It is no secret that I will shortly be celebrating a significant birthday (one with a zero at the end of it). In fact Catering is completely fed up with me announcing “I am 60 this year” to anyone willing to listen, partly because everyone assumes, wrongly, he is the same age or older than I am, and he has no particular fascination with 60.
It has however been a cause of much thought on my part, just by staying alive for 60 years I have witnessed a lot of life, a lot of history and done so many things. Born in 1963, the year of John F Kennedy’s assassination, I have lived through some extraordinary times, both good and bad. As a student I remember protesting against Apartheid and the Miners’ Strike and supporting the CND movement, yet now Nelson Mandela’s release and the closure of the pits in the villages near where I was born, seem a lifetime ago. Four years ago we visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and with Oppenheimer currently showing in cinemas across the country, I still maintain nuclear disarmament is the best way forward.
Lest we forget
I lived in a world before the internet, mobile phones and WiFi. A time when you go could out, behave appallingly and, having dealt with the initial shame, have no more than the gentle reminder from old friends saying “Do you remember that time when you…” No photographic evidence, no constant reminder of the daft things you did while growing up (or growing old some might say).
But old I am, there’s no denying it. I am officially old, it may be the young part of old, but it is definitely old. I am however trying to be the best version of myself I can be (without resorting to surgery or tweakments – though that may come later), so despite the complaining joints I have upped the exercise I do and reduced the amount of food I eat in an attempt to maintain good health. I can’t seem to wean myself of the increasing amounts of peroxide required to support my claim to be a natural blonde (I am clearly just living in the wrong country/climate – in Australia I’d be blonde) and I still drink above what the Government regards as a safe level, but I am not claiming to be perfect, I am just trying.
As I approach 60 (5th September in case you’re interested) people have been asking what I would like for my birthday and this has caused me some consternation. The best I can do so far is “Nothing I will have to dust”, so I only have myself to blame when Catering said he had a surprise for me. Anyone who knows me well will know I hate surprises (I think they are greatly overrated) so I was put out, to say the least, when told to ready myself for a trip out on Saturday to secure my 60th birthday present.
It started on the M40
Moved swiftly on to the M25 (lots of it) until we arrived 2 & a half hours later in deepest darkest Essex, Clacton-on-Sea to be exact. Where I spent a very happy hour trying on baths for size.
And the winner is…
Even I have to admit this was an excellent surprise and so I am getting a new bath for my 60th birthday, to replace the outrageously uncomfortable one we’ve had since we overhauled our en-suite bathroom, which I’ve been in no more than half a dozen times in the same number of years. The moral of this story is never buy a bath without trying it on first.
The rest of the day was spent happily playing by the seaside. Frinton-on-Sea we love you.
Fish & chips and a glass of cold white wine for lunch. Followed by a wander round the shops and along the sea front in the sunshine. We finished off with an ice cream and then headed home. All in all a very satisfying road trip.
Inflatable anyone?
A grand day out, even for a surprise.
