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Published: March 18th 2008
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16th March 2008
Woke up on a very special day. Bob is 65 and the British government are going to pay him money to stay at home and plan his next trip!!!! I don't think Bob can really believe he doesn't have to go back to work when we get home and sitting on the veranda having breakfast while Sandra and John started preparing crayfish and prawns and all kinds of food for the lunch party we felt like royalty!
Judith and Alan arrived first, from Moora about 2 hours north of Sandra and John's place. Bob hadn't seen Judith since she was about 8 years old so they had a bit of catching up to do!!
Next to arrive were Paul (Sandra's eldest son) and his family. Then Aunty Kath and Uncle Bill drove up closely followed by Jenny and Kate (Judith's daughters) and their partners in their amazing Utes. They are Ute fanatics and have very impressive vehicles!! It was lovely to meet them all and Bob started to update the family tree on the Jillard side. Next to arrive were Bill and Ronda soon to be Kit's in laws when he marries Pam. Kit, Pam and the boys
were on the road but had not yet arrived. Bob and I were starting to get the hang of everyone's name and to hear about all their lives and plans for the future.
As soon as Kit (Sandra's younger son) and Pam and the boys arrived we started on the food which was a splendid spread. The crayfish and prawns tasted wonderful and were ginormous.
We showed Uncle Bill and Aunt Kath the video that Helen and Ron had made of Bill's old haunts around Handsworth, the Cape, Devonshire Street and their old house in Halesowen, near ours. They were very pleased to see it and the messages from Lucy and Jo. John has copied the videos for them to see again when it is a bit quieter!
Then Sandra brought out Bob's birthday cake and reduced him to tears as we sang Happy Birthday, so he couldn't finish his speech of thanks. I think all us oldies were a bit emotional as we really felt we had joined a new family clan and Bob had caught up with his cousins again after 35 years. As Sandra said “If you'd said to me when I was ten as we played
in the garden, that Bobbie and I would meet up for his 65th birthday in Australia I would have said you were quite mad, but we have!!!!!!!!!!”
The birthday cake was a work of art and tasted just as good, really melted in the mouth. It was made by a Chinese lady who lives at Two Rocks.
Next on the agenda was a cricket match in the paddock which went very well until Paul and his family had to go. They left Jake behind to play with his cousins and go home with Kit and Pam for a while.
John managed to cat a bobtailed blue tongued lizard who was strolling across the drive and brought him round for me to photograph, which I did from every angle as he planned his escape back to the bush. Then I discovered the card was in the computer not the camera!!!!! Ah well, that was the one that got away. He was enormous believe me!
Gradually everyone got going although there was a slight hiccup when one of Pam's boys got left behind in the confusion. But Gran and Grandad soon returned to pick him up. It was very quiet when they
had all gone and we chilled out with beers, the view and the birds and wished we hadn't got to go home in the morning.
But all good things come to an end and we have had such a marvelous time we mustn't be greedy. Time to pack up the cases and all our wonderful memories of a truly magical holiday or has it become our new way of life!!!!!!. Watch this space.
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Lucy
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Wow What a party!
Well that will be a birthday to remember Dad, what a fantastic crowd, maybe you could invite them all to England for your 70th! Looks like a great way to round up your trip, can't wait to catch up with you both later this week, the blogs been great but it'll be even better to see you both for real!