Sixty
MY DOM is 60 at some point soon.
Earlier on in the year, she had attempted to book a big party to celebrate her birthday, booking a room at a place called the Springfield Hotel on Easter Saturday. All was well, until the Hotel closed rather suddenly, with some long-term residents being escorted to their rooms by security staff and being told that they had 20 minutes to pack.
Obviously this was a bit of a bugger as regards the booking for the birthday party, and the deposit paid for the same. Obviously by then it was difficult to actually arrange any other similar event at this time, because it’s a popular time of year to have events and suchlike, particularly when you’re already £300 out of pocket. The annoyance factor was increased somewhat by the fact that the hotel apparently went into receivership last October, but they didn’t see fit to mention that to people booking events, wedding receptions, or anything like that…
Anyway, myself and the GLW decided to instead host a mini-version of this party at our house. There was simply no way we could invite all the guests that would have attended the original, but we at least managed to get some of ‘em, for a party held yesterday.
There was a lot of arranging to be done — not just in terms of speaking to people and seeing if they would come, but also in terms of getting balloons, banners, making lots of lovely sandwiches (yes, I did them), and getting the lock on the toilet door fixed. Also in terms of collecting all of the chairs in the house and placing them in the front room to try and ensure that the majority of people would actually have somewhere to sit.
This, in case you’re wondering, is why I didn’t have time to produce any blog posts this weekend. Many apologies; normal service will be resumed … now.
Then, when DOM turned up, and had a little surprise (as she was only expecting me, the GLW and the kids to be there) as the other guests revealed themselves. We’d managed to keep the whole thing a surprise (by not telling DOM’s husband, as she’d no doubt have managed to winkle it out of him — I believe The Spanish Inquisition was inspired by her), so that was nice.
DOM’s older sister had prepared a special ‘OAP welcome pack’ for her, which contained such things as an application for an pensioner’s bus pass, an enormous pair of knickers with her name stitched into them (as this will not only mean that when we do stick her in a home, she’ll have her own pants, and she’ll also have a cue to remember what her name is. Although relying on this method could lead her to believe her name is Mark Sand Spencer…). In addition, we also had a small jar of anti-wrinkle cream, followed by another tube marked with the message ‘in case the other cream doesn’t work’.
This was unwrapped to reveal a tube of polyfilla…
But the party was great fun: the kids were extremely well behaved and enjoyed playing with their young cousin who is about one. I was a little wary at first of how they would behave with her, because I know our kids can be rowdy, boisterous, rambunctious, and indeed a bloody nuisance at times. However, I was pleasantly surprised — while they did crowd her a little from time to time, they were gentle with her, and really enjoyed playing with her, playing with “musical instruments” and generally really enjoying spending time with their little cousin.
I think part of it is that they are used to being the small cousins themselves, and it’s the first opportunity they have really had to play the ‘big cousin’ and play with someone smaller than themselves, but they did us proud, and I made a point of telling them before bed how proud I had been of their behaviour, and that they had earned a couple of pound for their moneybox or a magazine for being so good.
Everyone seemed to have a lovely time at the party — I know I did — and despite all the stresses involved in arranging it, both me and the GLW actually felt sufficiently relaxed to sit and enjoy it, rather than feeling obliged to spring to our feet every 6.3 seconds to see if anyone needed a glass of wine or a cup of tea. Apologies therefore to any of our guests who ran out of drinks…
It was a lovely day, and we really enjoyed it, and hope that everyone else did. But it was also nice to put our feet up and relax once everyone had gone home…
Carol says:
March 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
thanks for a brilliant afternoon Jack, you DOM was genuinely surprised. As for the “OAP welcome pack” -I was returning the compliment – she did a similar thing when I was 60!! ……. Carol (DOM’s big sis)
G says:
March 16th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Maybe it was best the party wasn’t at the Springfield, as I’ve heard it’s being changed into a Care Home…….at least you didn’t all turn up there yesterday to find it was not quite what your DOM was ready for….reminds me of a colleague (no, not colleagueman, I believe you were ‘looking after’ him that night) going to somebody’s birthday party, getting the wrong venue, then realising there were lights flashing etc in the building next door it was worth a try…only to find it was a grab-a-granny tea dance rather than a 40th birthday….
Julie says:
March 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Yes we all had a wonderful time, thanks to the sandwich maker and GLW. Can’t wait for the next get together you better start making the sandwiches now !!
the DOM says:
March 16th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Thanks again for a lovely party and for all the insults you throw at me! . I have not only paid my deposit for my first few nights at the new care home but I also have the necessary big knickers already packed!
Note to any readers who don’t know me- I am quite nice really!!
Holly says:
March 17th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
It’s my mam’s 60th next month – fortunately she’s arranged her own Do, so we don’t have the stress, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves. Apparently 60 is the new 40 (so I heard recently)!
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