Oh, and....

As I might have mentioned on Facebook, I am now engaged to Beloved. It's all terribly exciting. We've booked a venue (Comlongon Castle) for the 12th June, and we're planning a very small wedding. But there's going to be a reception to which you're invited. Well, I say a reception; we're actually going to be having three, I think. One before the wedding for her family and friends - I've been hinting about a hog roast; one in Manchester shortly after the wedding; and then finally one in Ottawa for my friends here. Feel free to come along to the one closest to you. Hey, come to more than one if you can manage it. And I use the phrase 'close' advisedly. Bear in mind that from here, you can drive for twenty four hours and still be in the same province, so close is probably slightly different to the way you'd take it. I'll add more details here as we progress. I think we've got a fair grasp of what's required - I think the next important steps are to apply for the actual marriage license, which we can do through the post; and to get a fiancee visa for Beloved. I'm a little bemused that because she's marrying a UK citizen, she needs a fiancee visa to come into the country for the wedding, even though we don't intend to leave in the country afterwards. But we've got a good eight months to go to get all the paperwork in order.