The Birthday Boy!

Had a lovely day today to celebrate Mr HCB's birthday - won't tell you how old he is, except to say that he is one year older than Psalm 90 v 10!! No chance to keep it a secret though, as Son Number 2, who lives in Vietnam, plastered all over the envelope that contained Dad's birthday card "To my ?? year old Dad". I'm sure you can work it out!

I noticed that we had a missed call from SN2 but then realised that my phone was on Do Not Disturb between midnight and 8 a.m. and he had rung just before 8 as it would be 2 p.m. in Vietnam. I rang him back and handed the phone to Dad - having first put it on speaker. Mr HCB said how much he liked the card, which was handmade and was the silhouette of a Vietnamese girl; SN2 made us laugh when he said that he got his cards from a bookshop nearby and when he went in there a couple of weeks ago, they had a card for every relative under the sun, including to a Second Cousin once removed etc etc but nothing for Dad, so he did apologise for that. However, it was better than last year, when there was no card or present, and neither has arrived to this day!

Mr HCB spent sometime opening cards and presents, and then suggested we go out for a coffee. I asked if he would mind being my blip today (I think he was secretly pleased I had asked) and he said he would be delighted - at least I think that's what the mumbling meant! So here is Mr HCB smiling and looking 'blipping fantastic" for his age!

We then made a visit to Son Number 1 and had a pleasant hour with him and his wife - so more cards and presents from them and the grandchildren, who were unfortunately at school, then after a wander round the shops, we went to a local carvery for a meal - well it saves me cooking and very tasty it was too.

So now we are back home and will spend an enjoyable evening together - with me on my laptop and Mr HCB listening to some of his favourite songs from yesteryear, sung by Flanders and Swann, and this is his particular favourite - A Transport of Delight Enjoy!

For those who listen and are rather puzzled, you might be interested in the following explanation :

The London Bus is one of London's principal icons, the archetypal red rear-entrance 'Routemaster' being recognised worldwide. Although the 'Routemaster' has now been largely phased out of service, with only two heritage routes still using the vehicles, the majority of buses in London are still red and therefore the red double-decker bus remains a widely recognised symbol of the city.