studio 12 Goose Hill, Morpeth, Northumberland. NE61 1TL

email masonstudio@tiscali.co.uk

tel (01670) 783357

Edinburgh Castle

At the Bonham,
a lovely hotel situated in the midst of one of the most interesting one way systems that I've encountered.

look - it's a smiling face at the hotel window !

anyway - drinks ahoy

And this being a wedding in bonnie Scotland, would that be a thistle I spy ?

Red shoes give away a hint that the wedding dress might not actually be the traditional white . . . . . . . .

what colour could it be ?

I wonder . . .

Eve's father,
spotted flitting between rooms, looks vaguely like a judge in this picture.

(don't tell him I said that . .
oh heck - it's on the internet - the whole world can read it . .

well. I'm sure he'd guess that
I'm only having fun.

Billy and Eve have hired this man and three others to play their instruments at the Castle.

did I mention Castle ?

oh yes, this wedding took place at a rather well known one.

The violinist was one quarter of a string quartet,
they played most of the day and were a pleasure to listen to.

The best man is attacked
by a large bunch of ostrich feathers
which some thoughtful Scottish bagpiper
has dyed black and made into a hat.

The gentleman to the right

(Major Forbes) organised the aforementioned Scottish military bagpiping person.

Dunno if our treatment of the pipers hat (busby) was a bit irreverent.

Dunno if the Ostrich objected either . . .

In the Queen Anne room,
Eve reaches the top of the aisle,

and yes . . it's a red dress !

Luckily there are vantage points from which I can get interesting photographs during the service.

One of the vantage points being on the floor.

I creep commando style
toward the candle
as Billy and Eve unsuspectingly sign the register.

click.
gotta picture -
they never noticed,

well - possibly . . . .

As if by magic,

they walk out as a couple
and radiate smiles all around.

(as does the minister - a really nice chappie).

(you can't see the minister in this picture, so you'll just have to imagine him,

he was sort of tall

and wearing a black thing

and err. . . smiled a lot . . . . .

we take one or two pictures of
Eve in her stunning dress -
actually she's stunning too,
I'm sure you noticed !

The good thing about a castle
is the wealth of interesting places to take pictures.

the only drawback of this particular castle
were hordes of tourists,
who, just to make things interesting,
peeked around every corner as I took pictures.

much retouching is to be done to remove the tourists . .

(it was either that or use an air rifle
to discourage them).

The stairs to above are called
the Lang Stairs, they lead to
the Half Moon Battery, and across the green to the Crown courtyard.

oh god - I'm turning into a geek,

I visited the castle a few days before the wedding to memorise the layout.

and it stuck . . . . .

aaaaaaaaaaagh I'll be a trainspotter .

This picture brings back memories.

I could only take it with Bryony (assistant at the time),
holding a brolly over my camera, as scotch mist
(a sort of misty drizzle that prevails in these parts) drifted past.

Eve was sheltering in the doorway.

but of course, Billy,
being a hardened Scot
with a kilt and bare knees etc,
braved the weather and looked on admiringly at his love
as we took this picture.

Do I recall the ritual mbarrassment of the groom at this point . . .

a story involving :

Billy, wearing swimming gear, snorkel and goggles,
not recognised by the best mans savage dog . . . .

woof . . bite . .

(bitten where ? you're joking . . .

ooooooh that would hurt . . .

Guests mill about in the Jacobite room prior to the ceilidh band setting up.

of course, the cake looked on, and there was of course a bar . . .

So we slipped outside to play with the castle for a moment or two, as one does.

well hey - if you hired a castle to play with, you want it in your album don't you !

Aha - the dance.

Dashing white sergeant

(Major to you laddie).

It looks like Eve chose her dress with dancing in mind !

We had to take a picture of the exterior of this
humble reception venue,

It only looks like Edinburgh castle from the outside !

a castle, inside, and close up, often looks like a stone wall !

Billy asked that I take a picture of the castle when I left, from Princess street.

(since he and his lovely bride Eve would still be dancing the night away in there)

silly me, I thought it would be a simple matter of driving to the best vantage point,
then parking up and taking a picture.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE TRAFFIC
IN THE MIDDLE OF EDINBURGH CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT ???

IT'S FLIPPING AMAZING . . . MIGHT EVEN BE BUSIER THAN DAYTIME !!

I basically beached the car using what looked like a joyriders parking technique,
skewed over toward the pavement - Bryony kept watch for policemen who might take an interest in my semi crashed car parking position . . and as the traffic roared past,
set the tripod up and took the picture

then off home - dropped Bryony off and eventually fell into bed at about 2:30 am.

tired but happy.