I soon became so busy preparing for the first function that I had very little time off, and as Irma was not insured to drive my car, she helped a lot. In this village you have to be prepared for anything, as people, invited or not, would arrive to join in the festivities that could last for two or three days.
Some people went home to sleep off the beer or whisky for a few hours, then came back again full of vim and vigor to resume their jollities.
And during this time there had to be eats to go around regularly, and I was just replenishing all the time! If it wasn't for Irma, I don't know what I would have done. On the other hand, John and Brendon were both jumping in when they had a chance, but they had to be in the bar, as that of course was buzzing, and the other two barmen couldn't cope.
I went for a sleep at three in the morning, not caring anymore whether people got hungry or not, but when I came down at seven, people were still milling around, some looking like a train had run over them!
The bridal couple had departed by now, but I could see that even though it was Sunday, we were going to have little peace, and the little Church at Balquidder would be empty.
As the hotel was full, mainly with the wedding guests, I prepared a lot of bacon and all the rest that go with a full Scottish breakfast, but there were not a lot of guests able to stand the smell of the bacon, and they departed for their own homes , that of course being the villagers.
So I fed the ones that could stomach any food, and put the rest in the fridge, the food, not the people, as from previous experience, I knew that by eleven they would all have recovered a bit, and would start looking for food! By Sunday night I was a wreck, and Irma also looked very peeked, she having to run around with the trays, and helping with the clearing and washing up, while the boys looked like two milk white ghosts, with black rings around their eyes.
It wouldn't have been quite so bad had we more staff, but as Han, the other chef had already left, and the other staff had found new jobs, it was hard going indeed.
The hotel was sold to a youngish woman, but nothing was signed yet, and the boys could not just leave it and go, as they were going to Germany, where Brendon would run a pub, and John would do his work.
John is a graphic designer who worked a lot for the BBC, and so they could actually live anywhere they liked, as he just needed his computer, and stuff.
By Sunday afternoon most people were stumbling to their homes, all of them looking close to death's door, and John closed the doors and sent us to bed. Luckily the only guests that night were wedding guests, and none of them were able to sit upright at a table, and I very much doubted they could even hold a knife and fork.
We just lay and watched television the rest of the day, then had a shower, and after fetching something for our dinner, we promptly went to sleep, as we still had to be up and in the kitchen at seven the next morning!