Sunday 29 July 2012

Surprise!


Ah, joy, Blogger has changed again.  Let's see if I can make it work...

Saturday 14th July was Kim's 60th birthday.  He knew something was going to happen, but he didn't expect this!  I aged 30 years overnight, while Kate had a quick sex change (and possibly a political awakening).  Rosie was in the role of  recent bride, and I'm guessing Jann does not have a huge amount in common with Camilla.



Kim saw the face of royals, and the legs of loved ones.


Kiss me Kate.


Great pic.  I have to say the orange stockings don't look so bad in the photos.  In real life, they looked like a self tanning project gone wrong.  But they did match the scarf.  And I'll lay some of the blame on Kass!


Happy snap!


The lovely McBride ladies.


This is such a great photo.  For all the surprises Kim had that night, he was gracious, calm and composed.  And very happy to have his family with him.


I have to say, Di did a brilliant job of organising the surprise.  Well planned, plotted and executed.  But things did start to unravel towards the end.  Fearing a large party would mean Buddy (the labrador) may be hard to look after, she told Kim they would be going away for a night, hence Buddy would be looked after by her parents.  Kim was asked to pack an overnight bag for a surprise night away.  He obligingly complied.  But he thought it odd when he saw the bag that Di had packed for the occasion.  It didn't ring true.


Busted, Di.


It was an amazing celebration for Kim's 60th, to have Kate back from a year in Kenya, Matt and Rosie visiting from Seattle, and Jann joining in from London, with the Queen's 60th jubilee fresh in her mind.  Kim's speech (obviously unrehearsed) was a fitting tribute to those present and demonstrated his love and appreciation of family, friends, and loved ones.  And the night ended in a decent jam session.  Talented musicians all, and the mandolin was a hit.    Happy 60th Kim!

Saturday 21 July 2012

The Bay

The huge weekend in Adelaide was made all the more special by being able to stay at Kass and Konrad's unit at the Bay. Great unit, terrific location, and a personal welcome from Kass. For those of you not familiar with Adelaide, its history started here - Holdfast Bay, now known as Glenelg. A great palindrome it may be, but a pretty strange "bay", in that it seems to me a straight coastline.

The rotunda stands grand, amidst all the new unit development.




The jetty was all mine for the early morning walk. It was gorgeous, although I prefer Brighton jetty!



Here is the lovely Kass. Not only did we get to enjoy a lovely long chat on Friday night, but also the Central Markets on Saturday morning. Those familiar with Adelaide know all about them. Those that don't? Well, you wish you lived there. And the history is terrific. I've read the Wakefield Press book "the Market"!




Loved these preserved fruits, but I bought cheese instead. For Kim's 60th. But any excuse is good enough to shop here. Now it is a mix of veges, cheese, specialities. When I was a kid, I just loved the lolly stalls, and we used to buy spitballs.



Kass and I bought what we needed, had yum cha, loaded the goods into the trolley and caught the tram back to Glenelg. Perfect urban living, if you ask me. Perfect friend too :-)