Apr 28th, 2019

Author: donich_admin

Mum’s Birthday

Hope I don’t disclose any confidential information when I say my Mum was 80 on Saturday.

My father is nine years older than her and it is hard to believe that it was so long ago that we went to Duxford to fly in a 1930s Dragon Rapide to celebrate his 80th. Sad to say, although we had the most fantastic weather for Dad’s event – Mum’s did not turn out the same. We had been going for a trip on the little seaplane that flies from Loch Lomond, and I had asked for it to fly over Dumbarton where my Mum was born and lived for many years. Unfortunately the weather had looked as though it was going to be inclement that particular day, although most of the days around it had been great. Sure enough, when we woke up it was very dreich, with thick cloud at about 400m and the seaplane company rightly cancelled the trip. We have it rebooked for July when hopefully the weather will be more reliable.

So we just had a nice meal, an entertainment and saw the en-suite bathroom which had been refitted and looked great.

Everyone did a party piece for the entertainment although I had to twist peoples’ arms to get them going with it. N did a selection of poems by John Cooper Clarke – he was much better than the author himself. R sang Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes and got most annoyed when I translated it into English as “Fetch the cows to the byres”. J (after extreme torture) recited “Albert and the Lion” and “The Return of Albert” – he was actually surprisingly good at it. My father at the age of 89 recited the whole of “Sir John Moore’s Burial at Coruna” with only one minor error. I have to say, however, that that particular poem has been spoiled for me by the parody about “as his horse on the ramparts they curried”. Then it was time for my performance and I did “Isobel Ellis, this is your life” complete with the red folder and introduction music. It went quite well after an initial problem with a siren sound I had placed into the second world war slide.

Mum is a conservative when it comes to food, so I just made the traditional buffet which I had always prepared on Christmas Eve before my brother started to make us exotic themed meals.

Salmon sandwiches, egg and cress sandwiches, selection of seafood, sausage rolls, rice salad etc. I have to say that if my Mum’s favourite meal is fish and chips, this particular buffet selection is my favourite (although definitely not R’s). We also had a fantastic birthday cake – if I weren’t grateful to Mary Berry for all her other recipes and TV programs already, I would have to specially thank her for her black forest gateau which I have made on numerous occasions (although I do substitute raspberries for the cherries). J much to his dislike had to deal with some special balloons.

A nice day had by everyone – just a shame about the flight.