Happy 50th Birthday Mark!!

This one was special in two ways, Mark is 50 this year, and this time last year, we were on on opposite sides of the planet for his Birthday, as I was here in New Zealand while Mark was still in England, due to the house sale fiasco!

We planned a party for his birthday, which took place on Friday 2 May. He wanted a party, but was initially unsure of whether we knew enough people to warrant a party! After a quick tot up, it was obvious that we definitely knew enough people, so full steam ahead.

The party took place at a popular local venue, the Kelvin Hotel’s function room. We were guided by them in the choice of Band and chose some finger food for the buffet too.

The cake drama

Then I got sick. Real sick. So that made my surprise plans really rather more tricky. I had found a local woman who would make novelty cakes and had planned for her to deliver the cake to me during the week of the party. But I was too ill. I couldn’t pay her because we share a bank account and he would see the transation, so it needed to be cash. i was too sick to drive, to go to a cash point also. Cue trusty mate Amy. She was put on standby to be my cashpoint girl and cake delivery girl! The cake was due to be delivered on Wednesday, the third arrangement for delivery. Nope.

CANCEL CANCEL!! Mark took the day off to look after me because I was too ill.

Thursday was the only day left, because he was not working on Friday. ACK! This was proving difficult! The lady from The Cheeky Cake Company was brilliant and kept adapting to the problem. Eventually the cake made it to my doorstep at lunchtime on Thursday, I handed her the cash (which I had secretly extracted while Mark was driving me around to get me out, the previous day). I drove straight round to the hotel with it for them to hide it in their chiller before he got home.

Surprise number two was a negotiated and planned call from his parents, who live in France. Crack of dawn phone calls (because of the time difference, and its the only time I am in and Mark is not!) and negotiation with the hotel and they arranged to call at 10pm: just before the food, and just after the band stopped playing. The staff were to answer the call, get the mic and announce ‘Mark, your mother is on the phone’.

This all went to plan (thank goodness!) and he was totally surprised and shocked to have a call from them. The cake was a huge hit, not only for its sculpturing but it also tasted divine!

All in all, great evening, great turnout of people, and everyone had great fun.

We even went to THE local nightclub Barluca, afterwards, where Mark laughed at the fact that the two friends we took with us were both asked for ID (on his 50th!)

Huge thanks to everyone for making his party a great success, and an enjoyable evening.