More henna...

The mehndi designs on my hands have developed well overnight, and the colour's moved from orange to a deep brown. With luck, the designs will last nicely until Sunday, the day of the main wedding celebration. So it's latex gloves in the shower, for the moment, and Richard gets to do the washing-up :-) Though as we have a dishwasher, this is not much of an issue.
I popped back to Samina's this afternoon, just to capture some pictures of her and of Mariyah getting their henna designs. Mariyah had three friends round for the henna treatment too, so there were two different artists and - once again - it was a hive of activity.  Here's the henna artist at work on Samina's hands; apart from her skill with the henna, she's a mine of information and useful contacts for all kinds of other wedding preparation details too (last-minute hairdressers, for instance).
This was a fairly brief visit for me though, as I'd promised to pick Jack, Marianna and the girls up from the station around 6.  They all arrived safe and sound from their flight from Athens, though the train journey had not been pleasant. TransPennine Express, in its privatised wisdom, has cut the regular Manchester/Sheffield trains from four carriages to two. As this is a busy commuter route, it's now normal for people to be packed in tightly, standing or sitting uncomfortably wherever they can. Jack described getting four year old Frieda to and from the toilet as an endurance test, not least because apparently it was filthy.  If they'd needed to change Simone's nappy, it would have been impossible.
These are our public services in the UK now.