Preparation began early, with little notices put into xmas cards warning people to keep 5th May clear in their diaries.
Being the sort of person I am, a "project plan" was drawn up and spreadsheet created to pull together all the decisions, costs and other info that might be needed. The outline was:
- By end of January - get a venue and a band
- By end of February - get invites printed and posted
- By end of March - confirm numbers with caterers
- By end of April - have house and garden ready for visitors
We eventually decided on the Polish Eagle Club, at the bottom of Sherwood Rise. This was the venue for a friend's birthday party in the autumn of 2011, it had real ale (and the barman promised me Pedigree), it was readily accessible and had two main areas we could use - the bar area for eating, drinking and chatting, and the adjacent hall with stage and dance floor.
The choice of band was easy - I wanted Sticky Morales if they were available - and they were! So we had "Nottingham's premier soul, funk groove machine" sorted.
The catering was straightforward as well, Sonia had used a local firm called Creative Flavours for her birthday a couple of years ago, as well as for some work functions so we knew that they were good quality and could cope with a mixture of vegetarians as well as those of us who eat properly.
The cake maker was a slightly harder choice as there were several available locally. We decided to go with Dinkydoodle Designs as she was local and could make me cake based on licourice allsorts.
My birthday started with a full house, Mum and Dad had arrived on Friday afternoon, and we had collected cousin Rowena (from Australia) from the bus station. We had been out to Mr Mans in Wollaton the night before as my belated treat for Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary. Sonia told me about my present from her as soon as I awoke...a helicopter flight over Nottingham! Wow!
At about 5.30pm Sonia and Dad dropped me off at the venue with the cake while they headed off to collect my aunt Heather from the train. I had my first pint of Pedigree of the evening while chatting to the bar staff and helping "organise" the setting out of the buffet and helped move a couple of bass bins for the band.
The party started at 7pm and the venue filled as family and friends arrived, some bearing gifts (ignoring the "no presents just your presence" request on the invitations) which mainly seemed to involve alcohol...I think that people are trying to tell me something!
Just before Sticky Morales came on to do their thing, Helen and Sarah (aka Shantigh) performed a short acoustic song that Helen had written for the occasion...
(Dedicated Follower of Fashion tune)
They seek him here
They seek him there
His clothes are comfy
And sometimes square
Often seen with beer tankard swinging from his belt
Cos he’s a dedicated swallower of Castle Rock Brewery Real Ales
You’ve read his blog
You’ve seen his pics
A Facebook post
About shifting bricks
Eagerly pursuing that tricky crossword clue
Cos he’s a Guardian cryptic crossword puzzle solver
Oh yes he is.... etc
Eagerly pursuing all the latest union matters
He’s a dedicated Union representative
(Switch to Village Green Preservation Society tune)
We are the Robert Watt appreciation society
God bless ginger beards with hardly a touch of sobriety
We are the Robert Watt appreciation society
We’d sing about Sonia too but it’s not her birthday so sorry!
Verse 1
He sits on the sofa
He listens to tunes
He likes to file LPs on wet afternoons ....... alphabetically!
We are the Robert Watt appreciation society etc
Verse 2
The folk festivals are
An annual event
And if it’s raining
He’ll be in his tent
What else would he do?
Thank you Helen and Sarah for the gift of laughter...
I then made a short and vaguely coherent speech thanking everyone for coming and then let Sticky Morales get on with 2 storming sets of dance music. After which the night gets a bit fuzzy...I know I danced a lot, had a few pints of Pedigree and chatted to a lot of people, I even had a few bits of the buffet, and really enjoyed myself. Everyone who was dancing said how good the band were (I already knew, that's why I booked them). At some point round about midnight, most people had headed home, the buffet had been cleared up (any spare food had been passed through to the club members in the other bar), and I was guided into my Dad's car and driven home with a big smile on my face. What a way to celebrate your 50th birthday!
Chris' 60th birthday next weekend and the helicopter ride the weekend after...the fun never stops...
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