Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 910.

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Wuthering Dormice
(aka Bike)
Part 910
by Angharad

Copyright © 2010 Angharad
All Rights Reserved.
  
-Dormouse-001.jpg

I settled Julie down with a cup of chocolate and her book, lying on the sofa in the dining room while I fiddled about on the computer or made phone calls. I’d discussed the restraining order with Mr Henstridge, and he came back to me, saying the police had already told both Julie’s parents that if they came anywhere near Julie or her foster siblings, there would be big trouble. I asked him to get it in writing and to discover if they were well insured–because if they got it wrong without the formal order from a court–I would sue and big time.

“Remind me not to cross you, Lady Cameron.”

“Why should that happen?”

“It was a throwaway remark–nothing else. The adoptions should be through by Easter”–damn, I suppose I ought to organise the trip to Stanebury and the wedding blessing. I’ve got so many bodies to get organised for bridesmaid’s dresses, and the boys–I think we’ll have them in kilts–if they’ll wear them. I know Simon will, so will Henry
and Tom. I’ll speak with them when they come home.

More importantly, I needed to speak with Stella–I had to get a wedding dress plus organise the day–she could do much of that for me, especially as she knows the local Stanebury scene far better than I do.

“Julie–this probably sounds strange, but would you like to be a bridesmaid?”

“What me?” her squeak was so high pitched that only the dog and next door’s cat would have been able to hear her properly. “Who’s getting married?”

“No one.”

“Oh–what do you need bridesmaids for, then?”

“It’s a wedding blessing.”

“Oh–okay, when and where?”

“Probably May sometime, and in Scotland.”

“Never been to Scotland, who’s gettin’ blessed?”

“Simon and I.”

“Wow–kewl, like, count me in.”

“I’m going to need some help in organising it too, Auntie Stella will probably be the major planner, but we’ll need some help organising dresses and things with the girls, getting kilts for the boys and so on.”

“Sounds really fun.”

“I hope the day will be, the idea of organising it makes me want to hide.”

“I’ll do anything I can to like, help.” She sounded very enthusiastic and put her book down. “Have you got a dress in mind?”

“Not yet–I think I know what I’m prepared to wear, but whether I’ll find it, is another matter.

“What colour–white?”

“I fancy a pearl white silk.”
“Ooh that sounds lovely, Mummy–what sort of shape?”
We discussed bridal gowns for the next half an hour until I got lunch. Stella had gone out–usually she leaves a note but today she didn’t. I hadn’t noticed her car was missing–until I saw it coming back up the drive, then winced when she parked it next to mine. As far as I could see, she hadn’t actually hit my car, but then she had to move hers because she was so close she couldn’t open the door.

I swear she smells the tea pot. We had a salad lunch and Julie mentioned the wedding blessing. Stella’s face lit up and she said, “You’ve set a date then?”

“No, we need to organise that plus dresses for bridesmaids and bride.”

“And kilts,” added Julie.

“For the bridesmaids? Well it would be different anyhow–that’s about all you could say for it.”

“No for the boys,” said Julie rocking with laughter.

“Oh–of course,” Stella blushed and tittered at the same time thereby suggesting some of us can indeed, multi-task, safely.

We were still talking about dresses–partly with help from the internet and my laptop, when Stella said, “Bridesmaids.”

As we were looking at bridal gowns, I challenged her–“No, brides?”

“No, silly, bridesmaids–go and collect them–look at the time.”

I glanced at the clock and almost dropped the computer on the floor before rushing to grab my bag and coat, closely followed by Julie.

Once safely in a speeding car–if that doesn’t sound too Oirish–I asked her why she wasn’t staying with Stella and talking about wedding arrangements? Her reply was simple–“If I have anymore, I’ll be diabetic by tea time.”

“Much of it is sickly sweet–but I know Trish loves it, so will Mima and Livvie.”

“I s’pose I should too, given how much I’ve always wanted to be a bridesmaid–but, it’s all frills and froth and no substance.” I think I was listening to a proto-feminist, but if she says, womyn, I’ll throw her out of the car.

“That does surprise me,” I said smiling–knowing it was reflecting my own feelings.
“Oh on one level, it’s like, wunnerful–but on another, it’s demeaning for women. It’s great for five year olds, but for older women, it’s juvenile.”

Suddenly this child was talking like an adult–why? Can’t have been associating with adults or giant intellects, because we’re all crazy and spend much of our time teasing each other, so it’s rather like a girl’s public school. Nine o’clock lights out–ten o’clock candles out, ha ha–yes, well, maybe a girl’s preparatory school?

By the time we got to the convent, three young ladies were standing with the headmistress all trying to look casual about my lateness. Then Mima spotted us approaching and came rushing over to greet us, quickly followed by two other skirted bodies–ponytails swinging as they ran.

“Problems, Lady Cameron?” asked Sister Marie.

“Nothing serious–the traffic added to the delay, I’m afraid.”

“And who is this young lady?” asked the headmistress of Julie.
“This, Sister Marie, is Julie Kemp, who is staying with us for the foreseeable future.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Julie, this is Sister Marie, torturer in chief at this educational establishment.
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition ,” she said and began to laugh at the Monty Python gag line–I of course laughed until I had tears down my cheeks. The three girls and Julie looked on in bewilderment. Looks like I need to trawl Youtube and see if the sketch is viewable, it should be, it’s a comedy classic.

“Mummy–what you and Sista Mawee waughin’ at?” asked Meems as we drove home.

“Just a silly programme that used to be on television some years ago.”

“Did you wike it?”

“Most of the time–it was very funny sometimes.”

“Can we see it?”

“I don’t know if you’d understand very much of it, it’s really for older children and grown-ups. If you remind me after dinner, I’ll see if some of it is on the internet so you can get an idea of what we used to laugh at.”

“Is that, Monty Python?” Julie asked as we inched our way through the traffic.

“Yes–it was called, Monty Python’s Flying Circus though it neither flew nor was a circus.”

“That’s siwwy,” sighed Meems.

“Yes it was very silly,” I agreed.

Once we got home I set to in the kitchen to get dinner ready–pork chops, the girls went off to search the internet for Monty Python on Trish’s computer. Several times I heard them laughing and once or twice they weren’t very impressed.

I managed to corner the boys who were doing their homework and they reluctantly agreed to wear kilts. “That’s like wearing a skirt,” complained Danny.

“It’d go well with your strawberry blond top knot,” I teased.

“You could be a bridesmaid then,” said Billy and they began slapping each other on the arm again. When the slapping became punching, I stopped it.

“Any more of this fisticuffs and both of you will be bridesmaids,” I threatened, “in frilly pink dresses and high heels.”

“Aaarghh,” they both squealed and ran away. I assumed that was an end to the matter and they’d wear kilts. Cameron tartan I presume, but I’m not sure whose tartan is used, the bride or groom’s. Another job for Stella to find out, if Tom doesn’t know, of course.

I dipped the chops in egg yolk and dusted them with sage and onion stuffing, before grilling them. The potatoes were new, boiled ones with cabbage and carrots and whole green beans. Dessert was a cop out, some yoghurt–home made–I think there’s enough for the kids, with some strawberries–again, just enough for the children.

I called Trish to lay the table, asked the boys to wash their hands, and Julie to round all the youngsters up. Tom came in as I was dishing up and Stella came down with loads of bits of paper about wedding gowns. I had to stop her until after I told the girls what was going on. I wouldn’t do that until tomorrow–tonight they’d be so excited, they wouldn’t sleep.

I let them watch a bit of Mamma Mia video before I put the kids to bed. The girls went quietly and I read a bit to them. The boys also went quietly when I asked which of them was wearing a kilt and who was wearing the bridesmaid dress–as we seemed to have a spare one. We didn’t, but they didn’t know that.

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Comments

Not really fair

To tease the boys like that, but good fun.

Keep up the good work.

Poppykin

Oh, Goodie! A Wedding (Blessing)!

I'm SO glad to see the wedding -- I mean the REAL wedding -- is finally going to happen!

Now, Ang, don't be mean and spoil it with more Russian mobsters or other bad guys! Please leave that until after, eh?

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

x

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

More of the Same

No medical crises either. (Though the blue light could be the "something blue", eh?)

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

x

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

Hmmmm

Kidding them about being bridesmaids may make them curious wouldn't you think?

They seem to see so much of that lately, boys wanting to be girls.

Will this make them curious to find out what it is like and what the draw to being a girl is?

Could this be something Danny and Billy have been secretly thinking about without anyone knowing (What it is about being a girl)? This could be dangerous territory Cathy is treading. It might make both boys want to be bridesmaids just to get the experiance and being the center of attention, which they presently do not have. Yes they get SOME attention, but nothing like the girls and I wonder if they are starting to resent it? Just wondering!

Great job as ever Angharad! This should be made into a TV serial. It has all the makings and excitement viewers crave.

Bike pt 910

What a teaser Cathy is! But will the boys opt for the alternative?

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

lovely

i am loving this i also find the way there getting the boys to stop and listen kinda funny to so thanks
with hugs from sarav

WAIT !

PattieBFine's picture

since she wore a dress to the wedding, doesn't that mean that Simon has to wear one this time? To be fair and even handed and all?

:-)

The boys in dresses and the girls in kilts....

Hmmm... I suppose that would require they all ride bikes to the affair though... since it's supposed to be symbolic

Or would it just be the boys... as each of the girls have already had a few bruises in the arriving at girlhood? ( thrown off a Bike, shoved down stairs, beaten and shoved out of a car...

THEN they get put into dresses! So they would recognize how much better it is to have a partners support?

The Inquisition...

... What a show. :-) History of the World: Part 1

Sorry, I know the python sketch is well known. But, I hear the term, and Mel Brook's scene, where he plays Torquemada in a musical interpretation of "The Inquisition" is what comes to my mind.

Can I be a bridesmaid? No, that's not a good idea. They shouldn't distract those attending from the Bride!

Sounds fun though. :-) At least I got to wear white for my wedding, even though it was a tux, not a dress. :-)

Annette

Springtime

(Hmm...thought I'd already posted a reply - must have forgotten to submit after previewing...)

Spring time, season of fertility and new life. How fortuitous that the adoptions for half the brood are likely to come through by early April, with the wedding blessing the following month. Once Mima, Trish and Livvie have been formally adopted, it presumably should make the process easier for the remaining three (Billy, Danny and Julie).

Now since the blessing will be the big celebration, as well as thinking about the date and outfits, there's also the question of invites. Simon and Henry will obviously be able to pull in a big crowd of friends, colleagues and acquaintances - but what about Cathy? For a start, there's Marguerite (of course!) and the girl Cathy healed about a year ago and promised could be a bridesmaid. Who else? Possible invites could include Pippa and the boys, Neal and Gloria (the lab technician lovebirds). Spike will probably remain in the uni, but it would be fun to bring along a Dormouse of Honour (as long as she wasn't released from her cage during the celebrations!) Sister Marie could be another possibility, and Cathy might even stretch to Nora. If she makes up with the Sussex crew from a few episodes back over the next couple of months, they might like an invitation. But would she be willing to issue invites to the various medics she's met over the years - Dr. Thomas (Cathy's psychologist from way back at the beginning), the Irish surgeon, Sam Rose, Stephanie, and possibly even Dr. Nicholls.

But before all that happens and the Holy Grail of getting through the blessing and adoptions is achieved, Cathy will no doubt ponder The Meaning Of Life (but not The Life of Brian), Tom will reminisce a lot about spam (or about a lot of spam), and after being called on to perform yet another healing, Cathy will again be procaiming that she's Not The Messiah.

 
 
--Ben


There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...

As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

I'm sure I've heard the line before but...

This is priceless;

"Nine o’clock lights out—ten o’clock candles out"

Great chapter as usual, Ang, and nobody killed, injured, electrocuted, fried, grilled or boiled in the making of it. Quite an achievement.

Susie

I first heard that line…

…from a girl I knew who went to Roedean.

I was too young to understand the significance. Aaaaaah!

Up School…up School…up school…up school…Right up school.

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

Seems like Cathy

is learning fast, Keep the boys wrong-footed and you'll have a nice quite life, Especially now it looks to them like Cathy is playing them off against each other.... And there was me worrying when the boys first arrived they would be too much for Cathy to handle.... How little i knew...Still i suppose there's still time yet!

Kirri

Was surprised to see the discussion

about the wedding (blessing) suddenly come up. Don't remember anything recently that would start Cathy thinking about it. Must be nice to have a castle available. No concerns about finding a hall for a reception. How has Julie gone from acting like a teenage tart to a budding feminist? Did some of Cathy's attitudes go along with the blue light? They used to show Monty Python here late on the PBS (Public Broadcasting) stations. Tried to stay up to watch. Between them and the really immaginative first few seasons of Saturday Night Live comedy TV had a lot going for it.

I love weddings, as long as

I love weddings, as long as I don't have to set one up. It will be very interesting to see what Stella does for Cathy and her brood. Are they going to get a cute little "flowergirl" outfit for "Puddin", as she will feel left out if they don't. Just because she is a wee babe, almost a year, she should be fancy dressed also. I do think that the boys, once they see what Simon and Tom will be wearing will opt for the kilts and what goes with them. Very dressy when formal ones are worn. Jan

I don't think Puddin’…

…would be a flowergirl, Jan, because we don't have flowergirls at weddings in UK, or anywhere in Europe, it being, as far as I know, a particularly American phenomenon. Six bridesmaids would be splendid, because there's the wee girl—I've forgotten her name—to whom Cathy promised she could be one.

If the boys wear the kilt, they should also wear velvet doublets with lace cuffs and jabots; the doublets do not have to be black, dark blue, dark green or maroon being popular alternatives. The great advantage of wearing a doublet is that you can get away with just a singlet—or T-shirt—underneath. With the Prince Charlie coatee—a jacket a that's bit like a short dinner jacket or tuxedo—a shirt and stiff collar is needed As to whether anything is worn under the kilt, all I can say is that nothing is worn—it’s all in perfect working order…… ;-)

Yes, I know it’s an old chestnut.

From an old chestnutter!

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

When the Revolution comes...

Puddintane's picture

We note with considerable interest that the escape of the hippopotamus has sparked a similar attempt to escape captivity in at least one location in the USA, thanks possibly to Twitter accounts maintained by many animals these days.

http://tinyurl.com/yfh5672

Although few people are aware of this, there is an extensive network of animal sympathisers and allies around the world who are dedicated to animal liberation from the lives of servitude many endure. Here is one such heroic freedom-fighter:

http://tinyurl.com/yzhrbbx

Cheers,

Puddin'

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

It's not unusual here,

Angharad's picture

the exotic animals - most main roads have at least one zebra or pelican crossing, and we regularly see school children crocodiles.

Angharad

Angharad

Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition

Puddintane's picture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSe38dzJYkY

Monty Python's Flying Circus was actually named after the "Flying Circus," the group of "Ace" fighter pilots headed by "The Red Baron," Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories during the first world war.

Because of the bright red aircraft used by Richthofen and his fighter group, and the fact that he'd created a technologically innovative scheme which entailed portable air bases housed in tents, so they could move quickly to any location along the lengthy front lines, they were quickly named "The Flying Circus," or "Richthofen's Circus," although it wasn't at all funny, nor meant to entertain.

On the other hand, they did specialise in brief encounters from which they cut quickly away, speeding away to appear somewhere else as a nice little surprise for British fighter pilots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gldlyTjXk9A

Cheers,

Puddin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0MObFpTI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m07ISfx_5b0

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

Weddings

Sorry I'm late commenting. Working nights this week.
Well everybody loves a wedding. Lets see if this one can go without a hitch (although somehow I doubt it,)and Cathy gets to the church on time.
Looking forward to the ensuing chapters.
I still love this story.

XOXO

Beverly.

Beverly Taff.
This is wierd. I haven't changed my password but the site wont dispayl all my thingies at the side like 'Submit Story'!

It’s Impossible to Have a Wedding…

…without a hitch! Let’s face it, that is the whole point of the exercise—the groom gets “HITCHED” to the Bride…or is it supposed to be the other way round? ;-)

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

Normalcy is good

However, one never know what can happen in a castle, ya know?

Kim

Sorry about the misQuote in my Last Comment

"After Reading the Daily Dormouse have decided to move my Billions to High Street Bank. Save the Dormouse!!" J.K.

I get the feeling there shall be no ugly bridesmaid dresses though Stella's should be a bit extreme, but just just up to the point she sees the actual one(of course you are at this point in history well past that I am sure)

Oh and with a Rhinoceros on the loose some one shall probably get it in the end.

Goddess Bless you

Love Desiree

Goddess Bless you

Love Desiree

Watching the leg come off.

One of the boys goes up to Cathy and mentions she'd like a brides maid dress very much, and, oh, by the way, could we go shopping for some new clothes please.

That would teach her.

Careful, you might be surprised by the boys' answers

Love this chapter, every one is happy, the teasing is good natured, even the boys were agreeable to kilts.
Do young men wear a sporran also, isn't that were the dirk is carried ? Or is it a skien du

Cefin