A very nice 70th birthday party.

We took Totty out for a walk to Rotary Park and it was very calm and mild down there after the awful wind last night.

We got ready to go out to Mark's house stopping at the garden centre for a coffee and muffin on the way. While we were having coffee it poured with rain.

We thought we would reach Mark's house too early, the Kiwis don't do early, so drove off the road and sat for a little while enjoying the view. Mark lives up on top of a hill and we were not sure if we would be able to park at the top but we managed to get a spot.

As the weather was forecast to rain they had set up in the garage and had a whole lamb roasting on a spit and a bbq at the side with loads of sausages cooking. They have lovely views across the bay at the front of their house but it was so windy we couldn't get out and so had to stay in the house or garage. There were lots of people there, mainly old friends and family. I chatted to a group of ladies and the conversations were so different to UK party talk. One lady is a white bait enthusiast and goes out catching it three or four nights a week during the white bait season. Another lady had been a teacher in Te Puke before retiring to Ohope and started an oyster farm and a fish and chip shop. Another lady, after bringing up her children, left NZ with her husband and sailed around the world for seven years. They have now settled near Mark's property and have a small holding she told some very funny stories about trying to get a ram to cover her ewes!!! She only has two ewes and one had three babies this week, sadly one drowned in the water trough, and the other one also had twins. She now has to be careful as there are lots of hawks around and they will take the baby lambs.

All in all it was a very nice party. The food was very good and LOTS of it. I had a couple of glasses of wine and Jon had one beer as he was driving. We were the only people, apart from the yard man who was doing the cooking, from Genera and Mark was very proud going round introducing Jon as the English General Manager of Genera and telling people how well he is doing, a bit embarrassing really but nice to know.

We had birthday cake and candles and chatted some more before going home at about 4.00.

After all that talking, and wine, I was more than ready for a cuppa. Unfortunately, the rain had set in and it was too wet for walk.

I cooked some stir fry vegetables and rice to have with the left over chicken for dinner and it was very tasty.

We watched TV and I logged on to the computer to find a message from Jane telling me my friend's daughter had been taken into hospital as her waters had broken, she still has six weeks to go. I gather she must have been in Newmarket visiting as she was taken into Addenbrookes and she lives in Hemel Hempstead. I hope all will be OK for her.



WEATHER
Showers and sunshine all day then rain at night. 17 degrees