brides, thievery and fish bones

it's a funny thing, having all your stuff nicked. the idea that some stranger has spent time in your suitcase, knows what ointments and make up and toiletries you use, may have passed a fleeting judgement on the book you're currently reading, has searched through your pockets, rummaged through your underwear, made a calculated decision as to what has value and what is worthless. and then, when they're mostly satisfied, has unceremoniously dumped everythingthatsleft in a wet, muddy field 20 minutes away, for some passer by to happen upon (thereby adding yet another stranger - and ultimately several local police officers - to the tally of people who've had close encounters with your intimate belongings.)

we'd parked our rental car beside a well lit, busy main road in Cookham, went for a curry round the corner and less than an hour later, returned to find the rear window completely smashed out, and three extremely large suitcases just, well, gone. not a trace of them anywhere. replaced by hundreds of mis-shapen shards of surprisingly thick window glass. also missing: one other, much smaller black bag which my father had stuffed underneath the front passenger seat, containing his and my mother's passports and her extremely hard-won green card. we think the thieves must have been watching us as we drove up, studied our behaviour as we parked and watched as dad stashed the bag (tyipcally, this being the first time on their holiday that he had made this ill chosen decision.)

this happened towards the end of what had been a fabulous week in the UK, as 'midsisty' Cesca (short for Francesca) and her lovely other half Lyle tied the knot 3 days previous. it was a perfect day; a small ceremony in the beautiful setting of Hampstead's "Burgh House" museum, followed by a glorious afternoon spent at the Freemasons just down the road with minimal traditional wedding tedium - just lots and lots of fun with some truly wonderful people. all this, though, was preceded by the beautiful bride walking to her own wedding (by choice), through the little streets of Hampstead on a busy Saturday morning accompanied by her adoring sisters, and understandably turning many a head amongst the typically dour British shoppers - effecting big, surprised smiles from everyone who caught the magical spectacle. there were women struggling with buggies on the cobbled streets, fed-up young men trailing behind their determined girlfriends, elderly shoppers filling their plaid trolleys with fresh produce from the greengrocers - all were treated to a moment of magic and romance as my stunning sister floated through the streets in her vintage, classic wedding dress, en route to the Big Occasion flanked by her beaming siblings & closest friend. she always did like to make an impression :)

a really lovely few days had by all, catching up with friends-who-have-been-family to us, and family-who-are-our-friends. then the strangers crashed into our reality and messed things up a bit with their heartless thievery...still, despite their best efforts to unsettle, it'll be the warmth and loveliness of the Saturday that will stay with us.










as for the IHeartFood bit of the blog.. i can heartily recommend the current Cupcake Trend for weddings. we'd had grand plans for the DeHaven family to spend the Friday morning baking, decorating and tryingnotoeat 50 of the things ourselves, but reality kicked in and instead, we walked into Maison Blanc in Hampstead and ordered 50 of their finest. there was pistachio, caramel, cherry, chocolate praline, vanilla and various others, and they were all absolutely gorgeous. this pic of little Hamish Robertson shows just how popular they were - and us adults were climbing over the tables to get to them too!

few other things that have been going on of late; i had the chance to record a pilot radio show for the BBC (Radio 1 in fact!). the studio and producer were all booked, and i was brimming with ideas (and a lot more nerves), then at the last minute, it was all cancelled due to some annoying logistical issues. frustrating, but i'm still brimming with the excitement that at 5.30pm last tuesday, i COULD have walked into Broadcasting House and COULD have spent three hours in the company of some of my radio heroes, blabbing away into a proppa BBC microphone and recording m'own lidl jinner voice into the vast virtual corridors of Auntie's computer system. cool eh?! course, it wasn't to be, but I'm not deterred and will try again some time soon.

musically, ive' been obsessed with some of the new artists discovered on the marvellous sixtyone.com - Lady Danville, Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down: and Canoe, to name but a few.

I'm also seriously impressed with a fellow Manx musician, the fartooyoung Tommy Cole, who's Jonathan Rice-esque vocals and Fleet Fox-inspired songs are not only well beyond his 17 years, but they've also landed him a Record of the Week spot on Radio 1's 'Switch' programme with Annie Mac and Grimmy in a few weeks - check out 'Fish Bones' here. nice one Tom!



thassal for now. next post will regail you with tales of filming dozens of manx musicians playing/singing in various interesting locations (including 'up a tree', 'by a lighthouse' and 'in a druids' circle') for a pop promo we're producing for the first ever TT XGP or "Green TT";
and also, will hopefully will have an update on the Robin Gibb DVD we're working on.

in the meantime, PLEASE check out the new charity album released in aid of the IOM Anti Cancer Association, featuring 16 fantastic local artists plus one ickle jinner bird... whole thing is only £6.99 from iTunes, and well worth it for a superb cause.

til the next time, then, stay safe and keep your valuables firmly attached to your body at all times! ;)