Brighton, cocktails and inflatables

My friends have all deemed 2016 the year to get married, which is setting the tone for an exciting summer! Along with the beautiful wedding invites, hen do invitations have been winging around all over the place. The first 'do was this weekend in sunny Brighton.

My friends are a wonderfully eclectic bunch, all different but all fab. For this particular bride-to-be (my gorgeous friend Clare), lovely bridesmaid Amy arranged for us to compete in It's a Knockout. Think inflatables, think foam, think raucous lunatics running around! Great, great fun, all completed with the obligatory hen-do t-shirts and the cork hats favoured by our Australian buddies. Needless to say the only photo you guys are getting a look at is the one above! I did rather well in the drunken penalty shoot-out, wearing goggles that give the impression of one too many gins and dribbling a ball past 3 inflatable defenders, but it was pointed out that, as I enjoy a tipple, it's likely I've grown accustomed to seeing that way anyway and my success doesn't count!

My personal favourite moment was bride-to-be Clare dressed as a penguin being chased by 2 other brides dressed as penguins, all ending in a bout of sumo wrestling. What's not to love?!

It was a brilliant afternoon. If you're looking to organise anything similar I'd recommend checking it out. We were blessed with gorgeous weather, but they do still run in the rain so don't be put off by it's outdoorsy nature.

The evening was a slightly more refined occasion. Well it involved a cocktail making class, so it didn't remain refined for very long, but still, there were dresses and heels, as opposed to the trainers and trackies from earlier! We had a lovely cocktail waiter, Carlos, demonstrating all the tricks of his trade, then the poor soul let us loose on his bar. Shots, slushies, bombs and cosmos where all enjoyed!

Afterwards, we headed for dinner, then on to a nightclub, before collapsing at an hour too early to be decent. Breakfast at an American diner was my saviour the next morning!

We're heading to Bournemouth next weekend for the big day, so it will be all systems go again. I'll make sure to take plenty of lovely photos for you all to enjoy. When I get back, I'll be telling you all about the wonderful work of the Bedford Daycare Hospice, and the events that they run. Have a great week!