BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

In November and December we celebrate three out of four birthdays in our little family and I’m not sure why (suspect it’s my fault), but they always seem to bleed over at least a week or more, so it’s busy!  This year we managed a birthday weekend for both of us.  After celebrating my daughter’s birthday last Monday, her flatmates arranged a surprise birthday for her on the Friday night in Brixton.  At least 40 of her friends turned up and she was delighted to see us as we all leapt out from behind our hiding place! I was thrilled to have been invited as part of the team. Her flatmates told her they would be doing a surprise activity and for some reason she thought she was going axe-throwing.

Her celebrations merged into my birthday the following day, so it was lovely to all be together.  Especially since on my birthday we were off to Brighton to celebrate another friend’s 60th and so I didn’t see my kids on the actual day. Ordinarily they would have been thrilled not to have to give up a precious Saturday night for their mother, but my daughter announced she had “tested positive for the worst hangover in London” and so cooked a pie and stayed in with her brother.  My other child went down with a horrible flu.  Meanwhile I partied the night away in a lovely little venue in Hove with some of my oldest, closest friends, so it all worked out really well.

We went to my favourite Chinese restaurant in Kew for my birthday meal on Sunday night instead (minus my firstborn who was still ill) and had a lovely catch up.  Not a late night as we were all working the next day and I was stressing about having to “share my screen” on Zoom for the meeting, which, when you’re old can be rife with disasters.

So here’s a little photo diary of the weekend:-

My three kids together on her actual birthday:-

With her on her birthday surprise:-

I did my Pilates class on the morning of my birthday and one of my friends brought cake:-

Arriving in gloriously sunny Brighton – it was the most gorgeous day:-

Birthday lunch for 8 of us at The Rockwater in Hove which served delicious sharing platters – here I am with the birthday girl on her “significant” birthday:-

The venue in Hove for her party which was a huge success and what a treat to have a session by Painted Bird, who were really excellent:-

The following evening I went for supper with the kids after pressies. My daughter made brownies and my son added the icing on the cake!:-

The Four Regions in Kew – honestly never disappoints. The food is really excellent and they serve New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. By the time I remembered to take a photo, we’d devoured the whole lot:-