Yesterday I celebrated another year around the sun. This was not a milestone birthday, rather a very welcome break to unwind and spend some quality time together.

We had a very leisurely morning with a decent lie-in, opened my presents and then enjoyed a hearty breakfast of smoked salmon and poached egg on crumpets downed with some very tasty Prosecco. The cats enjoyed their treats too. The presents were, as always, interesting and unknowingly just what I needed. Money from my parents so I can buy some new walking boots (my own literally just given up on me), some very natty socks (who doesn’t need new socks!), Matt Curtis’ new book, and from the cats – a tote bag with design from our beer label designer, Matt Willis. Ruth gifted me a build your own retro games advent calendar (I’m looking forward to doing this one!), Joy Division Unknown Pleasures t-shirt (I used to have one in my 20’s and super happy to have again!), the Loki knife (a superb kitchen must have), and a very fetching bracelet which features a morse code message.

I’m often reminded of the Sheldon scene from ‘The Big Bang Theory’ where he describes the present senario of ‘besting’ based on what someone has given you and how you now have to match or give bigger/better. Now, I’m not saying Ruth does this, far from it, she is completely oblivious to how generous she is in her gifting, or indeed the scene mentioned above, I just don’t know how she manages to find new and different things – it’s her superpower!

The presents were all surprises, bar one… Matt Curtis’ book ‘Manchester’s Best Beer Pubs and Bars’ which I had specifically asked for. I’m looking forward to going through the pages and ticking off some old haunts and new favourites which are now on my doorstep. I’ll be writing more about this in a future blog.

Our usual birthday celebrations have been somewhat action packed – axe and knife throwing, crossbows, pistol shooting etc., but this time we opted for a change of pace and spent the day birding at Burton Mere Reserve near Chester. It was a perfect opportunity for me to use the monocular Ruth gifted me for Christmas last year. The sun was shining all afternoon and the wind had died down enough for us to enjoy the walk around the Mere. When we landed back home we enjoyed a delicious steak with caramelised red onion, stilton sauce and some garlic potatoes. Rounding off the day with red wine by the open fire and finishing with a long contented sigh.