Paris Perfection

Me, Calum, Joe and Lola enjoying a glass of champagne.

Me and Joe in the restaurant at the Musee D'Orsay

Me and my Kir Royale!

Joe in the gardens at The Louvre

Me at The Louvre

Me about to board the Eurostar at St Pancras

Such a Perfect Day
It is very rare that you have a truly perfect day but my 50th birthday - 19th November 2008 - was one of them.

It started with an early rise at 5.45am to catch the 7.00am train to London.

It's the time I get up each day for work so I was fine, but for Joe it was a bit of a shock to the system.

The first thing he did when he woke up was wish me 'Happy Birthday'.

'Yes,' I thought to myself. My birthday is finally here and I felt as excited as a five year old.

What would the day bring? What would lunch be like in Paris? What presents would I get?

All day long I found it hard to believe that I was actually 50, having thought about it for so long.

What would it feel like? Would I feel any different?

Of course not.

Late Train
The only blip of the day was a late train.

The Eurostar to Paris was punctual to the minute, but the trains in the UK were all delayed.

It's one of the things I hate about this country - especially as I have to commute by train every day.

When we arrived at the station and saw that the train was delayed by 15 minutes, my heart sank. Today of all days - it didn't seem fair. Also, we weren't allowed to catch another train without paying the full fare which would cost us the same as travelling to Paris!

Joe could tell I was very anxious and I didn't relax until we were at St Pancras waiting to board the 8.40am train to Paris. We arrived with five minutes to spare. I was hugely relieved as it could all have gone so horribly wrong.

It was only when we were settled in our seats and the Eurostar was pulling out of St Pancras that I fully relaxed.

For me, that was when my perfect day began in earnest.

From then on everything went like clockwork.

Paris Perfection Paris is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I've visited Paris more than any other city in Europe and yet I am still awestruck every time I behold it.

We caught the Metro to the Louvre and walked through the shopping mall, festooned with Christmas decorations, to the museum where we walked up through the pyramid.

We strolled through the gardens and then walked over the bridge to the Musee D'Orsay where we had a very long and delicious lunch.

The restaurant at the Musee D'Orsay was incredibly ornate and reminded me of The Ritz with its high, painted ceilings, elegant architecture, classical statues and sophisticated flower arrangements.

It was breathtaking beautiful.

Our waiter, Andre, looked after us wonderfully, moving us to a better (I told him it was my birthday) and generally ,making a fuss of us.

We spoke a mixture of English and French to make ourselves understood, but mostly we smiled. I told Andre about Calum and Lola and he told me about his two year old son.

Joe and I started our celebrations with a glass of Kir Royale which put us both in an excellent mood and we savoured everything - the delciously cold white wine, the sumptuous food and the simple pleasure of being somewhere that was incredibly special - fitting for the special occasion we were celebrating.

We were even treated to the sight of the French guard riding by on horseback, all decked out in their finery - something I'd never seen before.

We had a very long and relaxed lunch, followed by a langurous stroll along the Seine towards Notre Dame and the Ile St Louie with its exquisite (and expensive) shops.

As it grew darker, all the Christmas lights came on and twinkled like something out of a fairy tale.

By late afternoon it was time to head back to the Gare du Nord and catch the train home.

Alarm Bells
Going through security at passport control, I set off the alarm with my metal hair clip. I had to takle it out and was worried my hair would all fall down, waving my arms to demonstrate what I meant, which made the security officer laugh.

However, I kept my hand on the top of my head when I went through again and that kept my hair in place. I couldn't help giggling about it afterwards.

As I handed in my passprt to be checked, the passport officee wished me 'Happy Birthday' which also made me smile.

People can be so nice.

Home at Last
The journey back to London was smooth and trouble free. I replayed all the sights and sounds of Paris in my mind, savouring them like the sumptous lunch we enjoyed.

Thankfully, the train from London was on time and we were back home by 9.00pm.

Calum and Lola greeted us with hugs and kisses and wished me a more awake 'Happy Birthday' than they had done in the morning before I left.

They'd both dressed up for the occasion and it wasn't long before we opened the bottle of champagne I'd been keeping on ice and clinked out glasses.

We then cut the beautiful birthday cake I'd had made at Fitzbillie's in Cambridge. It was absolutely gorgeous.

A Pile of Presents
When I walked into the living room there was a big pile of presents waiting for me, together with lots and lots of cards.

It took me over two hours to open everything and I couldn't belive how many wonderful things I'd been given.

I was also very touched by the lovely things people had written in my cards.

The piece de resistance was an amazing card that Joe made me, complete with a pop-up picture of me inside as The Statue of Liberty - only holding a glass of champagne instead of a torch. Joe knows me so well!

I was speechless - and that doesn't happen very often.

My 50th birthday was definitely one of the happiest days of my life.

And one I will always remember.

Being 50 feels fabulous.

Putting on The Ritz

Me and Lola at The Ritz

Rachel, Me, Maggie, Caroline and Nic at The Ritz.

Yesterday I went for Tea at The Ritz as part of my 50th birthday celebrations.

It was a wonderful afternoon and one I will treasure for the rest of my life.

There is something quite magical about The Ritz.

There is nowhere like it and you feel that the minute you walk through the door.

The setting is simply stunning and it's impossible not to feel very special sitting in the beautiful Palm Court, with its opulent gilt decor.

The tea itself is a wonder - exquisite sandwiches, light as air scones and divine cakes, as well as the freshly brewed tea.

The waiters are attentive and polite and seem to take real pleasure in the fact that everyone is there to celebrate something.

I loved it when they brought out my birthday cake and the pianist played 'Happy Birthday' and everyone clapped.

It was a magic moment.

In fact everything about the day was magic - the atmosphere, the food, the surroundings.

But most of all, the people.

I have known Nic, Caroline, Maggie and Rachel for over 30 years.

They are my closest friends and I feel incredibly lucky to have them.

We have been through so much together and we've always been there for each other through the good times and the bad.

That means a great deal.

There's also the shared history - the weddings, the children, the careers and, sadly, the losses of loved ones as well.

We all met at university and have been through some life-changing experiences together.

We've laughed and we've cried - but mostly we've had fun.

Whenever, I'm with them there's always lots of laughter - and a lot of love.

I'd count myself lucky to know any one of them.

But to have them as a group of friends makes me feel I'm especially privileged.

So to celebrate my half century with them at The Ritz was the perfect thing to do.

And having my darling daughter Lola there was the icing on the cake.

Glasgow School of Art Open Day

Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow School of ArtMe at the Open Day

Last week Lola and I went to the Open Day at the Glasgow School of Art.

Calum was meant to go, but the school got the dates mixed up for his Paris art trip, so he had to Paris instead (not exactly a hardship I think!).

But it gave me a lovely opportunity to spend some time with Lola.

It was also useful for her to see the Glasgow School of Art as she wants to apply there herself.

Lola in Glasgow

An Early Start
To get there and back in a day, we decided to fly, which was ironically just as cheap as going by train, and a lot quicker.

However, that meant getting up at 4.30am which wasn't fun at all.

We made it to Stansted in exactly one hour and eight minutes and parked in the short stay car park before heading to the terminal to get breakfast. Coffee and croissants never tasted so good!

By 8.30 we were in the air and arrived in Glasgow less than an hour later.

So much to see
The Open Day was fantastic and there was lots to do and see.

Walking up Renfrew Street and seeing the School of Art with the sun glinting on it was a wonderful experience.

It is a very beautiful building and it's amazing to think that in spite of being one of the most famous examples of architecture by Charles Rennie Macintosh, it is still a living, working building. Its design could be contemporary and it still looks cutting edge.

It also has the most fantastic reputation.

No wonder Calum and Lola want to go there.

During the day we went to a lecture on the visual communication course, met lecturers and students (all of whom were very friendly), went to a presentation on preparingportfolios (probably the most useful part of the day) and collected leaflets and brochures from the Information Centre.

We also bought cakes from the cake stall manned by 'Mike', who recommended his grandmother's shortbread. He said it was delicious and it was!

By the afternoon our feet were sore but it was well worth it.

The cake stand at the Open Day

A spot of shopping
Although we had very little time left before we had to catch our plane, we still managed a spot of shopping.

After grabbing something to eat at John Lewis in the Buchanan Galleries (the croissants had long worn off), we made a quick trip to Mango.

I bought Lola a teal cardigan and myself a green satin blouse - all in the space of 20 minutes!

A bit of retail therapy worked wonders.

The long journey home
We ended up arriving at Glasgow airport too early, thanks to my obsession with not being late.

By this time we were too tired to do any more shopping, so sat in the bright orange Easyjet waiting area (I felt like I'd been 'Tangoed') until it was time to board.

There was the usual scrum for seats and Lola and I had the misfortune to end up behind three teenagers who insisted on watching a dvd at full volume so they could all hear it - as could half the plane.

Even my i-Pod couldn't drown it out.

We couldn't wait to get back to Stansted and get off.

Lola and I got something to eat (we'd been up so long it seemed like another day) and then tried (unsuccessfully) to find our car and get out of the car park.

Round in circles
We seemed to go round in circles as we could see the car park down below but couldn't get to it.

It turned out we had come out of the airport building on the wrong level.

We walked up and down but couldn't see an entrance, so in the end, we climbed over a fence and walked down some steps to the parking machine.

Once we'd paid for the ticket, after me trying to puy my card in the wrong slot (I was very tired by then), we drove round in circles trying to find the exit.

We followed the Exit arrows kept taking you back on yourself.

Whoever invented them was obviously having a laugh - as we did when we realised just how ridiculous we looked driving round and round!

Evnbtually we made it home, which was a real relief.

Lola and I were shattered but we both agreed it had been a really good day.

And an incredibly useful one.

She's already started working on her portfolio.

Now Calum just has to do his.