Monday 14 May 2007

My brother's 30th birthday party!

I've been a bad blogger recently - too tired to want to write/turn on the PC/do anything much other than read and go to bed early. I promise I have been cooking, admittedly mostly speedy and unblogworthy pasta dishes that I have cooked so many times that they almost cook themselves, but I've also tried a few new home-made fast food recipes that have been pretty good. I just haven't managed to summon up enough energy to write about them. Anyway last week Simon and I made a cake for my brother's surprise 30th birthday party, organized fantastically by my sister-in-law, who has clearly spent weeks biting her tongue in order not to give the game away. Surprise parties are a bit of a gamble: some people would hate them (me included), others, like my gregarious brother, can be relied upon to relish them. My sister-in-law organized the local pub and invited lots of friends and family, all of whom managed, against the odds, not to blurt the secret out at an inopportune moment. We were staying there for the weekend and just keeping my mouth shut for 24 hours was ridiculously tricky, not to mention keeping Stu away from possible encounters with members of my family who had travelled over 200 miles to sing happy birthday to him when he walked into the local pub. He seemed to have a great time - it was a really fun night.

As I said earlier, Simon and I made the cake. Well, I made the cake, and Simon and I iced it. I had had grand plans for the cake but fatigue put paid to my more ambitious aims (probably for the best). Here is the birthday boy with his cake - guaranteed to annoy him when he reads this, if he reads this...

My sister-in-law deserves a medal for organizing the party without cracking up/giving the secret away/losing track of the increasingly convoluted arrangements. I had never realized how stressful organizing surprises can be. It was worth it, though.

On another topic, I was tagged by lovely Kelly-Jane to give 5 random facts about myself. I have done a variation on this before and am absolutely useless at thinking of any random facts - never mind ones that might interest anyone browsing. I'm giving it some thought!

8 comments:

Kelly-Jane said...

Hi Kathryn, Well done with the cake, and your brother looks very happy :)

My friend did a surprise party for her hubby a few years ago, and although he was pleased he was also shocked that she had done it and he had no idea whatsoever!

Good to see you blogging again and hope your fatigue gets a bit better soon.

KJxx

Lisa said...

Oh, what a great pic and it sounds like so much fun!
That cake looks wonderful!!
Happy Birthday, bro!

Shaun said...

Kathryn - How lovely of you and Simon to take on the scary job of making and presenting a cake to someone on a really big occasion. The two-tiered cake looks lovely. How grand of you! I am thinking of doing the same for a friend whose 30th it is at the end of next month...any hints?

Freya said...

Happy B'Day to your Brother! He looks happy with his cake (which looks great by the way)! My family totally do not do surprise parties, ergo, I have never had one myself!
I agree with KJ, hope you soon resume normal blogging services!

Anna's kitchen table said...

Lovely cake Kathryn! I've never tried making one with two tiers, but yours looks wonderful!

Hope you are keeping well, don't go doing too much.
xx

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi, My first time here. Great blog.
Sorry you're feeling fatigued. I read through a few of your posts, fish & chips at Tynemouth tugged at my heart. I was born & bred in the North East and have such happy memories of eating them out of newspaper, wrapped up all warm while the wind whipped around us. Thanks you. Amanda

Shaun said...

Kathryn - You've been very quiet on the kitchen front, lovie. Where are you??

Anonymous said...

The cake looks amazing, I've got to try and organize a suprise christmas birthday together with all of the Christmas meals, I don't know if I'm going to be able to pull it off. This time of year is crazy enough as it is.