80th Birthday Surprise Party

Whilst I am typing this in the relative cool of No.6 when it is 34C degrees (96F) outside, it seems a bit mad that a month ago my sister and I were worried about the cold breeze and potential rain showers which threatened to overtake our Mum’s Surprise 80th Birthday party.  

Obviously, the number of candles wasn’t a surprise, but elements of the ‘get-together’ were!  Not only were parts of it a surprise to Mum, quite a bit of it was a surprise to us too!!   Not least for the number of potential guest arrivals insofar as when Ali and I totted up the figures attending each of both of the two ‘session options’ [lunch and/or afternoon tea] there seemed to be a just a few more coming for lunch than originally anticipated.  We had estimated a possible 23 people when initially making plans in January but, following the production of hard-copy invitations, regular email contacts and local chit-chat that number had almost doubled! 

So, we re-calculated lunch for 45 people and an additional 20 for the truly “surprise” element of Afternoon Tea!

​GULP (literally)!

Therefore, it was a case of few more trips to various supermarkets and pulling a few more favours from friends and family.  Thankfully we are a resourceful lot and coupled with the purchase of a new tea-urn (posing the question, why have we waited this long to get one??) and some canteen-style hot-food trays, re-jigged and added to the lunch-options and voila! food for plenty..... chili con carne, vegetarian chili, pulled pork, jacket potatoes, various salads, breads, quiches, dips and relishes. Yum. Afternoon Tea...and lots of cake and sweet treats. Oh, and decent coffee for those reliant on hard-core caffeine consumption.  I think there was beer and wine and bubbles too, but I don’t think I saw any of that.

A number of the family started on-site preparations on the Thursday prior to the Party (7th June) and this included the last-minute resourcing and erection of a large gazebo and large ‘service’ tent.  This was because the weather forecast looked pretty grim, and the potential for extra shelter was needed – especially in light of the increased numbers too!  Isn’t that typically British though – planning for thunder and lightning when it should have been a pleasant, gentle early summer’s day?

Subsequently we spent hours fetching furniture, sorting cutlery, cups and saucers, plates and collecting cakes, doing more food shopping, and then chopping and mixing and baking - prepping, prepping, prepping.

Everything was under control... until the morning of the party when we lost power first thing in the morning (8am).  However, after flicking a few switches and isolating a couple of potential circuit breakers, we signed with relief and the 55 jacket potatoes popped into the oven and began baking away. Phew…or so you’d think.  Instead, at 10.45am – with Mum and some guests arriving from noon-ish – all power cut out!  Frantically contacting the neighbours it was ascertained that the whole area was subject to a power outage and the utilities people were working on the sub-station.  What a palaver!

Something shone down on us (not the sun, it has to be said) and thankfully the electricity was restored as people arrived.  A big PHEW!

And, again thankfully, family, friends, ex-work colleagues, ex-pupils and a whole motley crew of acquaintances started to trickle though the gates… a lot of which were unexpected to Mum and, indeed, to each other.  There was a lot of gasps and “gosh, I haven’t seen you in years” or “decades”, and “well, you haven’t changed a bit” or even (embarrassingly from myself) “hello… but who are you?”. 

Great fun with stories, reminiscent memories and anecdotes.

Alison and I are so grateful to everyone that made such an effort to attend, driving or getting trains or taxis from all over the country – from Exeter, Cornwall, Kent, Cambridge, London, Oxford, Manchester, Warwick, Bristol, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Herefordshire, Wales, Leeds. 

It was such a joy to celebrate Mum’s significant birthday with some significantly wonderful people!  Thank you Xx