PA'S BIRTHDAY DINNER

The day began with coffee all round and a grand present opening ceremony which took place in my room with Pa sitting I a big comfy chair to receive his gifts. From our son he received a twelve months subscription to his favourite Railway Magazine on especially for modellers in N Gauge. From me a watch and a bottle of his favourite port and from both of us a fine portrait of Twiggy looking very imperious indeed.

There followed a birthday breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches, a delicacy much favoured by Pa, with orange juice and lots of cups of tea in which we gave the birthday toast.
With breakfast over my son got ready for his Saturday game I set about preparing the feast. The meal was to consist of a fore rib roast of beef with my special roast Yorkshire puddings mushy peas and gravy,this is the way Pa likes it as indeed do we all.

For afters a made a large Pavlova, another of Pas favourites, this was decorated with blueberries, wine berries. Raspberries, white chocolate drops, milk chocolate drops and dark chocolate shavings. It looked gorgeous and I must say it tasted good too. The beef took a little longer to cook than I had planned but this caused no problems and soon we were all tucking in to one of the great meals of our year.

Until recently we always had a large steak each on Pas birthday but we began to feel that these days the steaks were not as tender as those we ate in our youth. I think pit much more likely that Pa and I are getting a little too long on the tooth, quite literally to be chomping our way through massive lumps of steak and as I was not able to obtain a piece of brisket with the bone left in Fore rib roast had to do!

Pa had been given some Stilton earlier in the day and this went down well with a glass of port ,all in all it was a lovely meal for a lovely man.

My battle s with the estate are still raging , today another tenant and a friend of ours told me that the estate manager planned to remove all the ivy from her house and cut down some rather lovely trees in her garden. The newly formed ISCAG swung in to action and before dinner the letters were written and the protest registered. I am glad that others have joined us in0ur fight, on the past there has been altogether too much forelock pulling around here and Duke of no the law is the law.

Now that the busy part of the day is over we have all settled down to relax in our different ways. Pa with his model railway magazines my son with his computer and as for me, as soon as I have posted this blog I shall take a bath, choose a film to watch and I hope fall asleep as soon as Pa is safe in bed. So for now it's goodnight from me, and it;s goodnight from Twiggy.