It's been all birthdays and celebrations around these 'ere parts lately. These three strange escapees from some mad Zooniverse have all been havin' at large...
First of all was Sarah's surprise 40th birthday party at our fave venue, the fantastic Gloucester Guild Hall, specifically the beautiful Cinema Room, formerly the City Council Chamber.
Sophie and I had spent months arranging this and trying to keep it a secret, so we were very concerned that it would all work out. Luckily it did: Sarah had no idea what was going on and was overwhelmed and overjoyed to find herself in the Guildhall, surrounded by friends and family. Once she got over the shock :-)
And now, the conspirators...
Sophie and her mates...
Party-goers...
Kevin and Lyn, my Best Man and his wonderful wife. Could have opened their eyes for the picture, though...
Some of us sneaked off half way through the party to the main hall for a bit of Punk Rock action. Here we are with my mate Glenn
( you know... the Chinese Burn superstar ) and his lovely daughter, Millie, enjoying her first legal drink...
The band were Green Date, top Green Day tribute band, who were pretty damn good, but had to endure a fair bit of drunken heckling from Glenn and I.
It's got to be done...
Two parties for the price of one. What a great night!!
And here's Sarah with her friend Deri who flew in from Northern Ireland for the occasion and really made Sarah's night.
More drunken rabble, this time with added Caz...
Not to be outdone, Sophie decided to have a birthday as well. Funnily enough, she seems to do that every year...
Here she is: Miss Sweet Sixteen...
...with Mum...
... and her mates, posing in our back garden.
And, before we knew it, it was time for James to turn 12...
We spent the afternoon ( last Sunday, luckily after the torrential rain had stopped ) up at Gloucester Ski Centre, hurtling down the slope in converted tyre inner-tubes. What a great laugh! Here's me trying to break my neck...
And the birthday boy spinning down the slope...
... to collapse in a heap at the bottom.
Sophie and her boyfriend, Jon...
And all of us lined up in one last kamikaze plunge...
Phew! That's enough birthdays for now...
Happy birthday to all! Many happy returns!
ReplyDeleteBirthdays are such fun.
Thanks, Mike! We certainly had a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteGoodness. At least my family birthdays are spread out over a few months, for the most part. I second M.D. Jackson: Happy birthday to all!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking family and good memories for all of you. Congrats.
ReplyDelete@Mickey and Cal:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and good wishes, guys! You know I would have invited you both if you lived a bit closer :-)