It was my granddaughter Jessica’s eighth birthday yesterday. She and her sister Imogen and friends were taken out for a pizza and there were four extra little girls sleeping over at Haywood Road, Mapperly that night. Louisa posted some photographs on Facebook. Except that Jessica’s mother, Louisa, enjoyed a May birthday, and could have the parties in the garden in Newark by the time she was eight, this, for me, was reminiscent of my daughter’s own celebrations.
I was, of course, in attendance at Louisa’s events with the camera. I still haven’t found any of the negatives of these, so have resorted to scanning prints from her seventh birthday in May 1989. Here is a selection from a great deal more:
Our teenaged baby-sitter, Kate, was engaged to organise the games in this particular party, and a great job she made of it.
One particular activity involved each child in turn moving forward for a purpose which now escapes me. First Louisa, then Sam, are having a go. The others sat behind them and waited their turn.
For some reason Sam sported a T-shirt bearing a facsimile of my signature.
Some of these children, like Sarah-Jane Hyde have remained lifelong friends.
Matthew Colbourne was to provide the musical entertainment on the evening of Louisa’s wedding to Errol.
Others dropped out of the circle after a while. Louisa’s parties were to continue for another seventeen years, by which time the activities and the groupings had changed a bit.
Jessica provided a general oversight, but more importantly, plentiful party platters to be devoured at tables on the lawn.
Louisa was able to send her photographs around the world seconds after she had taken them. The process, for me, has taken rather longer. Such is the march of technology.
This evening’s platters for Jackie and me contained her smoked haddock and cauliflower cheese (recipe) meal that I call her symphony in white. Fried leeks were added today, and it was followed by sticky toffee pudding and custard. We both drank Cimarosa Zinfandel rose 2013.