THE PARTY'S OVER ..... IT'S TIME TO CALL IT A DAY .....

It is now time to draw a line under my birthday. I have milked it for all it's worth and it's now time to call it a day. ......but, not before I tell and show you all, some of the things that I have been getting up to over the last month..........

First, it was dinner at ' The Sun ', a local restaurant ..........

Then, it was off to Harrods in London..........

We went straight to the Food hall and to ..........

The Champagne and Oyster Bar. We made the most of that stop and then it was off to The Royal Albert Hall.

We had tickets for the Cirque du Soleil.

Opposite the Royal Albert Hall is the Albert Memorial, built by Queen Victoria, in memory of her beloved husband.  One of Mr. Home's relatives had something to do with the design or building of if but, I'm not sure which part he was involved in !!

I also went to see 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. It was brilliant..... funny,  fantastic music,  quite rude and a whole lot of fun.

Then, it was dinner at 'Brown's' ..... I won't bore you all with the finer details of all the meals that I have consumed over this past month.

Oh, another restaurant that I went to. This is Smiths of Smithfield. We went there with our children. It is one of John Torode's restaurants....he of Masterchef fame. It was lovely and had the most wonderful view of St. Paul's Cathedral and The City.

I then went to The Champagne Bar at King's Cross, St. Pancras. This was to start off a few days stay in London.

We stayed in an hotel very close to Buckingham Palace. It was just a short and lovely walk through Green Park to get to .....

...... The Ritz, for tea.

This was our waiter and the man sitting down to the right was there with his wife,  for his 80th birthday !

They bring tea and sandwiches and the most delicious cakes you ever did see. The middle tier is empty and they bring warm scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam when you've finished your sandwiches. They are the most wonderful scones you have ever tasted in your life....and, I've tasted a few in my time !!

They then surprised me with a birthday cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday !!

Said cake is then put in a beautiful 'The Ritz' box for one to carry home. How lovely was that ?

As we were so close, we thought that we would just pop into Fortnum and Mason. I used to work in this area and always went into Fortnum and Mason to buy Christmas present's, especially for my Mum and Dad.

We finished that day off by seeing 'Wicked' at The Apollo.

Had to go and have a look at Anthropologie of course.

The wall's are a living wall of lush, green plants.....

.......... it is just worth going there for the displays alone.

Back at the hotel, it was time to get ready to go  .....

Back past Buckingham Palace ( with a little wave to Her Majesty as we passed !!)

down a little Mayfair cul-de-sac to .....

* The Icebar * !!

Self explanatory, I think !!

Cocktail's in ice glasses ....

That's me in the cape that they give you to keep the chill off.....and gloves that are on elastic, just like you had when you were little, to hold your glass with. Not the most flattering of outfits but, nessessary ! It was great fun and we met lots of people from all over the world.


Then, down to the restaurant, 'Below Zero'  to have dinner.

Well, I'm partied out for another year..... although, maybe just one more glass of Champagne wouldn't hurt !!

image 1 - via visualize.Us, image 36 - via go london, image 37 - via daily news, image 39 by Daniel Jackson..... all other images by me.

DISTRESSED SHUTTER'S ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND ..........

Now, I'm probably going to lose a lot of my followers when you find out what one of my birthday presents was.
Many women would be yearning for diamonds, a little something in gold, a designer handbag, a holiday in Tuscany or the like but, what did I have ? ......... a pair of weathered, distressed, grey/blue French shutters !!!!
I came downstairs on my birthday, and there they were.
Mr. Home had got them all on his own..... and, they are not the easiest present to hide !!!! It would have been a lot easier if I had wanted an eternity ring !! haha.

Peeling grey/blue paint, rusty hinges and latches ........ perfect. I LOVE them.

                                                 .....  AND .....

 ....... look what I managed to do ..... all by myself.....without the help from any member's of my family.... nor friend's......or neighbours..... or wine ..... A COLLAGE !!!!
I am very pleased with myself ..... all of this from a 60 year old ....even though I now haven't a clue where all of my photographs have gone  or how to retrieve them. ha ha.

 ........ and finally, I must thank each and everyone of you for your lovely comments and birthday wishes......they made my birthday even more special so many, many thanks.

.....and, a very special thank-you to my Aussie mate Mill's of  The Laurel Hedge.

Millie wrote a special birthday post, just for me, which is going way above and beyond the duties of a blogger and is such a kind, and special thing to do so many, many thanks Mill's.

and also to the lovely Deej of Dustjacket Attic who did another very personalised and beautiful birthday post for my big 6-0. 

You're a couple of great Aussie girls to do that for me. I am very flattered.  

I am off to London tomorrow, for a couple of days, to celebrate some more of my birthday.....London Style.

I'll tell you what I got up to when I return .

OMG.....60 TODAY !!!!!

Well..... what can I say.....I have reached the ripe old age of 60 !!!! I actually don't believe it and must check my birth certificate.....perhaps my mum and dad got the date wrong 'cos, I'm sure, at the most, I'm only 30..... but then, that can't be right because I have children of that age !!!! Oh well......60 it is and I shall embrace it with as much alcohol as I can !!!! I have taken a quick photo this morning, as the one on my profile was taken at our son's wedding and that was a couple of years ago now. Can't be pulling the wool over your eyes now, can I ?  This one is nicely out of focus which, when you get to my age , is a neccessity !!!!

I was going to say 'here's to the next 60 years' but that's not possible so, here's to many, many more years of fun and laughter and good times, not just for me but for all of us.

CHEER'S !!!!!!