Journal tags: wedding

I have a feeling that 2025 is going to be a year of reflection for me. It’s such a nice round number, 25. One quarter of a century.

That’s also how long myself and Jessica have been married. Our wedding anniversary was last week.

Top tip: if you get married in year ending with 00, you’ll always know how long ago it was. Just lop off the first 2000 years and there’s the number.

As well as being the year we got married (at a small ceremony in an army chapel in Arizona), 2000 was also the year we moved from Freiburg to Brighton. I never thought we’d still be here 25 years later.

2005 was twenty years ago. A lot of important events happened that year. I went to South by Southwest for the first time and met people who became lifelong friends (including some dear friends no longer with us).

I gave my first conference talk. We had the first ever web conference in the UK. And myself, Rich, and Andy founded Clearleft. You can expect plenty of reminiscence and reflection on the Clearleft blog over the course of this year.

2010 was fifteen years ago. That’s when Jessica and I moved into our current home. For the first time, we were paying off a mortgage instead of paying a landlord. But I can’t bring myself to consider us “homeowners” at that time. For me, we didn’t really become homeowners until we paid that mortgage off ten years later.

2015 was ten years ago. It was relatively uneventful in the best possible way.

2020 was five years ago. It was also yesterday. The Situation was surreal, scary and weird. But the people I love came through it intact, for which I’m very grateful.

Apart from all these anniversaries, I’m not anticipating any big milestones in 2025. I hope it will be an unremarkable year.

I don’t sign NDAs. I’m not good with secrets. But I’ve been keeping a secret for a while now. It was difficult. But now the secret is out.

Earlier today Anna and Cennydd got married (that whole “housewarming party” thing was a clever cover story). It was a small but lovely civil ceremony first thing in the morning, followed by a pub lunch, and then a party at their house …a sort of “housewarming” if you will.

So if you’re keeping track, that’s been two weddings in two days …of two different former Clearleft interns. Just like unfeasibly specific buses.

We had a houseguest yesterday evening—Emil was back in Brighton. Emil was the first ever intern at Clearleft. He’s back in the country for Cennydd and Anna’s housewarming party tomorrow. Anna was also an intern at Clearleft; that’s where Anna and Cennydd first met.

Jon was also an intern at Clearleft. He enjoyed the experience so much that he ended up moving to Brighton. Good thing too: this is where he met Hannah, the love of his life. Today, Hannah and Jon got married. It was all rather lovely.

And now they’re off to San Sebastian on their honeymoon.

My geek social calendar has been quite full over the past few days. On Saturday, I—along with half of the web developers in the land—went to Maidenhead for Drew and Rachel’s wedding.

Just as with Norm!’s wedding a few weeks ago, ‘twas a lovely, heartwarming affair. The pièce de résistance was the wedding “cake”: a tower of the finest British cheeses. Needless to say, I took many pictures and dutifully tagged them with the official wedding tag.

The weekend’s shenanigans extended into the start of the week. Rather than spending Monday at work, the Clearleft team made an outing to Ditchling Museum.

Despite its small size, the village of Ditchling looms large in the world of typography. Gill and Johnston both lived and worked there. As a result, the museum’s collection is veritable treasure trove of typey goodness.

But we didn’t just spend the day ooh-ing and ah-ing over the wonderful pieces on display. We rolled up our sleeves and started using the printing press for ourselves, under the tutelage of Phil Baines. You may remember him from such websites as Public Lettering and such books as Penguin by Design.

It was a lot of fun. I can only echo what Stan said of his experience with the tactile inkiness of movable type:

I adore the way I can touch the past through the old metal type and really appreciate typography on a new level. I really can’t recommend classes like this enough. If you are a lover of type, you really owe it to yourself to spend some time with letterpress printing.

I was practically giggling with glee as I set 60pt Baskerville with Richard—my font of choice for Huffduffer. Handling the metal, smelling the ink, operating the printing press …it was simultaneously rough and sensual.

If you share my fetishism for the printed word, feel free to browse through my stash on Flickr. More delights are on display from Relly, Cennydd and James.

I’m about to head off to Gatwick yet again for another overseas trip. For once I’m not going to a conference or other geeky gathering. This is a trip I’ve been I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while: I’m going to Thailand with Jessica for an honest-to-goodness holiday.

I aim to do two things:

1. Experiment with the permutations of combining the following activities:
   1. Relaxing.
   2. Doing nothing.
   3. Lounging around.
   4. Eating.
   5. Drinking.
2. Celebrate Scott and Cheryl’s wedding on Koh Tao next week.

In what promises to be the gathering in the Orient this season, Scott and Cheryl will be getting married on a beach… on an island… in Thailand. I’m honoured that they’ve invited me along. The added presence of my antipodean brothers in arms like Cam, Dan, Lachlan and Tim means that a good time is guaranteed.

I do plan on taking lots of pictures. I don’t plan on checking email at any stage. I believe I have discharged any duties that were incumbent upon me so if you still want to get hold of me, sorry; you’ll just have to wait ‘till I get back.

Now I just need to run through any last-minute checks in preparation for the culture shock that awaits me at the other end of this flight to Bangkok.