Lola and the Olympics

Lola with her presents.

An auspicious day
Lola turned 19 on 27 July 2012 - the same day as the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

It was a beautiful sunny day, one of the few in a relentlessly rainy summer. The sun had also shone on her 18th birthday, but we'd had to travel to Sorrento in Italy to be sure of good weather. It didn't disappoint.

Neither did the weather on Lola's 19th. We were so happy to see the sun streaming through the curtains when we woke up that morning. It stayed out all day and helped make the day really special.

Lola with her presents, including her beautiful purse.

So many presents
Lola received lots and lots of presents. Her favourite was a beautiful purse she'd seen at Oliver Bonas in London. She'd never expected to receive it as it was quite expensive, so she was thrilled when she opened it. It was wonderful to see the look of pleasure on her face when she opened it. 

Shirley, Ken, Calum, Lola, Lucy and Joe.

Tea and cake
Lola celebrated her birthday with tea party in the garden. It was a small party - Lola only wanted her best friend Lucy and her sister Nell to come. In an impromptu gesture, we also invited our lovely neighbours, Ken and Shirley, to come round for a glass of champagne and they stayed for over an hour. They are like family and we have celebrated many happy (and some sad) occasions with them.

Tea was traditional - and delicious. We had egg, ham and cheese sandwiches, smoked salmon bagels, sausage rolls and cheese and pineapple on sticks (we love a bit of 70s kitsch). They were followed by fruit scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam and then the piece de resistance - a 'Keep Calm' cake. That was Lola's favourite.

Keep calm. It's your birthday.

A lazy afternoon
The tea party lasted all afternoon. We sat and ate and drank and chatted and enjoyed the simple pleasure of being today in a beautiful garden on a beautiful day and celebrating the birthday of our beautiful girl.

Me and the lovely Lola.