Birthday walk

Cubbington, Feb 2012

Lola II came to visit for her birthday, with Mr M. Lola II loves surprises, Mr M loves Lola II, so surprises are called for. Of course, I love Lola II as well, but I am too lazy/busy/preoccupied with my own troubles (delete as you think fit) to bother with surprises very much, in addition to the fact that I can't keep a secret to save my life, and Mr A isn't much better.

Surprises planned by Mr M:

• Getting Skype installed on a computer at mum and dad's house in advance so they could Skype Lola II on her birthday
• Creating masks with the face of Lola II for mum and dad to wear for the Skype call
• Producing more Lola II masks to be utilised at any appropriate time
• Arranging for our American/Israeli cousin to Skype Lola II
• Producing calorie-free green peas, which consisted of the letter P cut out of green cardboard
• Getting the music and playing the piano part of an Adele song so Lola II could sing along
• A tiny birthday cake
• About six or seven birthday presents.

Surprises planned by me:

• A walk in the countryside and a pub lunch with seven other people
• A packet of Durian crisps.

I think this indicates clearly the amount of effort each of us is prepared to put into the task of creating surprises for someone with a birthday. I did manage to assist with the green P's, scheduling the Skype call from our cousin, and practising the song.

Things started to fall apart when Mr M couldn't get Skype installed successfully for mum and dad, but sister D and family were going to be visiting on Sunday and might be able to complete the installation. Then the Skype call from our cousin didn't turn up on schedule at 6 p.m. our time, but my mobile rang at midnight (Lola II had sensibly turned hers off), waking me up enough to answer but not enough to hold any sort of meaningful conversation. Our cousin had thought we would be awake and celebrating - he obviously knows us less well than we thought. And as we drove off to the start of the walk, Mr A let the cat out of the bag by asking "Have your parents Skyped you yet?"

Millennium Way walk, Feb 2012

The walk and pub lunch were wonderful, the weather was perfect, and Landrover Man navigated with distinction. I learned a new Bee Fact: you can transport bees in their hives inside a car, but it's a good idea to wear protective gear while you're driving just in case they get out.