party

hi there

one of them rare, semi-proper family update things for those friends and family around the world. yeah, one that probably will not feature toothpaste or shampoo, at least not beyond this particular sentence.

for those readers more concerned with the more unusual and peculiar things i mention in passing, sorry, service to resume in the next post, no doubt!

last night we were fortunate and indeed honoured enough to be invited to a party celebrating Angela's recent birthday. yes, Angela of the sensational Harlo gang. what age birthday? well, in the grand scheme of things in relation to how we have chosen to measure and apply this non-scientific thing called "time", in relative terms as close to an 18th or 21st birthday as you like, really.

a big part of most parties - Harlo related ones in particular, as it happens - is of course cocktails. no, not the ones i mentioned that Colgate execs probably have as part of some sort of corporate controlled celebration, but proper, real people ones. here is young William having a go at one.

yes, quite a reaction that is, look you see. what cocktail, at his young age, was he hitting so hard with that kind of reaction, ask you? it was what one could call the ultimate trilogy, with each part being as strong as the one nearest to it - a rarity in films as much as it is in life. yes, it was a mix of coca-cola, umbrella and straw.

i like drinks with umbrellas in them. they add a touch of sophistication, class and elegance to practically any drink that the integrity of which would not be undermined by the presence of wood and paper combined to make an umbrella, which is every drink.

i seem to recall, through the haze of memories of sore heads and doing those "never again" pledges, that i have a bit of a track record in requesting, possibly demanding, drinks with umbrellas be brought to me for my pleasure in a somewhat vocal way in the past. others who have witnessed this and were of enough sober habits to recall may well wish to tell those tales, though.

onwards, then, and something of a constant for us with respect to life in 2014 is them board things with people's bodies painted on them; them ones with the hole that you stick your head through for class photography opportunities. opportunities not really related to the Pet Shop Boys song of that name, but you never know, maybe.

here would be James, along with the one they call Christopher, doing the thing that the board says that you should do.

there are many pictures in circulation presently, i would imagine, of a similar nature to the above. Uncle Trevor may well be circulating them at some stage, at least, so they are not in circulation now that i think on. Uncle Colin also will have several, but so far as i know there has been no reason for him to have ceased being at the party. it was still rocking, indeed kickin' it live, as well left rather late last night, could well be going on now still. hope so, it was great.

it was, as ever, wonderful to see Christopher, complete as his look was with his Jedward haircut, one that of course the above image fails to show off.

i have, alas, no pictures of Andrew. he was there, for sure and in keeping with the language that the kids speak, "for real, aye", but for the most part simply wished to speak in praising terms of his mate Sam, who was very much there. Sam had constructed a most remarkable cocktail, you see, and Andrew was rather enthusiastic of everyone having a go at trying it. i did not, but my (considerably) better half did, and her life seems somewhat altered by it being now an integral part of her biology.

James did not try it either, being some decade or so behind the legal age where one could try one of them cocktail things that Andrew and very clearly his mate Sam had been rather enthusiastic in their samples of, but he did rather like his "Tango surprise" one.

making a "Tango surprise" drink is quite tricky, but not impossible. one has to put aspects of a can of Tango into a suitable cocktail glass, but resist the urge to put an umbrella or straw in it. that is the surprise element, that last bit is.

the boys, as i think these images more or less make clear anyway, had a most splendid and excellent time, as everyone did. not everyone, of course, felt the need to integrate themselves quite into the festivities and formalities of the event as the boys did. here they are "helping" Angela blowing out the candles on her very splendid, exceptionally tasty, cake.

yeah, that is a poor quality picture. sorry, went for that "zoom" business with my blueberry phone camera nonsense and frankly hoped for the best. that is as good as it gets, really.

very good of the boys to step in and help. to an extent with the cake more than merely assisting in ensuring the successful, requisite matter of ensuring candle extinguishing took place in respect of compliance with all matters birthday related, but more of that later.

speaking of which, just now shall be a picture that probably should have come before the one above, but i have no interest this Sunday morning in editing how blogger feels pictures should appear. it is just a good deal easier to put a picture of Newcastle fans, unusually and entirely out of character, getting all uppity and lippy about those in charge of their club.

strange, this. usually Newcastle fans are unassuming and easy going, with no real sense of entitlement or wild expectation. as the people on the rather artistically impressive banner they have created seem to have delivered a top ten league finish, i am not sure what it is that they said they would do instead and have thus been called liars about. maybe they promised the fans one of them class relegation battles?

anyway, the cake, with the candles on the go. candles lit by me, no less, for i was the only one present with a device that could light them. a phew, then, that my efforts to quit / cut down considerably on that smoking business seem to have hit something of a pause, for in those efforts had reached optimum success i would not have had a lighter on me.

see, us smoking types are not always all that bad, we have a use and purpose from time to time that all can appreciate.

indeed yes in the background you can see a lady that was in charge of the vibes, one of 50% of the team enlisted to provide suitable birthday tunes and associated music that inspires one to dance. if i recall right, this lady also benefitted from a presentation by Andrew of how class his mate Sam was, and indeed how even more class the drink that Sam had constructed from several blended streams of drink was. that the music played with a fluent, coherent and pleasant level all suggests that she did not in fact try it herself.

to go back to the world of linear time related images, here we go with that important thing that happens after the candles have ceased to be in flame, as it were - the cutting of the cake in order for all to eat some of it.

now then, a rare treat for you all. usually Trevor and Colin avoid having pictures taken, but i sneaked one for you. sneaked as in, of course, they had no idea i was taking it. i believe this was all just after some enthusiastic raving to a few of the vibes that the kids are totally down on at the moment.

sleep, eat, rave, repeat indeed. and a very nice one indeed of Trevor to nip and get the candles for the cake, a small matter that was overlooked. and a big very nice one indeed to Colin, of course, for the magnificent food on offer, as well as the party as a whole, holistic event.

anyway, cake. although i seem to have just been involved in an argument about the low standing of the Brolin family in acting terms as a consequence of a quote off of The Empire Strikes Back. as happens more than you might have thought.

James and William were rather keen on helping hand out the cake. not, as you may have assumed, to ensure that they got a substantial amount of cake to enjoy on their own, but because they loved being able to walk around and hand out slices to all there. as you can see!

indeed, by this time of the party William, and James, were all rather exhausted and tired out from running about and having fun. it was not long after the celebration of cake, which also involved handing out a lot of napkins, that it was time to leave the party in full swing.

many thanks indeed to the whole of the Harlo gang for having us at their most magnificent event. we look forward to the next one!

oh, go on then, me. those of you who are enthusiastic about that whole facebook thing will have seen this picture, but for those of you who are not, here i am.

remember, indeed, me the this way. that is a class look, i think i shall try to look like this all the time from now on. pretty smart, that look, and will no doubt impress my contemporaries on the bus on a morning, indeed on the afternoon trip too.

right, off to do things. what things? just things.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!