rook

Well, I'm back from the first holiday I've had since I enrolled in uni in '06.

I went up to Hervey Bay to attend an old friend's wedding.

I've variously described the groom as 'the big brother I never had' and 'the guy who'll give you the shirt off his back and the last dollar in his pocket'.This second description came to the fore this weekend as his aim for the event was for none of his wedding guests to spend a single dollar of their own in coming to attend.

This takes on some magnitude when you realise that not a single one of those guests actually lives in, or even near, Hervey Bay. I was probably one of the closest only travelling from Brisbane. Most were from Sydney.

He paid for all of our accommodation, in 5-star apartments nearby, as well as laying on enough food and drink to sustain close to 100 revellers for an entire weekend. With leftovers. And he's not a rich man. I'm kinda in awe of him, so I was thrilled to bits to be able to attend.

Here is the happy couple. He's the guy close to centre-frame with a big grin on his face. The bride is the brunette in the white and purple flowers:

This is them celebrating their new life:

And of course, when on a fast moving boat, as happy as a man can be, what else is there to do but a little "I'm the King of the World!"

The reception was catered at a lovely restaurant right on the water. This was the view from my table a few hours later:

And shortly after that:

The next day we all just hung out, heading home as plans demanded.

This is how my day started:

And this is how it ended:

It actually looks worse than that now. I'm so red I look like I'm wearing the top half of a super-hero costume. And it kinda hurts, but it's my own fault.

That's all for now lovers. Hope all your weekends were as great.