90th Birthday
17-19th January 2020
The surprise party
The question was posed at the end of 2019 : what were we thinking of doing for dad’s 90th birthday ? You can’t just have a wee get together with jelly and trifle for a 90th and planning would be needed to make sure that the entire family could attend.
It also had to be kept secret from dad.
Quite early on I made excuses that I couldn’t get over for Christmas 2019 so dad should accept the invite to Nigel’s for the holiday. That left me clear to organise my January travel arrangements with Anton.
The organisation slowly came together. Anton booked the necessary rooms at the John Lewis Country Club at Cookham, which is not far from Slough.
The initial ruse would be that he and Debs would invite the folks for a meal on the Saturday ; this would then be expanded into staying a night and having lunch, before being taken back to Slough.
I booked the train for late on the Friday night giving me time to go for my usual Friday swim on the way. Phoned dad in the afternoon before leaving for Boulogne. Wished him a happy birthday and nattered about what they were doing for the evening — still no suspicions and he was looking forward to his trip out.
Arriving in England I found Debs still in the process of finishing off two cakes. It never ceases to amaze me that chocolate gets everywhere. In a month’s time you are still finding traces of it on the backs of spoons that were never near it.
By Saturday lunchtime everything was packed into the cars and I set off at about the same time as Hannah and Paul. Anton and Debs were heading directly to Slough to pick mum and dad up, giving us, others, time to get to the club and booked into our rooms. The motorways were reasonable except for the M4 being closed at the junction we wanted. I had a long meandering trip through Langley which had the knock on effect of passing the Lithuanian shop where I get beers and Vytautas water (earth juice according to the adverts). I can also get caraway seeds for next to nothing and I use a lot in bread and cakes.
Arriving at the club at about the same time, Paul and I parked right up the back so that the cars wouldn’t be spotted — especially as mine has give away French plates. We got our rooms sorted out with mine being next to mum and dad’s. Out came balloons and decorations and we got those up just in time for the text messages announcing that Anton was only a few minutes away. Having explained to Eleanor that we had to be very quiet, because it was going to be a surprise, we huddled into my room and awaited the footsteps along the corridor.
The surprise was suitably complete.
We had a good meal in the restaurant if I had one complaint it was that the filter coffee, in the lounge afterwards, was foul. Good thing there was a bar.
An indulgent breakfast started Sunday. Sausages ; bacon ; eggs ; toast and marmalade ; the works. We even started with croissants !
It was a cold but bright sunny morning so we gathered up and went for a short walk down to the Thames. Eleanor fed the ducks with special duck food and we all avoided the muddy grass. It looked pretty but the lawn was definitely damp under foot.
We settled back into the lounge and behind the scenes messages were coming and going as the rest of the family approached. By midday Simon, Tanya and Tristan had arrived with gifts of bird feeders, then Nigel, Ally, Rose and Peter arrived with Peter’s better half, Molly.
Dad was occupied by the new arrivals as some of us sidled off to decorate the dining room. All that was missing was a few friends from their church and they were ushered into the lounge keeping dad even more occupied.
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Feeding time arrived and we filed into the bedecked room. On show were the two amazing cakes Debs had created. One consisted of chocolate filled with chocolate, under a coating of chocolate topped with chocolate. The finishing touch was musical notes. The other was decorated with symbols from dad’s life : musical instruments ; sewing items ; rocking horses ; a tool box.
It was a good meal and we then reached the talkie bit. It had been dad’s intention to read a poem he had written, to mark his 90th birthday, at church that morning. When I invited him to read it he apologised for not having it with him, to which mum went “Ta-daa !” and produced the poem. I believe that she had been sitting on it.
| Thoughts on being Ninety | |
|---|---|
| Last Friday I was ninety I thought you’d like to know Another year has swiftly flown They used to pass so slow |
I ask you all to bear with me And put up with my ways I’m sure the Lord has many plans To fill my extra days |
| The fact that I am favoured When younger souls have gone To live in heaven’s kingdom A thought I dwell upon |
I never tire of being here To have a friendly chat Or offer needed comfort To those whose lives are flat |
| And if my life is special There has to be a reason That God has further work for me In each and every season |
And like when I was eighty I still wait for the call When Jesus says, “ It’s time young Ted” To take me from you all. |
| But not yet ! | |
It was then my turn to make a short speech based on quotes from films that he likes. The cakes were cut and distributed and our final big act of the day was to gather outside, in the sunshine, for a family portrait. The afternoon drew to a close and people started to disperse.
I took mum and dad home, stayed the night and then headed down to Anton’s ready for the journey back to France on the Tuesday.
What we didn’t know, at the time, was that a new coronavirus that had recently appeared in China would very quickly sweep the world. Entire populations would be forced into confinement in one form or another. It would be a long time before the entire family would be able to reunite again.
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Birthday speech
As you know my father is really old, I mean prehistoric old. He went to see the latest Star Wars film recently and that put the idea into my head that I should commence with a witty quote from something he would have seen as a boy.
The search didn’t go well, as you can tell from this line…
[………..]
… from one of the great silent movies of the period.
Now, it’s a well known fact that some men were born two drinks below par.
So reaching a great age requires a lot of luck. You wake up and you’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky ?”
You take it slow and live, a quarter mile at a time. Life, you realise is to be enjoyed and sometimes you ask people : “Why so serious ?” and then remind them to : “Just keep swimming”.
Life poses questions. Sometimes they are simple :
What… is your name ?
What… is your quest ?
What… is your favourite colour ?Other times they are trickier :
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.You have learned that : The greatest teacher, failure is.
Nobody will ride eternal, shiny and chrome into old age without looking after themselves. Moderate daily exercise ; wax on, wax off, and you are ready for infinity and beyond. Medication is fine but boiling the cotton wool for the extra is out.
You have to keep active and enjoy hobbies. Gaining a very particular set of skills, skills you have acquired over a very long career, skills that make you a nightmare for people because they are constantly astounded : “It was just like you said”. “I always know”.
A long life doesn’t come without inconveniences, people who insist that : “You shall not pass” ; remind you to phone home or worse, point out the bleeding obvious : “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”.
A long life also requires looking St Peter right in the eye and saying : “Nah !”
“I’ll be back”.In trying to find something suitable to say I looked over hills of beans, visited numerous gin joints and journeyed far and wide.
Most of it fruitless, though I will still have Paris.
In the end I think I have found a quote that says everything that needs saying :
I am Groot.
The inspiration
Now, it’s a well known fact that some men were born two drinks below par. [Whisky galore !]
So reaching a great age requires a lot of luck. You wake up and you’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky ?” [Dirty Harry]
You take it slow and live, a quarter mile at a time. [The fast and the furious] Life, you realise is to be enjoyed and sometimes you ask people : “Why so serious ?” [The Dark Knight] and then remind them to : “Just keep swimming”. [Finding Nemo]
Life poses questions. Sometimes they are simple :
What… is your name ?
What… is your quest ?
What… is your favourite colour ?
[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]
Other times they are trickier :
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.
[The Hobbit]
You have learned that : The greatest teacher, failure is. [The Last Jedi]
Nobody will ride eternal, shiny and chrome [Mad Max Fury Road] into old age without looking after themselves. Moderate daily exercise ; wax on, wax off, [The Karate Kid] and you are ready for infinity and beyond [Toy Story]. Medication is fine but boiling the cotton wool for the extra is out [Play it again Sam].
You have to keep active and enjoy hobbies. Gaining a very particular set of skills, skills you have acquired over a very long career, skills that make you a nightmare for people [Taken] because they are constantly astounded : “It was just like you said”. “I always know” [Scrooge].
A long life doesn’t come without inconveniences, people who insist that : “You shall not pass ; [LOTR Fellowship of the Ring] remind you to phone home [E.T.] or worse, point out the bleeding obvious : “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” [Jaws].
A long life also requires looking St Peter right in the eye and saying : “Nah !”
“I’ll be back”. [Terminator 2]
In trying to find something suitable to say I looked over hills of beans, visited numerous gin joints [Casablanca] and journeyed far and wide.
Most of it fruitless, though I will still have Paris. [Casablanca]
In the end I think I have found a quote that says everything that needs saying :
I am Groot. [Guardians of the Galaxy]
Posted : 19 January 2020
