Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty.

I guess time has stood still for a while for me then!!!! Ian likes to remind me ‘Age is just a number Babe’ – to which I can only reply ‘Rightly so but mine is unlisted’ 😉

It’s OK for him or most men in general – graying side-burns are seen as attractive, crows feet are charismatic and add character to a face. They don’t have to bother with anti-wrinkle creams or limiting the effects of passing time…..

OK time to stop the complaining and see the positive side of things!!!! As a runner there’s great potential. Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed…….when you’re not tripping over your own feet. Hey ho, Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest!!!

Honestly though I feel pretty good all things considered – just recovering takes longer – no more white nights, definitely more beauty sleep (although Ian has reassured me I don’t need much) and it’s just taken me a full week to recover from my birthday celebration hence the latish blog….

So how did it go you want to know? Certainly the best birthday I’ve ever had. A real roller-coaster ride of surprises…and all clandestinely organized by Mr Ian.

Chapter 1

Ian flew over to Paris (pretexted a photo shoot in Scotland) to pick up my 13-year old son Stan so he could share in the fun. Moral of the story: when a man says he’s somewhere on business, don’t always trust him blindly. When I got back from the hair-dressers on Friday 29 July to ‘take delivery’ of my birthday parcel Ian was waiting for me on the door-step with a massive red-ribboned box. First thought ‘this is the Cannondale Super Six I’ve been dreaming of’ and I as I pulled at the ribbons Ian smiled connivingly. Excited I ripped off the top and out popped…..Stanislas!!!

Chapter 2:

A ‘tête à tête’ romantic candle-lit dinner had been planned for Friday night in Liverpool. The plan was to drop Stan off in St Helen’s at Ian’s Mum’s so we could have a ‘quiet night’. Dressed up to the nine’s we get to St Helen’s. Ian reminded me to be quick in greeting his Mum as a table had been booked for 19.30. The house was shuttered up and looked deserted. Unsuspectingly I make my way to the living room with Ian and Stan in tow and when I opened the door………25 people were staring at me with raised champagne glasses. Really it’s not like in movies where the ‘birthday victim’ gets it straight away. It took me what seemed like an eternity to realize this was a ‘birthday surprise’. First thought ‘ What are all this lot going to do while I have a quiet dinner with Ian? And I can’t hang around because a table has been booked for 19.30!’ This had all been planned months prior – caterer contacted, guests invited…..I was so touched that Carol had gone to all this effort. There was even a specially-delivered birthday cake with an icing sugar runner inspired by a photo taken during the Boulogne Billancourt Half Marathon….

Santé!!!!

Chapter 3:

Saturday morning… July 30… D-1

Slight hangover this bright sunny morning! Nothing a birthday girl can’t cope with though.  Next surprise on the week-end Birthday Roller-Coaster Ride….. I was told to pack an over-night bag for 2 nights….destination unknown!!!! After having said our good-byes to Stan and Josh we got in the car and drove to……..the most beautiful part of England in my opinion…the Lake District. A cream-tea stop sitting outside a quaint tea-room in Bowness just above Lake Windermere before checking into the Langdale Estate Hotel – a lovely hotel situated near Ambleside and nestled in the timeless beauty of the Langdale Valley – a perfect retreat for the occasion. A luxury room next to river and the great hiking trails on our door-step. I didn’t know this but the Lake District 100-miler organized by a friend of ours coincided with my birthday weekend and mile 80 was within a stone’s throw! In fact Ian and I sat on our private balcony overlooking the river drinking sun-downers watching them run past. Late into the night and early hours of Sunday morning we could make out the head torches of the back of the packers in survival shuffle mode making their way through the foliage.

The rest of the weekend was spent being treated to Spa treatments – nails, facial and massage. We managed to fit in two superb trail runs in the nearby fells in our new Hoka Combos.

And the video Ian directed, starred in, filmed, edited……

Evenings were spent having dinner in Purdey’s restaurant on the Estate with some of the finest cuisine I have tasted in England. Awarded 2 AA Rosettes I definitely recommend this establishment and being a ‘fine gastronome’ and ‘gourmet’ by nature I can guarantee that it can compete with any upmarket French restaurant…..my palate won’t quickly forget the surprising and subtle mix of flavors and textures of the foie gras/chicken/parma-ham  starter, the Roast Lamb with squash and red pepper purée, Baby Spinach, Salted Hazelnuts and the Elderflower Ice-cream dessert. All accompanied by either a glass of champagne or a delicate New World Wine.

Well all good things come to and end and the weekend flew by……but I still have one more surprise to look forward to. The hot-air balloon flight scheduled for Monday morning  courtesy of Carol was cancelled due to bad weather and will be rescheduled for after my summer vacation….