Life moves pretty fast… and I’m now 50 years old. How did that happen?
So I’m no spring chicken… but I feel healthy, happy and very lucky after a memorable few days celebrating the milestone with family and friends.
The first magic moment came on Wednesday at work. Anda called a mysterious team meeting; one so sudden and unheralded that I felt certain someone was about to deliver the sad news that they were leaving, or tell me I’m being fired. However I had fallen for it completely, as the team proceeded to deliver their best advance birthday wishes, along with a card signed by all and a generous gift voucher. A nice surprise that made my day.
The family gathering
On Thursday night, we had a family dinner at Cibo on Victoria Road. Clair and I felt it was the perfect neighbourhood venue, and owner Michael is a great guy and brilliant host.
There were a number of generations in attendance – my mum and dad; Clair and I, Martin and Tricia; all ten of my wonderful nieces and nephews; and their lovely kids. My father-in-law Gary came too, along with other relatives and close family friends. It felt like a really special gathering.
And it went great! Michael and team put on an excellent menu (complete with nostalgic Italia 90 theme) and everyone loved the food. I had Cornetto di salmone, Talgiatelle Rome Mia, then Tiramisu – delicious.
My mum and dad have been busy handling the sale of my uncle’s house and must have been knackered, but they were in great form, as was everyone.
I got some generous presents – among them records; book and restaurant vouchers; whisky and a quaich; a real newspaper from the day of my birth. And there was a memorable moment as the lights were dimmed and my mum delivered a Spider-Man* cake while everyone sang Happy Birthday, which gave me a big smile and a great laugh.
*I collected the comics religiously as a wee guy and retain an interest despite being old enough to know better!
Birthday with Clair
The next day, Friday, was my birthday proper. I was off work so got up slowly and enjoyed reading a some lovely cards from the night before, and that had come in the post. Special mention to these seriously tasty chocolates, handmade in Tynemouth, from Ruth!
At lunchtime, Clair took me to Vera – a classy new southside eatery. Everything about this place is great – tasteful decor and a nice view of the chefs at work, a relaxed vibe, attentive service… and the food was amazing. We had Sea Bream, Gnocci and Cod from the main lunch menu, but perhaps our favourite parts were the starters. The spicy olives were as good as I‘ve tasted, and the caramelised onion flat bread topped with comte cheese was stunning.
The joint party with old friends
Back in January, a number of my long-time, fellow 1976-born pals and I started discussing a joint 50th party. We had lots of friends in common, so we thought this could save them all having to attend too many individual events, and would also bring together enough of a crowd for a serious shindig like eld times!
We chose BAaD’s outdoor courtyard as the venue and it worked really well on the day. I was delighted to see friendly faces who’d made the effort to come from near and far.
We had lined up seven of our talented friends to DJ on a specially-constructed stage and they delivered great vibes all day. We had Marty K’s laidback opening, Andy P’s vintage house spliced with a rave interlude, smooth grooves from Colin W, then loads of great house from Simon, Jason and Tom. Somewhere in between, Marty M sprinkled in some 80s disco pop gems from Gwen Guthrie and Laura Branigan which went down a storm.
That wee rascal Simon used his DJ spot to pause the music, get on the mic and deliver a surprise tribute to all of the birthday boys in the form of a poem penned by his sidekick Nathalie. A really funny moment and a lovely gesture.
It was all over too soon, but before the end of the night the southside contingent managed an impromptu post-party drink at the Rum Shack, with more smiling faces til the end of the night.
The cherry on top
Simon, Gillian and Tom took me out for pizza the following Monday, where they delivered a lovely group present accompanied by a heartfelt message penned by Gillian on their behalf. They are a wonderful bunch and made this old guy very happy.