23rd Birthday.

Birthday presents.

Tess organised our gathering at The Local in Carlisle Street. Meals were tasty, company was good, the place was full and thankfully that noisy hen’s table nearby finally quieted once their food arrived. Thanks to Tess, Dan, Mel, Tim, mum, Gavin, Maryann and Peter for coming to the party.

Two years ago, Ben celebrated his 21st birthday by himself in a Berlin guesthouse. The two birthdays before that, he went out with a couple of school mates. And the one before that, his 18th, saw the arrival of a shy little Labrador. Today, 23rd birthday plus one day, the two school mates called in, as did a German friend who visited him in the Berlin guesthouse. It was wonderful to see them all in the kitchen under the watchful eye of Jazz the no-longer-shy Labrador. Thanks to Anna, Damien and David for visiting our often-quiet kitchen.

Using computers is still somewhat difficult but all the Facebook messages were seen and most responded to. Thanks to the US-based gamers: Chad, Justin, Chuck, Kyle and Isaac for their well wishes.