Congratulations on your marriage, Geoff & Miriam

Yesterday, Saturday, Geoff & Miriam exchanged their wedding vows in a beautiful ceremony in the United Church just down the road from where they live.

After a photo shoot in the old CAMH grounds...

...we all celebrated with a braai/barbecue in their back yard.

This morning, Sunday, we finished off with an Italian brunch at the Amore Restaurant.

Over the next few weeks I hope to get my photos grouped into albums. Please be patient.

August - One Hectic Month of Weddings

OK. Let's review where we've come over the last 3 weeks and what is still ahead.

Relatives from Holland - a

Relatives from Scotland - a

Son and best man from South Africa - a

Relatives and friends from Manitoba - a

Relatives from Saskatchawan - a

Friend from BC - a

Friend from California - a

Stag & stagette parties - a

First rehearsal - a

After rehearsal Portuguese BBQ - a

Luisa & Mark's wedding - a(beautifully)

Reception - a(great success except for the air conditioning not working)

Next day brunch - a(42 people in our little home)

A week of on-going partying with Luisa & Mark at the Penfold cottage near Perth - a

Ingrid and I were hoping to take a breather by going back to work this week but we'd forgotten that work is not like that...

Still to come...

Miriam & Geoff's rehearsal

After rehearsal dinner

Miriam & Geoff's wedding

Reception ("small" BBQ affair at their home)

Next day brunch

Finished. Klaar. Finito. Eindig. Fini. Phelile.

Photo's to follow.

Dinner, speeches, skits, bouquet, garter

Here is my selection of wedding photos from the dinner, speeches, skits, bouquet toss and plunder of the garter. Click here. I apologise that so many of the pictures are grainy. My oversight. I forgot to change the ISO from 800 to 400 so the cropped pictures are somewhat grainy. Ja, well, no, fine... Half a loaf is better than none.

This one is my favourite. I have seen this glint a number of times when Mark knew he had someone in his power and there was nothing they could do about it, but never before caught it on camera. For some reason Luisa seems to be enjoying this loss of control.

This next one is like catching a lightning strike - pure fluke. See the glance between bride and groom. Ag, sweet, eh?

Wedded At Last

Mark married Luisa in a beautiful ceremony at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, Newmarket, on Saturday, August 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Mary and, not coincidentally, the wedding anniversary of Connie and Luis, Luisa's mom and dad. It was, however, by curious coincidence that Mark had popped the question on Ingrid's and my wedding anniversary.

After the church ceremony there was a great reception and party at the Water Stone equestrian estate.

Click on here for a short slide show of the happy couple. The pictures were taken during the photo op. before the dinner.

This smacks not just of prejudice, but of apartheid.

These words were written by Toronto Star columnist, Christopher Hume, in today's edition of the newspaper under the headline: Is citizenship now defined by the colour of your skin.

Mohamud's case is a perfect example; her nightmare began when a functionary in the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi agreed with a Kenyan airport official and decided she wasn't the woman whose photograph appears in her passport. We were told, incredibly, that it had something to do with her lips. She was immediately declared an "imposter" and Kenyan authorities were asked to prosecute her.

Although she produced all kinds of identification – including a driver's licence, OHIP card, social insurance card and a Canadian citizenship certificate to boot – her fate was sealed. The poor woman even spent time in a Kenyan jail, the horror of which one can only begin to imagine.

Conclusion? Nothing in Canadian law stops the government from "picking and choosing" which Canadians it will help and who it will abandon, a former senior diplomat warns.

I still find it incredible that: 1) Canadian authorities would hand over a purportedly Canadian passport to the authorities of another country, even after they have stamped it void; 2) Canadian authorities take your finger prints and then "destory" them.

I'm also curious to know what they did with the OHIP card, SIN card and Canadian citizenship certificate. Did they hand them over to Kenyan authorities too or give them back to the supposed Imposter?

Ja, well, no, fine.