiah. I was so thrilled to be invited and so glad I could make it. It was a real shame that Joany couldn’t make it but timings just weren’t on our side for this one unfortunately. I have been to some great weddings over the years but I have to say that apart from our own, of course, this one was by some distance my favourite. Every single person I met over the weekend was lovely and they all felt like friends, even though I had never met them. Seeing the whole Fermanagh crew again especially Hursty, Pandy, Welty, Dutchy, Will and Noelle and the list just goes on and on, was a very needed bit of soul medicine after a testing last 12 months in Saudi away from the people I love the most. I left Arcos and headed for Malaga airport and a reunion in New Zealand with everyone, hung over to pieces but buzzing about the few days I spent in Spain, little did I know what an ordeal was lying ahead of me.Read more