My big 5-0!

Last week I had my 50h birthday, dear friends! And, since on both my 30^th and my 40^th birthday I had been in a personal and interpersonal mess before I met my dearest darling husband, I was REALLY going to celebrate this one. And I certainly did!

My Mum came over from Greece for the occasion, and we’d already booked a table in a trendy seafood restaurant near Rhosneigr on Anglesey; we’d prepared our glad rags and were all set for the big day. First thing, though, I got a lot of fabulous presents from my darling Ian and my dear Mum – CDs, DVDs, a book, a bottle of gin, and… a brand-new keyboard! (I haven’t played in years, so I’ll be doing a lot of practising soon…)

We listened to the Fats Waller CDs all afternoon – I just LOVE good old-fashioned jazz – and then we dressed up and set out for the restaurant; in a taxi, not on the train, this was going to be a day of pure luxury… We had glorious sunshine, too, and the view from the big windows in the Oystercatcher was absolutely stunning.

First thing there, we ordered – a bottle of champagne, of course!

Then, we looked at the food menu – what a great choice of fish and seafood! I had one of my all-time favourites, seafood tagliatelle; the perfect birthday dinner.

We completed our meal with an ice cream, and then the taxi took us back through the romantically dark country roads. And back home, of course, we started finishing off the bottle of gin! When I fell into bed after midnight, I could safely say that this had been my best birthday EVER…

So, how do I feel now as a quinquagenarian? Well, absolutely fine, dear friends! 50 is a wonderful age – chances are you’ve got someone you love and a nice job you like, you haven’t got any big money worries, the kids are already grown up, so you can just plain enjoy yourself like never before. You can travel, go to the pub, pursue your hobbies, even try out new things (like me with my Welsh class); so, if you’re my age and maybe think you’re getting old or something – forget about the thought, life’s only really just beginning!