Massive thank you to everyone who has been so fab-u-lous in helping me celebrate ny birthday this year. I appear to somehow now be 57 years old, a number that only ever reminds me of the number of the bus that I used to take to school! I surely can’t possibly be this old really?!
Though as ever, am always massively grateful to have made it another year round the sun, as people who understand these celestial mysteries seem to say. It must be the only thing I will ever thank myeloma for, in that a higher age is a huge blessing rather than something to be worried about!
Anyway – a few highlights of the last week or two, though there are still some birthday jobberies to come – lucky me..
H and I headed down to Devon for 3 nights in a little Airbnb overlooking the beach in Woolacombe. Maddie was very dubious about getting in the car as usual – ‘why the suitcases?’ / ‘am I coming or being dropped off somewhere’? / ‘how many hours am I stuck in here?’ etc – but was deliriously happy once we got there and she could rampage up and down the sand, in and out of the surf and round the legs of anyone coming in the opposite direction..
I tried out my new bum-covering, rain-on-me-all-you-want, obviously-it’s-blue coat, which kept the weather out nicely.
And a very over-excited Mads as ever managed to photo bomb several shots – perhaps not looking entirely Insta-ready in this one…. All that running got her so tired that she was even keen on a proper Mummy cuddle, we sat on our little balcony and she nestled in for aaaages. A very rare treat (for me!).
Somehow little Woolacombe – which is basically a couple of surf shops, 3 pubs, a Beach House eatery, a post office, pasty shop and small chemists etc – turned out to be harbouring a very fancy birthday-worthy restaurant! Noel Corston is the chef – used to do Michelin stuff in Chelsea – and now very much a surf dude, with his tousled salt & pepper hair, assisted by a very nice Mexican wife and their chef-in-training son.
Had a cracking tasting menu meal, with only one other couple, hence a good chat with the Corstons after dinner, on everything from the merits of Spain vs Portugal for month-long trips, where to learn to do sauces well and a recommendation for a little but good restaurant on Isla Holbox when we go to Mexico in a month’s time – handy! And as they didn’t do cocktails, they were even happy for me to arrive with 2 large Cosmopolitans in a travel mug and to shake them with ice and serve them in a nice triangle glass, v accommodating.
Came back up on 31st and headed straight for Nicky & Jules’s new house in Liphook. Poor Nicky was just off a ten day work trip and flight back from the US, but soldiered on through, while Jules knocked out a bloody delicious asian pork number for my birthday supper – truly top notch! Massive thanks to both x
And yesterday found us at the first of the Nov rugby games at Twick, watching England beat Australia, with Fi & Rich. Not a perfect match but it perked in the second half and by the time the others had had about 8 pints it seemed to have turned into a corker! Nailed a good curry back at ours to soak up the day’s delights, and fell asleep in front of Strictly… marv!
Not surprisingly, I’m blooming knackered today. We are popping next door for a slice of what should be my final birthday cake at 4.30pm then the hatches are well and truly getting battened down. I may even try out one of my new bath bubbly liquids while I soak in the tub later and reflect on how lucky I am to have such good friends and to still be enjoying life in decent health. Hurrahs all round x