Let the Celebrations begin!

I had a big birthday coming up and so it started in the Home Group a week early! We were having a film night, watching "Amazing Grace" and had stopped half way through for some coffee and ice cream when somebody produced a birthday cake with our picture on it.

It happened to be one of Lilian and me at one of our Elder's Fancy Dress Birthday parties. I was dressed as Jimmy Hendrix and Lilian was a Hippie!






That was Wednesday. On Saturday, friends had given us tickets to a "Barry Norman Film Night" at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
We are usually only there once a year for the "Messiah" at Christmas, but this time the Ulster Orchestra were playing themes from the movies and Barry Norman was the compere. It was a good night out.


The next Birthday surprise one was at our Annual Church Business Meeting which I was chairing. I was just about to close when the Church secretary announced another item on the agenda which I knew nothing about! Stanley, one of the Elders did a little funny talk about the ravages of advancing years and then another Birthday Cake appeared and I had another rendering of "Happy Birthday" and more tea and cake!


The following day, (Thursday) I had been invited down to Pearl and Archie's where we went for a walk around Scrabo above Newtownards.

They had planned for their son Peter to take me up for a flight in a light aircraft but the weather in the early afternoon closed in and we postponed that idea.
However It turned out to be a lovely late afternoon and I really enjoyed getting out around my old haunts around Scrabo.
That evening we all went out for a meal in the Culloden Hotel and afterwards over coffee, some of the staff appeared with another Birthday Cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to me again.

This one had a marzipan Bible on the top!
Friday evening found me in Carl and Mavis' house for another birthday party with Bill and Catherine, Tim and Kim and Rick and Katie and Juls. Mavis produced yet another cake plus a flaming Christmas pudding!









A "Belly Dancer" arrived (Bill's niece) to entertain me and I was showered with gifts from my "friends" which were designed to reflect my advancing years. (A tin of prunes, magnifying glass, denture fixative, corn plasters and the like!)

Bill was in fine form reciting "The Arab Orange Lodge" and "The School Inspector" and so on. He really is brilliant at those, we should get them recorded!


Afterwards we played "Mafia". Lots of yelling and wild accusations as usual. And as usual the Mafia usually won!




Lilian had to go home as she was teaching a Precept Class the following morning but I stayed overnight. Rick and Peter collected e the next morning and we went down to the boat in Groomsport.
Our intention was to sail her round to Ballywalter and take her up under cover to do some work on her, but there was a strong Southerly force 5 blowing and with both the wind and tide against us we thought that discretion was the better part of valour.
So instead I went back to Carl's and Lilian came back down and we snuggled up on the settee and watched the rugby. Ireland v England on the 6 Nations. It was a disaster for us after a promising start and we got stuffed by England!
That evening we all headed off to the Marine Court Hotel in Bangor to celebrate Carl & Mavis' 39th wedding anniversary with another meal. Afterwards we sat in the Hotel lounge and 8 of us played "Phase 10" which friends from Laredo in Texas had brought over to us! Got home about midnight and crashed into bed having gained a year and about 2 stones in weight over the weekend!