Birthday boy and lovely girl

You must excuse me if I start snoring but we have had a very hectic few days. As you will see from the photo below DH was well into the party spirit on Saturday! This photo was taken at the start of the evening before our guests arrived. The pint was replaced by a few more throughout the evening!

We had a lovely evening on Friday and several friends travelled to be there. My mum was busy with her camera so I have her to thank for the photo of my DH above and the pic of me below, which I actually don't object to - she's managed to catch me not looking 90!

After going to a friend's wedding on Saturday afternoon (and making an early exit as we were fading fast) we geared ourselves up for a special event on Sunday evening. It involved making a picnic, queueing in a field where we were entertained by some lovely friends,

~

(These sweet calves were very interested in our car and for some reason decided it was a good idea to lick it!)

~

a walk across a ploughed field carrying chairs and dragging the new trolley, and another pint of beer! (Oh! And another comical hat!)

You may be able to spot the same hat in the background of this crowd scene. It was a very windy evening and we were glad of all the coats, hats and rugs we had taken. Why were we sitting in the middle of a field in the shade of Belvoir Castle in a (virtually) howling gale? It had something to do with this lady

and these gorgeous gentlemen!

I'm sure you can recognise Katherine Jenkins and the lovely guys are Blake! I booked the concert for my Mum as it's her birthday next weekend. We kept it a surprise till the last minute and Mum was delighted.

Because we went early we were able to get a good spot in front of the stage.

Katherine had 4 changes of costume and if she didn't have some thermals on she should have as it was decidedly chilly!

The triangular fabrics at the back of the stage were a constantly changing lightshow and very effective.

You can see how the wind was blowing the feathers of this fabulous gown.

~

The concert was superb and even my DH enjoyed the music (he hadn't been sure he would before we went). After the main part of the concert we were treated to a quick burst of the Last Night of the Proms lead by Katherine. She was just as you see her on the telly, wonderfully natural and very friendly, waving to people in the crowd. Her giggle was much in evidence and she enjoyed telling a few little jokes, especially about English/Welsh rugby rivalry! lol

~

The whole evening was rounded off with the inevitable firework display.

Regrettably the wind blew the fireworks away quickly but they were still impressive. We finally wended our way home on a total high after a fantastic evening. My Mum said she would be reliving the evening for a long time to come. She'll certainly be telling her friends all about it!

PS Thanks to my DH for the photos of the concert itself.