The Event

Although rain was forecast it managed to stay fair and was actually quite cool as the sun set. All 35 of the guests had arrived by 5 o’clock and showered me with cards and gifts which I did not have time to open, although many of them were of the liquid variety. Most people had made the effort to dress up in national costumes and my stocks of wine and beer began to take a hammering. I of course had to make a speech, and I think it was appropriate for the occasion. I also introduced Ewan as our quiz master and battle commenced between teams of two who had been pair by matching an animal characted they had chosen on arrival – a clever idea thought up by Ann Means.  This seemed to go down well. We sat down to eat shortly after 6pm and the caterers had done a great job and the salmon and beef were particularly good. I don’t know why I thought people might start drifting off after the meal but I could not have been more wrong.  In fact, as the night wore on I lit my Mexican chimney for the first time and was very pleasantly surprised by the heat it radiated and the atmosphere it created. The results of the quiz were announced by Ewan and I and Chris Kerridge were the winners – which was not a fix although I may have had a slight advantage. The caterers then called it a day and the guests started to drift off. The cake was served to great applause and of course the inevitable Happy Birthday to You was sung.

The biggest surprise of the night for me was the appearance of the children, Gordon dressed as an airline pilot and Ailsa and Sheonagh as Stewardesses.   This showed great imagination as they represented the fact that they had lived in so many countries that they could not single one out as their national dress, hence they dressed up as air crew.

I won’t mention who the drunks of the night werre – they will know themselves. I think it was near 2am when I finally hit the hay, exhausted but happy.