Farewell to my old companion

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my lovely old cat Emily. I bought her when I was 21 after a champagne celebration with my flatmate Moira. On the walk home we went into the pet shop and saw this little ball of white fluff and I just had to have her. Emily's life has been full of experiences and she certainly has used many of her 9 lives. Whilst living in the flat in London she managed to fall down the rubbish chute, out of the bedroom window and crawl up the fireplace. The fireplace seemed to be a favourite of hers as she had a similar experience here at our current house and emerged looking like a very black cat instead of her pristine white coat. She has been a fabulous companion and seen me through the majority of my adult life, lived through many parties and enjoyed every roast chicken that we have ever cooked. She will be remembered with love and very sadly missed.

Charlies Christening

Sunday we celebrated a very special day for our gorgeous son, it was Charlies Baptism. The service took place at our local church but instead of the vicar taking the ceremony, we asked the Reverend Paul Kirby, Hospital Chaplin at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford. It was a great privilege for Paul to take the service as he had been with us the day that Ruby was born and had baptised her and also performed her funeral service and so we thought only fitting that he was there to welcome our son into the world. The service was very emotional for Mike and I as it symbolised such a happy occasion for us and by having Paul there made us feel that Ruby was also part of it too. We chose our dear friends Charlie and Spencer and neighbour Becks to be God Parents and Charlie was so well behaved. In fact he loved the water being poured over his head and lay back very willingly with a little smile on his face.

Afterwards we had a big party back at our house with champagne and a cream tea of homemade scones, clotted cream, jam and a selection of fabulously indulgent cakes. Instead of a Christening cake I made a tower of iced cupcakes which were very quickly snapped up by all the kids the moment they got through the door.

Charlie was a very lucky boy and received some wonderful gifts including a silver compass from Tiffany's, a train spelling out his name, a pewter half pint tankard with his name engraved on it, an a amazing book of parents memories, the donation of a teacher to the third world plus a large sum of money to buy some premium bonds.

It was a fantastic and emotional day and one that we had been waiting to celebrate for so long and we were very proud of our lovely boy.

Very very funny

Last night, Mike and I went out again on a belated birthday present for Mike. This time to see Alan Carr, comedian and host of The Friday Night Project. He has been described as the spiritual son of Frankie Howerd with his camp gestures, ooh matron voice and cheesy innuendos. He was hilarious, Mike and I laughed continuously for 2 hours, my jaw was aching by the end of the night. I did feel slightly nervous though at the beginning of the evening as I had forgotten that I had booked seats right at the front so we were in direct eye contact with Alan and I squirmed around for sometime hoping that he wouldn't pick on us. Thankfully there were many other loud and bolshy members of the audience touting for a bit of attention and Alan focused his bitchy jokes and jibes on them instead. Phew.

Thoroughly Spoilt

Well, what a very lucky woman I am. Turning 40 is the best and this weekend has had me surprised and overwhelmed. My wonderful husband took me to London to an amazing hotel called The Rookery. This 17th century abode was nestled down a narrow street in Farringdon. Several times on the journey up there, I asked Mike why he had chosen this place only to be given the answer, it seemed like a special place. And indeed he was right. We had the best room, complete with a huge roll top bath in a bathroom accessed down a set of stairs into another room. With champagne chilling in the fridge Mike said lets go out for a walk and have a look around. As we crossed a couple of streets, I suddenly realised exactly why we were staying at that hotel. Yes it was an amazing hotel but was also round the corner from Hatton Gardens, home of the diamond merchants and abundance of jewellers. My last and final present from Mike was to spend the day choosing an Eternity ring. I was speechless, then the tears came, then it was time to shop. Mike had allowed all day for me to find the ring of my choice and although we did look in every shop, strangely enough we ended up in the same jewellers where we got my engagement ring 6 years ago. It is a beautiful diamond ring which fitted perfectly between the other 2 rings and I walked out of the shop clutching my lovely little bag of bling feeling on top of the world.

We returned to the hotel opened the champagne and spent the rest of the day being together. That evening we went out to see 'Stomp' an amazing show of music performed by the cast with an array of common objects such as dustbin lids, newspapers, matchboxes and old kitchen sinks . The evening was so uplifting and very funny. Afterwards we headed towards China Town for a good old Chinese meal and more wine. We had a fantastic evening and so brilliant to have some time alone. A quick stop at Greenwich Market on the way home and we returned to find our beautiful boy having a whale of a time with Grandma and Grandad. A beaming smile greeted us and was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Fabulous Forty

Yes, I have finally made it. And what a celebration I have been having. Sunday I had a lunchtime party at one our favourtie places, the Hotel Continental. 50 guests came, friends, old and new, family and a whole host of children too.















It was a fabulous day, starting with champagne and canapes followed by lunch. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves which was so brilliant as it meant everyone could circulate between and after courses and the children could run around without bothering anyone. It was so great to catch up with friends I havent seen for a while and some had travelled down the country to be there. It was a rowdy afternoon, the kids were out on the beach having a great time and the wine was flowing. Charlie was somewhat overwhelmed by the whole day and combined with his terrible teething that he is going through at the moment wavered between tears and laughter as the day progressed.

Monday night I was showered with presents from Mike, lots of luxurious gifts and some Chanel lipstick from Charlie, confirming that he is already got an eye for classy goods. As a surprise gift, Mike is also taking me to London for the weekend to a swanky hotel followed by a trip to the theatre to see Stomp and then dinner. I am one very lucky woman.

Mojito Mondays

Last night I had a girls night out at one of the bars on the seafront that has recently changed hands and turned itself into a relaxed lounge bar complete with cocktail menu. I was so excited that we now have somewhere to drink cocktails in Whitstable, it has been a missing element of our town for sometime. The 4 of us have been trying to arrange a night for a while and so we settled on a Monday night where it was 'buy one get one free' on the mojitos. We had a blast, it was such a hilarious evening and the mojitos were going down a treat. It has been a long time since I have been out on a night that like and it was brilliant, we all had a such a great time and vowed to make it a regular occasion. Surprisingly, for those who know my alcohol tolerance is quite pathetic (video of honeymoon in oz as evidence) I managed to sink several lovely concoctions and made it home in a straight line without feeling the need to sing songs from the sound of music and Mike was very impressed with the sober state I appeared to be in on my return. Bring on the Mojitos I say........

Happy Retirement

Sunday saw our whole family get together for a birthday celebration for my Mum and Dad and also to celebrate my Dad's retirement. He has loyally worked for the same company for over 40 years and now he has hit the golden age of 65 has reduced his hours and taken semi-retirement. We all went to a fabulous place for lunch, Eastwell Manor near Ashford. It is a grand manor house set in amazing gardens and we sat down to a scrumptious 4 course lunch in their restaurant complete with pianist playing an interesting medly of tunes in the background. The food was superb and everyone was very impressed with size of giant yorkshires which arrived on the plate with our roast beef and the mouthwatering puddings were to die for. It was a great day and good to get everyone together to celebrate.