Index of Posts 6 Days to Go Edition

This is probably the last post before the wedding, so we'd just like to say thanks to everyone for everything so far and we hope to see soon you if you are coming to the wedding, the Leicester party or both.

I know blogger isn't always the easiest thing to navigate so I thought I would do another index and explanation. This should hopefully provide everyone with the information they need. If you have any other issues, please feel free to contact me at my e-mail address (which is on the invite) or leave a comment below for me to respond to. The next few days are going to be hectic for us, but I'm hoping to have enough time to respond to any queries.

Formalities and Suchlike

Perhaps this is clear from your invite, but most of the times and dates for our festivities are shown here. The one thing not on there is there start of the Leicester reception, which your invite should show you as starting at 7pm.

I have tried to make maps for all the routes below, which have their own index available here. Also, excitable people with technology lust can use Street View to look at the routes in Leeds.

Leeds Information

Now for the real stuff. The next 3 paragraphs will be based on how you are getting to the Church if you are coming to Leeds on the day of the Wedding.

For those who are coming by Car: If you would like to part at our suggested car park you will need to follow these directions. You may want to have a look at the map and the one thing you will need to be aware of is the final, slightly hidden turn to the car park. After parking the car you should find your way to the Town Hall (the directions explain this) and then follow these directions to The Church.

For people arriving into Leeds Central Train Station, you need to follow the walking directions shown here to get to the Town Hall and then follow these directions to The Church.

For people who live in Leeds but don't know how to get to The Church, get yourself to the Town Hall and follow these directions to The Church.

If you are using an alternative method of transportation to these then please let us know and we will try to get the information you need. I'm not sure what's left, but someone will always find something to surprise you.

From the Church the very close friends and family will need to make their way to Weetwood Hall. If you are driving you can follow these directions. If you are not driving you can find out more information about public transport here. I particularly like the sound of GEO Cabs, but that is mainly because of my fondness for the word Geoduck.

If you are staying in Leeds and you have not already booked anywhere then our potted list of hotels is here.

Leicester Information

I think I'm sure in thinking that a majority of the people coming to the Leicester reception know where the Church Hall is and are aware of the issues surrounding parking when there is football. However, for the people who are not used to the ins and outs of LE3, there are travelling directions for driving from me and from Catherine's dad. One you have got to the Church you can use these instructions to find a car park. Similarly if you are walking from the Station or the City Centre there are directions from me and from Catherine's dad.

Other Information

We have a wedding list, information about it is available here and you can access it by clicking on this.

The Church have asked us to inform people that confetti is not permitted after the wedding. If you haven't been there before you'll see on the day that the church is next to the subterranean A58(M) and having confetti fall on you probably isn't good for a driver's fragile sense of control. If you were going to spend a couple of quid on confetti and don't now know what to do with it, feel free to donate it to St George's Crypt. People coming to the reception at Weetwood Hall will be glad to know that biodegradable confetti is allowed and a small amount will be provided for photos and general merrymaking.

Well, all we can say is that we'll see you on the day. We hope you have managed to work out what you are doing and how you will cope with loop roads, train stations and subterranean A roads that have motorway restrictions.

Don't be thinking that this blog ends when the wedding is complete. We will be putting up photos, playlists, anecdotes and links to more you tube videos of hovercrafts.

See you very soon!

Street View!

I was thinking we had all the pre-wedding information possible on the blog. And then Street View happens.

Street View is a new feature to Google Maps that lets you see the road of certain cities at eye level and have a good look around. Why is this important to our wedding blog? Because you can see all the junctions on our directions in Leeds. Instead of having a just a map, you can see what the road looks like and what buildings there are around. Fantastic for navigating your way around a city you hardly know on a Saturday morning! All that time I spent taking photos of the streets and then this thing comes along.

So, to get a view of a particular junction on one of our route-planned maps of Leeds you can click on the camera that appears next to the direction on the left hand side. Here is the link for the start of the journey from Leeds Town Hall to the Church. You can then either click on other junctions to see what they look like or follow the journey (it's in blue) from one end to the other. One reason I think this is great is because people will be able to see the junction they need to turn on to get to The Light car park.

Two things though: it's a car that takes the pictures and you shouldn't walk down the middle of the road. Secondly, there are not pictures available for Leicester. You're on your own there.

Bliss List- Wedding list

Hello everyone,
The countdown is really starting to tick. In three week's time we shall be married and preparing to set off to Sweden on the 5th.

Which is where our Wedding List comes in. We have chosen Bliss List because it will allow us to buy items for our honeymoon. By purchasing presents from the list you will make sure we can have a really good time in Scandinavia. We are really looking forward to the honeymoon and celebrating our wedding with you.

If you choose to buy anything from the list then thank you ever so much.

No Filibusters- Leeds Speeches

We are not planning on doing many things traditionally at this wedding. We're holding receptions on two different days, Catherine is not going to claim she will start obeying me and -the topic for today- our speeches will be open to anyone present to comment.

This is how it will run. At the Leeds reception, we're going to have the traditional speeches from the best man, the father of the bride and myself. Catherine will also have a speech and explain this process for people that haven't read the blog. Then the forum is open and anyone present can say anything nice about us. This is an opportunity for our closest friends and family to have their say. We are telling you now to make sure people are not shocked on the day and to give people time to think of something. It could be a line, a memory or a full on story.

We'll be having a friend be a kind of chair and if you want to let her know you are going to speak you can by adding a comment on this site, talking to her on the day, or waving furiously at her when someone else is talking.

News from the comments

Hey folks.
Catherine's dad has been hard at work thinking of better ways to direct people around Leicester. If his suggestions seem more sensible (and let's face it, he does live there) then follow them instead of ours.

For people who are travelling from the East:

Coming from the A47, east of Leicester, follow the A47 until you reach the inner ring road on the outskirts of the city centre. Take a right turn at the roundabout and follow signs for the M1. Keep in the right lane as you pass over the Belgrave flyover, and then keep in the left lane. Before long you will pass the new John Lewis Store on your left (not to be confused with the John Lewis car park on your right). Take the next left/slip road on to the Holiday Inn roundabout (also known as St Nicholas Circle). This looks more like a one way system than a roundabout, but you want the 3rd exit (right turn) following signs for M1. At the second set of traffic lights turn left on to Narborough Road. At the second set of traffic lights turn right into Westcotes Drive.

For people who want to walk straight to the Church from the station:

Turn right out of the station as described by Catherine.

At the 1st set of traffic lights turn left into Belvoir Street (it is called Beaver Street in Leicester).
At the end of Belvoir Street is the City Council HQ. Continue straight on into Newarke Street. At the end of Newarke Street you will see an old monument called the Magazine. Follow the road round to the right and there is a pedestrian crossing over the main inner ring road.
On the other side of the ring road if you look ahead you will see a quiet road called The Newarke with De Montfort University on your left and Newarke House Museum on your right.

Follow this road and you will cross over the Grand Union Canal Mile Straight. Turn left at the T junction and walk alongside the canal till you come to a set of traffic lights.

On your right you will see a path that goes through Bede Park in between the Quay Pub and Sainsburys. Follow the path, and if you keep going straight on you will arrive at the Church of the Martyrs.

As you leave the park you will cross over a small bridge over the river Soar. Continue straight on and you will be firstly in Briton Street, and then Westcotes Drive. The Church of the Martyrs is on the right, further up the road from the Hindu Temple.

Maps a plenty!

As detailed in my last post, I have given up the Herculean task of trying to make Google Maps show all of the directions on this website on one megamap. Catherine has been struggling with a map of her own, but that is a surprise for the people coming to the Leeds reception.

So here are some maps of directions from the previous posts:

• Walk this Way- Town Hall to St George's Church- Post - Map
• Train to Gain- Leeds Central Station to Leeds Town Hall- Post - Map
• Seeing the Light- City Centre Car Parking- Post - Map
• Driving to Weetwood Hall- Post - Map
• At Last Some Leicester information!- Post- Map (From M1/M69)-Map (from City Centre)
• Walking in Memphis Leicester- Post - Map
  

Walking in Memphis Leicester

The Church of the Martyrs Church Hall is only a short walk from Leicester city centre, but it's hardly a straight line. What's more -as people must have been finding is my own inimitable style- I'm not going to direct people in the most straight route but the most clear route. Also, buoyed by those Co-Op adverts with the walking school bus, I'm going to direct everyone coming from the station to the city centre and then direct everyone from the city centre to the Church Hall. If you want me to buy you little florescent vests then send me an invoice, they're coming in thick and fast now.

The most important waypoint in this post is the Clock Tower. As with the Town Hall in Leeds, the purpose of this is to make sure everyone gets to the same point. If you are in Leicester city centre the Clock Tower is signposted and blatantly obvious; it's the big, white, pointy thing outside the main entrance to the Shires Highcross shopping complex. It looks like this:



From the Station to the Clock Tower
This is the easy bit! Coming out of the Station concourse you walk into an enclosed brick exterior section, filled with taxis and cars desperately trying to complete 3 point turns. The general swell of people should be turning right and out of this building through a large opening. Follow them to the outside road, which fantastically appears to be two roads in one; both Granby Street and London Road run side by side with no break or separation. Walk along Granby Street and an underpass will come into view. Walk under this pass and continue on the same street. This is still Granby Street. Keep going in this straight line and the road changes it's name to Gallowtree Gate. Never mind that; just keep going and The Clock Tower should come into view.

From the Clock Tower to Westcotes Drive
Standing with the Clock Tower behind you and Highcross to your right, you will see Eastgates infront of you. Walk down this and it changes it's name to High Street. Perhaps at one point this was the High Street, but it appears to be more of a shell now there is a monolithic shopping centre parked on it. Keep walking down High Street and it opens up to a road with a small car park to your left and a big traffic island of a hotel infront of you. This is St Nicholas Circle. Cross the large road that sperates you from the Circle and follow the circle round to the other side. Here you can cross the River Soar as you walk on St Augustine Road. Keep on this road until you reach a large crossroads. Turn left at this crossroads, walking along Narborough Road. It will be easier for later if you walk along what will be the right hand side pavement of Narborough Road; with the closest cars travelling in the opposite direction. After a little walk you will need to cross over another crossroads and the shops will start to be constant and densely packed on both sides of the road. At the second right after the second crossroads you will see the Hindu Temple on your right:



Turn right at this street and continue down Westcotes Drive. On the right hand side you'll pass the Church of the Martyrs and shortly afterwards will find the Chuch Hall. Admire the historic railings and come right in to meet Rory Palmer.

I've been told some people would like maps. I haven't been unreasonably witholding them but was trying to work on a mega-Google map that would have all the different directions in them. Needless to say, that was a crazy idea and it made Leeds look like a half-eaten multi-coloured noodle bowl. So here is a simple map of the above post.