#shooey

“So you’re just going back for a wedding”?

Not exactly, in true Sikh style Harmeet’s wedding ran over a few days and whilst I’m sure he had a quite a few formal traditions to go through, the weight of expectation fell on the Thurs night. The Pre-Wedding party.

I’m not sure whether this truly is a “thing” or whether Harmeet just wanted an excuse for a reunion with the boys. In that respect, credit must be due to all the ladies at the event towards to end. Co-ed it wasn’t but we tried. It’s just tough when you add Booze to Bromance. Some were worst than others of course.

That Thurs afternoon, we headed out to Hounslow where everyone was crashing at the local Travelodge. Conveniently the Riverside Venue was just an 8 min walk (according to Googlemaps) down the road. It was on the walk to the venue that I realised why Hammers recommend it, not for locale of course but for the “legendary” (apparently) Rocky’s Chicken Shop that was en route. It had out name stapled all over it, come 1am. But not yet, after all, Hammers promised world class catering.

First though, will the elusive Nadeem turn up? Having known he was previously in Ibiza, who knows. Some say, he’s even more exclusive then capturing a Mewtwo in Pokemon go... - But arrive he did and in style too. Looking slick in his white turtle neck and navy blazer, he did everything right. Almost.

You see, Nadz is the only person I know that could book a hotel room for the week after the correct date. I blame myself. I messaged him the day before with all the details but of course, forgot to give him the actually calendar date. Silly me, oh well, the key is that he is here. Quick S/S/S and we’re off.

(Ladies form an orderly queue for the magnificent 5. Please note a rare appearance from a pair of McClean Barker Shoes from Tom, that otherwise sit in hibernation all year round. Credit must also be given to Pete for his JT inspired blazer and white trainers gear)

In a venue large enough for a full wedding and with over 200 people, we settled down, picked some seats and awaited the carnage. But first, the pleasantries. It was great to see the Miami boys again and yes, before you ask, we gave Shiv’s his “Bollywood Star” entrance. Also, it was great to see both Dan and Rajeev (our favourite Herts Uni Taxi driver, I hope you stay well my friend) too. Don’t think I’ve seen either of you since Graduation times (?) but it was a pleasure to check in after all these years.

Not familiar with Asian weddings? this is how it goes:

Drinks and greetings/Seating free-for-all/start drinking/eat/party for an hour odd/sit and eat dinner/party some more.

Not a bad idea to be honest.These guys have got it right...

All that practice finally paid off for Harmeet, who seems to be able to hold his drink nowadays. Unlike a certain Mr Tom Lee. I don’t think he kissed enough of us that night, but then again Drunk Tom or Fat Tom have always been my favourite iterations of Thomas Lee.

There were many highlights but I’ll leave that to the whispers that float around. As I always say, the best part of a party isn’t the night itself but the conversations over breakfast/lunch the next day. I’ll leave you with some pictures instead as each tell their own story.

Wonder why Shay’s got his shoe off? :)

Singh is King

I assure you Toilet selfies are a thing.

Thank you’s and love at the end.

It lived up to the hype and hell, we even finished with Livin’ on a Prayer. A True Font classic.

Much appreciation too must be given to Navi and Jas who were great at organising the event for their Bro, thanks.

So, 2/3 of the way through and no one has died yet. One more and we can say goodbye to Harmeet as the shackles come on.

Will’s

Okay so I work at a church and I babysit preschoolers on Wednesday nights and ive been doing this for a few years. Sometimes the toys rotate classrooms and stuff, I’m used to it now. Books don’t do that that often however, and I get really excited when theres a new, clean book to read to the kids. 

So there was this new book about dinosaurs sitting on the little bookshelf. It was called 10 little dinosaurs or something, and it had googlie eyes. Of course I picked it up and shook it, mildly entertained for a few seconds, and by that time the kids started filtering in. We did the craft and played with blocks and built towers. Eventually one of the kids wanted to read a story and picked out the googlie eyed dinosaur book. Because you know, it looks fun and its a new one that teacher hasn’t read 15 times like the last dinosaur book. 

So I sit down and read it to the tune of 10 little monkeys. The kids started crowding around, which was fine, this usually happens when I start reading a book to one kid. The book thou. 

First of all, it had the longest ass actual dinosaur names in it and I had no idea how to pronounce them. It didn’t even tell me how to pronounce them anywhere in the book! I wanted to look cool in front of the kids cause they look up to me and all, so here i am stuttering over these latin dino names (I took latin all 4 years of high school btw, i should know how to do this shit by now but no) and holding 8 kids in my lap. Its fine. Its fine!