40 - Part 2

I can't sleep, so might as well continue...

A friend's girlfriend is a caterer and they have a 12-seater dining table, and they offered to host a dinner party for my birthday. It was interesting to have to narrow my friends down to 8 invitees (excluding ourselves and the hosts)! Apart from the guest list I had no input into the planning so there was an element of surprise.

I managed to squeeze into a glamorous gown, and had a fabulous evening.

Milord hired a waiter for the night, and we arrived to mingle with canapes and champagne. The starter was a Stilton souffle with fig salad, and then Milord played a PowerPoint presentation he'd put together from photos of me that he'd got from my parents and my old photo albums. My parents (and my aunties and uncle - hi!) sent through video greetings, and it was very funny and touching.



The main was a divine duck confit, and the dessert was an espresso creme brulee that people are still talking about! Our friend also made chocolate truffles to go with coffee but I was too full to do them justice.




What a great evening. I managed to talk to everyone, the food and wine were amazing, the service was super, and I think everyone had a good time. We were home by midnight to relieve the babysitter which is very civilised!



A wonderful start to my 5th decade!

Ok, 3am, I'll try to go back to bed. Next post - King's Christening on the day after my birthday.