Hope, gratitude & happy birthday

Tonight we went to Bel and the Dragon for our annual Hope Dinner. It was combined with my birthday.

In the morning, Mirinda had guitar class while I waited in for a parcel that didn’t arrive. Once she’d returned home, I went into Farnham for essential supplies.

Barriers and lights have been erected throughout the park, in preparation for the annual bonfire and fireworks tonight. The weather was good and my fingers were crossed for the organisers and scores of small children who’d be scheduled to watch.

Just before we left for the restaurant, the rain pelted down. I’m sure a few hardy souls would have been drenched. As the fireworks started, we set off in Sidney. Neighbour Dave was standing at his front door, watching the bursts of colour erupting over the trees.

As we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by the owner who wished me many happy returns and directed us to the bar. I ordered a pint of beer from the new Frensham Brewery (always better on tap) while Mirinda enjoyed a strange concoction masquerading as a cocktail. It had a rosemary bush in it and was far too sweet for me…she said it was delicious.

Dinner was delicious (of course). I had scallops followed by duck and finished off with some extremely strong cheese that had been soaked in port.

It was very dark in the restaurant. The candle helped.

We ran through all the things we were grateful for (mainly the extension, which has changed our life), our hopes for the future (mainly that the steps would be finished) and toasted my birthday with liberal amounts of Sancere.

Then came the big surprise of the night. Our waitress suddenly put a big chopping board down on the table beside me. It had been dusted with confectioner’s sugar and had ‘Happy birthday’ written on it in caramel sauce (so much better than chocolate). It was a lovely touch. Cake would have been far too much

A chopping board cake

So, all round, we had a lovely night and returned, replete, ready to be attacked by the Manic Twins.