Skip to main content

Into my thirties

I've been thirty for nearly a month now, so I thought it was about time to admit it to the world! Or that small portion of it which reads this blog, at least. Also to brag about my husband, who organised a surprise birthday party for the occasion. At least, it was a surprise until three days beforehand when he said, "I might need your help making your birthday cake."

I said, "OK".

He said, "This is probably a good time to mention that we need to be in on Sunday afternoon."

"Oh yes?"

"And the cake needs to feed at least 30 people."

"Oh-kaaaayyy!"

I went off to dig out my wedding cake tins from their box in the garage.

I decided on a lemon cake and we got busy zesting and juicing nine lemons. We both mixed the cake, I iced it and Graham wrote on top. I think I might have a rival in cake decorating if he can do such a good job on his first attempt!




On Sunday morning, believe it or not, it started snowing and in an hour or so the garden looked like this.
We wondered if we should call the whole thing off, but the idea of eating 6 plates of sandwiches and an enormous cake all by ourselves deterred us - and in fact the roads weren't too bad, and most people were able to come. In fact exactly 30 people were here - very neat! It was lovely to see everybody and the time went way too quickly. Toby got passed around like a box of chocolates, and I accumulated a small mountain of actual chocolate and many other very generous gifts. Thank you everyone!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Trent Valley: the march of the pylons

In the 1980s, the River Trent supplied the cooling water for fifteen coal-fired power stations, each one gobbling up coal from the local mines and quenching its heat with gallons of river water. The area was known as Megawatt Valley . As the 20th century gave way to the 21st, the mines closed, the coal trains stopped running, and the iconic cooling towers, one by one, fell to the ground. The high-voltage electricity lines which connected the stations to the grid are still there, however, and they dominated the walk I did today. The stately silhouettes of pylons stalked across the landscape, carrying fizzing power lines which sliced up the sky. At one point, I was within view of two of the remaining sets of cooling towers. Diving further back into history, I parked by Swarkestone Lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal, walked past St James' Church, and arrived at Swarkestone Bridge, a 14th-century causeway which still, remarkably, carries traffic today. It was famously the southernmos...

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor   Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...

Theo Alexander

The due date was fast approaching, and, having had Toby five weeks early, this pregnancy was feeling like it had dragged on far too long.  On Sunday morning, two days before D-Day, we went to church, wearily confirming to eager enquiries that yes, we were still here, no baby in tow yet.  And then, at 3:30 am on the morning of Monday 10th February, my waters broke and things began to get moving.  Fast. Yes, I know I had to apologise to you ladies who have gone through long-drawn-out labours last time , and I'm afraid I have to do it again.  The change in the midwife's attitude when we got to the hospital was almost comical; she breezed in and put the monitors on and said, "I'll just leave those for a few minutes, then".  Back she came for a proper examination, had a quick feel, and: "OK, we'll get you to the delivery room RIGHT NOW," followed by a mad dash down the corridor in a wheelchair!  Our new little boy was born at 5:16 am. You...