Big Adventure

We drove to the site at Pont Kemys near Usk, where we were planning to have a couple of days to relax prior to Thursday when we were geared up to complete our preparations for the Friday bbq.
On Wednesday morning Alan wrote his speech for the wedding breakfast, saved it and pdf'd it off to Madeline for Richard. we then planned to walk up the River Usk to find a spot where we could sit down and hopefully spot some kingfishers by the riverbank.
No sooner than the pdf file was transmitted we received a wattsapp call from a very tearful Kirsty and Matt to say that due to a covid outbreak at Three Pools Farm the much planned for celebrations for the forthcoming weekend were cancelled in their entirety.
At noon on the day 72 hours prior to the event this was quite devastating news, but what followed was quite remarkable.
Kirsty and Matt were determined to have their celebration so we all pitched in to see what could be done to salvage the weekend.
Everyone pulled together to seek a solution for our problem - we had no venue, or caterers as these were being provided by the original venue. All our phones were hot, and we found nothing but good will by all the parties we approached who we could think may help us. By mid afternoon we had the promise of the use of a smaller venue at Usk Castle, the potential for the use of a very large rally field at Pont Kemys which could accommodate all and local people who we only knew on the end of a phone line were calling their farming friends to see if other spaces could be made available. By late afternoon we were confident that something could be achieved as Matt had sourced some alternative caterers and we had secured the hire of portable loos for whichever venue we could find.
In the early evening we visited, in the rain, Ruthlands Farm which lay just over the border in England, a venue which was being prepared to open later in the year to cater for events. The venue was nearly ready but the event barn needed completing, there was no electricity in the barn and there was building rubble surrounding the site. James and Imogen, the owners, were very confident that everything could be made ready for an event at the weekend and their very calm approach led us to agree to hold the event there.
Everything then really swung into action, guests were informed of the sudden change of plan, the only casualty from the original plan was that the Friday evening bbq which was going to be available for all was confined to only those who were actually staying overnight in the camping field.
On Thursday Karen and Madeline changed their shopping list quite radically and hit the Morrisons wine department, £500 worth of fizz, red, white and rose along with the odd cucumber tickled the staff at the checkouts. They all wanted to come to the party.
On Friday we were asked by James and Imogen to delay any major arrivals until late morning so that electricians and plumbers could complete their works to the barn.
We arrived at about 10:45 closely followed by Richard and Madeline in their van and set up behind the barn whilst the final works were being completed. By 1 pm electricians were clear, the plumbing sorted and friends and family turned up to assist with the preparations. At 2:30 pm tables, chairs, crockery, the loos and all the essential items for the wedding celebration were at the farm.
Friends of friends in Bristol had lent a couple of marquees which were set up in the farm garden in which the wedding ceremony could take place.
Everywhere you looked there was a hive of activity, as new guests arrived the walk in fridge filled up with provisions and by 6 pm we knew that the special weekend Kirsty and Matt had hoped for originally was going to happen.
We give a heartfelt thanks to the very many people who helped to put this together in such a short space of time.
At 5:30 we lit the bbq, cracked open a couple of bottles of wine and beer (much needed after the last two days' events) - a simple evening meal was enjoyed by all as final preparations on the sound system and music/dance area were finished off by guests in the barn.
What a day.Meer informatie