Birthday Week
Birthday Week
So Emily, then me, then Adam all have birthdays within 5 days of each other in April and this one is a bit of a milestone for me, as I hit the big four-oh!
We’ve talked about it though and I’ve already said I’m happy to just go for a meal somewhere or have a day out with the kids another time so, when I take Adam to his swimming lesson I’m not entirely sure what the flurry of activity is outside the house when we get home.
As we walk in, it seems Rachel has arranged a stay-at-home-festival complete with hay-bails sourced from a friend at a nearby farm, signs and banners are everywhere with friends helping to get the house ready before we got back and it starts to become clear there is a dress-code too!
80s/90s clothing isn’t optional, it’s mandatory and my ‘Choose Life’ T-Shirt is revealed just before friends who had up until this point been sworn to secrecy file in.
It’s a great surprise and as the food and beers start to flow everyone seems to have a great time. There are some brilliant costumes and the retro-tunes help to set the tone for the night. One early casualty is Martin who for reasons known only to himself brought along a mystery ‘home-brew’ brandy he found on the internet and is currently engaged in a muttered conversation about some bloke at the party who’s out of order, shortly before falling backwards off a hay-bail. As he gets helped back to his feet he carries on muttering and agrees it’s probably time for home. It’s only now it becomes clear he’s actually been talking about himself ..to himself, as he’s the only person there who fits the description! On his walk home we hear from his wife that he’s suddenly bolted across a field and isn’t seen home again until early the next morning!
Note to self. Never buy home-made Brandy from the internet!