Today dawned bright and sunny, a glorious day for Lee's 40th Birthday and the plot summer BBQ! I'd arranged with Pat and Colin for them to decorate the shed with some 40th birthday paraphenalia that one of our best friends had brought over for me (thankyou Mark and Craig, it was really appreciated), so I had to get Lee clear of the area until at least 12ish, which I did by dragging him round B&Q (for some wood to make a couple of birdhouses and a bat box from, which they didnt have in the correct sizes!) and Tescos (for some BBQ stuff). We decided to drop the BBQ stuff at the allotment before coming home to fetch the BBQ and a few othr bits n bobs (cutlery, condiments and booze - non alcoholic for me as I was driving)!
I'm sure Lee was half expecting something to be waiting for him, (as he got me with a decorated greenhuse on my 40th), but as we drove up to the plot (with several plotholders shouting happy birthday to him as we passed), I'm sure he wasnt prepared for the great work Pat and Colin had put in! (Many thanks you guys, a fab job!)
As you can see, he was very happy with the results, like me he doesnt think anyone is going to make a fuss, he doesnt like to be the center of attention, but he took it in his stride! We dropped off the stuff for the BBQ, then came home to fetch our BBQ and a few other bits, before returning to the plot for 2pmish!
By 3pm a few folks had arrived and the tables from the cabin had been bought out and the 2 BBQ's lit! 2 dear friends of ours, Yo and Bob (and their gorgeous 17 month old daughter, Esther) arrived shortly after, preceeded by 3 of my team from the branch I had just left, who brought a great prezzie, a keyring with an enamel bee and a watering can, guess the plot keys are going to look cool on it!! We met Yo and Bob through the GYO Magazine's online forum, the Grapevine, where after conversing in cyberspace we met up and became firm friends! Yo and Bob invited us to their fabulous wedding, held at Yo's folks farm in Todmorden, and their wedding prezzie was a days digging at their allotment in Huddersfield (which we organised with about 7 other folks from the Grapevine)
Esther was resplendant in her 'Queen Bee' outfit, (worn in honour of Lee being a beekeeper) and had driven here singing 'Old Lee Dobby had a farm, Ei, Ei, Oo!'
Esther took am instant liking to the Koppaberg cider, though thankfully it was one of the alcohol free versions that we were drinking! Lol!
In total there were about 23 of us there, plotholders, and their families and friends, enjoying the August sunshine, good food, good company and some gorgeous wines (Dave brought some fab Rhubarb wine homebrew, and Pat brought some of her Elderflower Champagne, both were very well received!)
The Birthday boy enjoyed himself immensely, until after we'd satiated appetites on jacket spuds, sweetcorn, greek salad, burgers, sausages, chicken, chinese ribs, crisps, scones and cream, Pat then pulled out the pieste da resistance, 3 cakes, a chocolate sponge, a vannila cream sponge and a strawberry gateaux!
'Ta Da!!' Compl;ete with 40th sign and candles - tho not 40, we wouldnt want to cause too much global warming with the number of candles used!
As you can see, 40th on the cakes!
Birthday Boy gets to blow them out, and make a speech! 'Erm, plot needs weeding...... anyone wanna give me a lift?'! Lol!
All in all a great day, Lee got some fab birthday gifts, a bottle of Jamesons, a pyrography kit (for making plant labels next year), socks, 2 belts, a very nice bottle of port, a fab extrabright led wind up torch, a fleece, a wall mounted thermometer and a large wall mounted clock (for the plot), a personalised pen, a tool box and the keyring with the enamel bee and watering can charms on it! I've also managed to bag him a load of homebrew gear off ebay, so we'll be picking that up on Wednesday, just in time to start some Elderberry wine off!
Hope you get the chance to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labours with fellow allotmenteers and friends on your plots, thanks for reading!
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