Eddie's 80th Birthday Celebration

Photos

I came back from Devon on the Tuesday because we had been invited to Eddie's 80th birthday celebration in the evening.  I got back at lunchtime and we ate the pasties and then I took Suki out for a walk before having a short nap in the hope that I could keep going later in the evening.  Mike had found out that morning that Eddie wanted us to ring handbells - but ours were still on Intrepid, and the Barnes bells were being used by their ringing group, so in the end Sue Reed brought along the Fulham bells.

Monica came down to the house just after 6 to share the taxi we had booked for 6.30 pm.  It was about 10 minutes late, but we still had time for a glass of champagne (or two) before being called through to dinner.  The event was held at the London Rowing Club near Putney Bridge, and there was quite a bit of rowing activity going on.  We were shown to the disabled lift by a strapping great chap in shorts looking annoyingly healthy!

The dinner was excellent - and Eddie's daughters were excellent hostesses making sure things ran smoothly.  There was a never-ending supply of wine and the food was delicious - smoked trout mousse, pulled lamb and Eton mess (although only a hint of meringue could be detected).  Between the starter and the main course Elaine sang a couple of numbers which was warmly appreciated by everyone.  We were on with the handbells between the main course and dessert.  Jeremy and Sheila had not rung handbells for over a year, so we had a few rounds to settle down before ringing a respectable course of Plain Bob Major.

Helen Udal had made a cake, decorated to be the BBC globe, and after cutting the cake Eddie gave a speech with an interesting résumé of his life.

The only downside was the extremely loud music which started after the speeches. I scuttled out into the reception area to try and get away from it, but unfortunately there were several speakers in that room too and it was still very loud although not quite as bad as in the dining room. Mike joined me and we spent a happy half hour trying to chat through it!  The taxi picked us up promptly at 11 am and we were home before midnight.


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