I type this blog post, sitting on a King size bed, looking out over the veranda, at the sun slowly setting over the mountains, with the underfloor heating generating a cozy heat… Very different from my Durban life, where underfloor heating is unheard of, the view is of the sea, rather than the mountains, and I can almost see where I work from the flat balcony. Work stress is never quite forgotten.
This weekend we travelled to Curry’s Post in the KZN midlands and stayed at Mulberry Hill B&B, as a friend, Lauren, was getting married in the vicinity. What a pleasure! We were placed in a cottage, overlooking a trout dam. There was a little Bistro on site, where you could have almost any pancake you could think of during the day, both sweet and savoury. The cottage was beautifully kept, even providing a cat for our entertainment. I’ve never seen such an active cat out on the prowl. Someone had innocently left some biltong in a packet out on the veranda and the cat hunted it down and boy did he moan when I closed the packet so he couldn’t get to it. He followed us all the way from breakfast on the sunny veranda to our cottage and proceeded to hide under the bed spread and meeau if we happened to lift the bed spread up.
The wedding was interesting. The bride looked lovely and the Pastor who married them gave such a simple, yet profound sermon and explained everything beautifully.
He explained how the bride had to include “she will obey the husband” in her vows but that for 99% of the decisions made, they should discuss them and agree together, but for the 1% where that is not possible, the wife has to obey the husband. He explained that in order to make it through the ups and downs of life, you need God. I really wish I had a copy of the sermon to really take it in again. He made it clear that a Quiet Time was necessary.
Interestingly, the Pastor used to come to our church, many many years ago. He was selected to marry the couple as he Pastors in the region that they were getting married. He apparently gets any couple that he marries to sign a document that they are happy for him to preach the gospel at their wedding. If they refuse then he declines to marry them. I hope that my friend does come to have a meaningful relationship with God.
We were eating our main course at the wedding at 6.15pm. It was pretty early, for which we were grateful, as it was cold and dark long before that. There were fireplaces in the big room and tastefully elegant bouquets of expensive red roses on each table. The guests each received a box of handmade nougat.
I think that due to the early hour, the DJ panicked a bit and got 12 of the guests to play a game – never seen that at a wedding before – They had to collect certain items from guests, the last one back was out each time and their forfeit was to buy the married couple a gift on their monthly anniversary eg. the 4th person out had to buy a gift for them on their fourth month anniversary. The bridal couple had to send a bottle of wine to the person that won, on their 1 year – anniversary – interestingly different.
I really enjoyed the weekend – and the next day we proceeded onwards to the Cavern Resort in the Drakensburg – from where I am typing this blog post.
