Sweet Sixteen

Some days are just perfect from start to finish and Lola's 16th birthday lunch in Cambridge yesterday was one of those 'perfect' days.

We met up at Wagamamas with 'Auntie' Nicci, Lola's godmother, and her gorgeous daughter, Phoebe. We get together every year on the Saturday nearest Lola's birthday and it's always a lovely occasion.

This year was no exception, made even more special by the fact that we met Phoebe's boyfriend, Sam, for the first time. We'd heard so much about him, we felt as though we already knew him and he didn't disappoint. We all got on brilliantly right from the start and everything just clicked. It was as if we'd known him for ages.

Lunch at Wagamas

We also took Lola's best friend, George, with us and that was lovely for Lola and for us. George is just like one of the family. She's more like Lola's sister than a friend and she spends so much time with us that her parents even sent us a thank you note!

We love having her with us and, most importantly, Lola and George have great fun together - which is what birthdays are all about. They both adore shopping and before we arrived at Wagamamas, we all made a trip to Zara and bought some bargains in the sale.

When we'd finished lunch, Lola opened her brithday presents. She got some fabulous things. She especially loved the big blue 70s style shades Auntie Nicci bought her and decided to model them on the spot!

Lola likes her new shades

In the afternoon we all went for a stroll round Cambridge, trying to avoid the huge number of tourists. We did some more shopping (you can never do too much), looked round Corpus Christi college, visited the CCA gallery, strolled along the promenade by King's College and went to the Michaelhouse Cafe (one of my favourite places) for tea and cake.

Before we knew it, the afternoon had passed by and it was time to head home. We all agreed we'd had a truly wonderful time and that it really had been a perfect day.

Lola's 16th birthday has got off to the best possible start. And on Monday (Lola's actual birthday) we get to celebrate all over again!

Lola and George

Golden Globe - A Visit to The Globe Theatre

Joe, Calum and Lola

Me by the stage

Joe by the stage

Globe interior

Listening to our guide, Stephanie

Stephanie explains the history of The Globe

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.

Beautiful Bride

Beautiful bride Rebecca.

I recently went to my friend Rebecca's wedding.

They say that all brides look beautiful, but Rebecca looked radiant.

Rebecca is not just lovely-looking.

She's a lovely person too.

So it was wonderful to see her so happy on her wedding day.

And so beautiful.

Ken and Shirley

Shirley, Lola and Ken on Lola's 15th birthday

Ken and Shirley are our next door neighbours.

They are also our very good friends and surrogate grandparents for Calum and Lola.

Ken and Shirley are the sort of neighbours you dream about.

They are always there when you need them but never intrude.

Best of all, almost every visit usually involves alcohol as they are very sociable!

My gin consumption has definitely gone up since I met them - but I'm not complaining.

Their champagne consumption has increased since they met us (there's always something worth celebrating) and we've also shared many excellent bottles of wine.

When we were having our new kitchen fitted and were living on takeaways, Ken and Shilrey invited us round for dinner every week and fed us us delicious, home-cooked food.

Shirley's puddings are a marvel.

That sort of kindness you never forget.

Over the years they've done a myriad of little things that have made our lives richer.

We went to see them on Lola's birthday and, of course, ended up staying for the obligatory gin and tonic (Lola had elderflower cordial).

Lola wanted to say thank you to Shirley for helping her with her textile project at school (Shirley is also a fantastic seamstress).

She also wanted to thank Ken for making a beautiful wood and glass presentation box containing a pair of embroidered ballet shoes to give to Lola's ballet teacher as a retirement present (Ken is a fantastic engineer).

Needless to say, we had a lovely time with Ken and Shirley and chatted away happily for over an hour before heading home.

So thank you Ken and Shirley for being lovely people, lovely neighbours and the very best friends we could wish for.

Happy 15th Birthday Lola!

Phoebe and Nic

Lola with her birthday card that Joe made

Lola with her birthday presents, including a $100 dollar bill

Lola with her birthday presents from 'Auntie Nicci'

Me and Nic at Wagamamas

A Day Out in Cambridge
Today was Lola's 15th birthday, but we've been celebrating all weekend.

Yesterday we spent the day in Cambridge with Lola's Godmother Nic and her beautiful daughter Phoebe, who's a model.

Lola hadn't seen Nic or Phoebe in ages so it was brilliant to catch up.

It was nice to see Lola and Phoebe get on so well, simply picking up where they left off. Phoebe also gets on really well with Calum as there's only a couple of years between them.

I think Calum, Lola and Phoebe will always be friends - I certainly hope so.

Even though she's a model Phoebe hasn't let it go to her head and is still the same down-to-earth and unaffected girl she's always been.

'Auntie Nicci', as Lola calls her, really spoilt Lola by buying her lots of gorgeous presents, including some wonderful make-up. I might just have to borrow the coloured mascara and glittery eyeliners ...

We spent the day eating, shopping and doing lots (and lots) of talking.

The sun shone all day, too, so all the shoppers seemed in a good mood which made a nice change.

All in all it was a perfect day.

A Day at Home
Today we've spent the day at home, at Lola's request.

It's been a real treat just being able to chill.

We had pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast which was delicious and set us up for the day.

Later I cooked a lovely Greek meal which we ate in the garden as the weather was so warm.

Lola got lots of cards and presents - too many to mention - but her favourite card by far was the one Joe made for her.

It has a Nightmare Before Christmas theme - Lola's all time favourite film.

She was also really pleased with the Emily McGuire CD that I bought when I saw Emily in concert with The Blue Nile in Glasgow.

Emily was lovely and signed a CD for Lola saying 'Happy Birthday' which Lola thought was very 'cool'.

All in all it was another perfect day and, for Lola, a perfect birthday weekend.

Old Friends

Rose

This is my friend Rose.

We were at university together and both studied German.

We recently met for lunch in Cambridge.

The amazing thing was that we hadn't seen each other for 26 years!

Yet we simply picked up where we left off.

It seems that many similar things have happened in our lives - uncannily so.

Even our children are similar ages and we both have a boy and a girl.

So, in spite of the years in between, we got on like a house of fire.

Now that's the sign of a real friend.

Good Things Happen

The happy couple, Rebecca and Nick

Phoebe in Company magazine

Phoebe in Company magazine

It's great when good things happen and this week lots of good things happened!

Another Distinction!
I got another distinction for my last MA module. I was so pleased I literally squealed with delight. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Rebecca and Nick got Engaged
Nick proposed to Rebecca on their fourth anniversary at the time they first met. They make a perfect couple and I have never seen anyone as happy as Rebecca was on Friday.

I Got a Bottle of Pink Champagne
My lovely Korean friend Hyun Sook dropped in unexpectedly with a bottle of pink champagne for me. It was to say thank you for copying some MA notes for her.

My Friend Clare Rang
I haven't heard from her in ages and had been wondering how she was. We had a good old catch up and have arranged to have lunch next week.

Yiota's Birthday Lunch
We all went out for lunch at Da Luca to celebrate my friend Yiota's birthday. We drank Prosecco, ate delicious food was delicious and generally had a great time.

Phoebe was in Company Magazine
My friend Nic's daughter Phoebe was in the March issue of Company magazine. I've known Phoebe since she was born and she's turned into the most beautiful young woman.

Nail Art
I had my nails done at Blazing Nails and I'm really pleased with them. This time I've gone for little flowers with sparkly bits. I've already had lots of comments.

I Met Mel
I bumped into my friend Mel, who I used to work with. It was great to see her and catch up on all the latest gossip.

New York, New York!
We finally booked our holiday to New York, so we're definitely going - I can hardly believe it.

We're staying at the W Hotel which is tres chic and we're all beyond ourselves with excitement.

Roll on August!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Sue and I at the party and enjoying our Mudslide cocktails

It's very rare that I get the chance to go to a party, so when we had our work Christmas event at a local nightclub, I decided make the most!

It was the best fun I've had in ages.

My partner in crime was my friend, Sue. Usually the epitome of polished PA perfection, I discovered she was a closet disco diva and a demon on the dance floor. There was no stopping her!

Sue and I did all the things we used to do when we were much younger and thoroughly enjoyed behaving badly (although not too badly, of course). So what did we do?

• We drank enormous cocktails (I discovered the deliciously chocolatety Mudslide)
• We put tinsel round our necks and sprayed glitter in our hair
  
• We danced round our handbags on the dance floor and pretty much everywhere else - queue dancing could well catch on ...
  
• We laughed hysterically at anything and everything, well it all seemed funny at the time
  
• We sang along to 70s and 80s songs at the top of our voices and, embarrassingly, knew all the words (they don't make pop songs like they used to)
  
• We had glitter tattoos done (mine still hasn't come off!)

Amazingly, we managed to stay reasonably sober, probably because we did more dancing than drinking, plus we switched to soft drinks at the end of the evening. That proved a very good move judging by the state of some of the people by the time we left!

Joe drove all the way to Cambridge to collect me which was lovely of him and meant I didn't have to worry about getting home as the last train home is ridiculously early at 9.00pm. He said he just wanted me to have a good time and I certainly did that.

Now I can't wait until next year - all I need is a new sparkly top, and perhaps some shoes, oh and a handbag ...

Ein Besuch von Gerda

Me and Gerda

Gerda with Calum and Lola

Gerda by the river in Cambridge

Friends for life
There are very few times in your life when you meet someone who you know is going to be a lifelong friend. Gerda is such a person. We met in 1981 in Vienna when I spent a year abroad in Austria as part of my German and English degree.

Since then we've both been through a lot, including having children. Like me, Gerda has a boy and a girl, David and Lisa, now 19 and 20 respectively.

A new year with a difference
They were young teenagers when I last saw them when we spent New Year's Eves with Gerda and her family in Klagenfurt, including her husband Hugo who is a great character and a wonderful host.

it was one of the best New Year's Eves we've ever had and I don't think I've ever been made to feel as welcome as we did at Gerda's house. Nothing was too much trouble.

She ferried us to and from the airport, drove us miles to visit her parents and various friends (she has loads) and took us to a thermal swimming pool in the heart of the mountains where we swam in deliciously warm water surrounding by snow-covered mountains - an amazing experience. The children thought it was fantastic and still talk about it.

Blush blush
I still talk about my experience of my first (and probably last) communal mixed sauna where everyone was stark naked. I was sent out for keeping my swimming costume on but was allowed to come back in wearing a towel. The only other person in a towel was an Italian girl and I was very grateful to her. I can laugh about it now but as an uptight English person at the time I found it all quite embarrassing and literally did not know where to look! Enough said. :)

Food glorious food
Gerda also fed us delicious Christmas home-made biscuits (Kipferl) and cakes (Lebkuchen) and we were all treated to Hugo's amazing goulash soup on New Year's Eve which we wolfed down, even though we'd already eaten fit to burst!

A summer visit and a doctor drama
So when Gerda told me she was coming to England this summer, I was absolutely delighted. She was only able to stay for a couple of days, having already spent two weeks on a teaching course, but we managed to pack a lot in.

This included an emergency trip to the doctor because she was having trouble with her eyes (a long standing problem since she had an accident when she was a child). Thankfully all was well and the optician we were sent to couldn't have been kinder. I was just glad to know that she was okay and that we could enjoy the rest of our time together without worrying.

Speaking your language
Gerda's first language is, of course, German, but she speaks English like a native and we talked for hours and hours about everything under the sun. The fact that she is an English teacher definitely helps but I think she has a natural gift for languages anyway.

Good friends
It was a if we'd seen each the day before which is the sign of a true friendship. You simply pick up where you've left off - even though there'd been a five year gap in between.

What was lovely was that she got on equally well with Joe and the children and they were all sorry to see her go.

So, what did we do?

A trip to cambridge
Apart from (inevitably) consuming quite a few glasses of wine, we also spent a day in Cambridge. Gerda and I went on our own which gave us chance to really catch up.

We started with a reviving cup of strong French coffee at my favourite cafe Gros Franck and managed to make it last half an hour as we chatted away.

We then hit the shops at Cambridge, pausing to look in on a few of the colleges along the way. Afterwards it was lunch at the Pizza Express at 7a Jesus Lane, also one of my favourite places. There we managed to talk so much, we were the last people to leave!

After lunch we wandered around Cambridge some more, stopping to buy Hugo's favourite Tetley teabags (he likes them because they're round) and pick up presents for the children.

It was a really lovely day and we arrived home to glorious cooking smells and a nice glass of chilled Pinto Grigio!

Gerda said she likes television so we all watched the latest episode of Heroes, a brilliant series we're all hooked on.

I hate the A14!
Having commuted to Cambridge for nine years along the A14, I hate that road.

It's always busy, full of juggernauts and there are loads of accidents. So when we had to take Gerda back to Stansted I allowed an extra hour as you never know what's going to happen.

It was just as well as, true to form, there was a bad accident which meant we crawled for miles and added an extra half an hour to our journey.

Gerda and I chatted some more in the car and were still deep in conversation when it was time to drop her off and wave goodbye.

See you soon
Seeing Gerda again was really wonderful.

It made me determined not to leave it so long until we meet up again - definitely not five years!

She is a very special friend.

So, as they say in German - 'Bis bald Gerda!'

Franco's Farewell Bash

Me and Franco

Franco gives an emotional speech

It's a disco night!

My lovely friend Franco recently went back to his native South Africa for good.

In one way I'm sad as I miss him terribly. But I'm happy for him too as, after 15 years in the UK, he was ready to return to his roots - to his friends, family, the beautiful South African sunshine and a new beginning.

However, he left in style with a fantastic leaving party that went on into the early hours of the morning.

It turned out to be one of the best nights Joe and I have had in ages and, most importantly, brilliant fun. It was a chance to drink champagne, catch up with old friends, meet some new ones and dance until you dropped.

Everything was perfect - the music (wall to wall disco), the food, the venue (a trendy London bar), but most of all the people. There was a great atmosphere and everyone was in the mood to party, party!

Franco gave an emotional speech and presented a slide show of special moments with his friends to the background of Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you' (disco version of course). It was incredibly moving as we saw 15 years unfold before our eyes and realise that this really was the end of an era.

So, Ciao Bello. Be happy and may the sun always shine wherever you are.

My Australian Friend Phil

Phil at King's College

Me and Phil

Lola, Phil and Calum
Phil in Gros Franck

Old Friends
I've known my Australian friend Phil for 31 years, which seems like a lifetime.

We met as teenagers when we both had a Saturday job in a chip shop. I can still remember the smell of the cooking fat that clung to my hideous nylon overall. When I got home, the first thing I did was jump in the bath to get rid of the awful stink.

However, working with Phil made it fun. I called him 'Larry' and he called me 'Sheila' and he tolerated me speaking in a fake Australian accent. I thought it was funny at the time. We enjoyed seeing who could the serve the biggest portion of chips before being told off by the manager.

It wasn't glamorous, but it paid for my Saturday nights out and that was all that mattered.

A Proper Penfriend

When I met Phil, he was on one of his round the world trips - he's now done four or five. I've always admired that about Australians. They know how to travel.

Inbetween visits to the UK Phil and I have kept in touch by letter. He's a proper penfriend as he doesn't even have email, or a mobile phone. I like that about him.

I'm Coming to Visit

So when a familiar blue airmail letter arrived with the news that Phil was coming to visit, I was very excited.

We hadn't seen each other for ten years.

Just the Same

When Phil arrived, he looked just the same, only slightly more lined and, as always, extremely tanned. I'd forgotten quite how tall he is - at 6ft 4 he seemed to to dwarf the rest of us.

I'd done lots of baking and the warm, sweet smell of fruitcake, flapjack and chocolate brownie filled the kitchen. Phil said he noticed it as soon as he walked in and it made him feel instantly at home, reminding him of his mother's baking.

The children took to him straight away, but then again Phil is so relaxed and friendly, it's impossible not to like him. He was like another member of the family.

We toasted his arrival with champagne - our neightbours Ken and Shirley joined us - and spent a very happy afternoon chatting about everything under the sun.

A Trip to Cambridge

The following day Phil and I spent a day together in Cambridge. He hadn't been there for 20 years and loved it, although it was absolutely freezing.

However, we warmed ourselves with hot croissants in Gros Franck and hot soup in Trockel Ullman inbetween seeing the sights of Cambridge. Phil especially liked King's College.

Time Flies

Phil was only with us for a couple of days because he had a incredibly packed schedule but I'm so pleased he came to see us. We had the most fantastic time and I know we'll always be friends.

Who knows, one day I might even make it to Australia!