It's my party ( I'll cry if I want to)

Listening to the news, it's clear that some pretty shitty things happened in the UK on both my 40th and 50th birthdays. A year ago today, the Somerset village of Morelands had to be evacuated, with people being airlifted out. Some people still aren't back in their houses yet. Eleven years ago, the Morecambe Bay cockle picking disaster unfolded, when several cockle pickers, who worked for low wages under the control of Chinese gangmasters, were stranded by the incoming tide, and drowned on Morecambe sands.

Fortunately, today wasn't a milestone birthday, so the only truly awful thing that happened was that a propellor factory in Gloucestershire (Dowty) burned to the ground. No one was killed, and no one yet knows how it started.

I had a good day, though: little party at nursery/work; I was able to aid some pretty decopatch/decoupage activities with a youngster, and now we're going out for supper! Gluten-free fish and chips, I hope. More about that anon.

It is also the fiftieth anniversary of Jackanory: one of my favourite childhood TV programmes. I wasn't a great one for watching TV in my pre-teen years, but for Jackanory I would always make the exception. In this programme, an actor would read a story out loud to children for fifteen minutes, five days per week. How dull does that sound? http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/4c6280e2-7c60-4181-8fab-ba4ced987eb4 Check out these clips if you think it's not for you, or your children.

So here is a quick blip of flowers and amazing cake from the Lavender House bakery in Chalford. CleanSteve thinks our kitchen pipework is too scabby for a blip, but I say, Show it like it is!