paratti

Was spent with my godmother who took me for an pre-birthday lunch at a lovely hotel in Richmond overlooking the river. Gorgeous, gorgeous food from the comfit of duck through the skate wing to the melt in the mouth chocolate cake, homemade ice-cream and caramalised bananas, washed down with a very nice drop of Burgundy. Lots of theatre talk, reminiscences of a young Helen Mirren when she wanted to teach not act. A solitary magpie visiting the window - which meant ok, a chipped a tooth - but you can't have everything and it was a fabulous meal, I'm just fragile. The restaurant was lovely - in a converted big house with a view swept right across a water meadow across a bend in the river as four seasons in one day played out for the audience. But we were lucky in the weather and missed the rain as rainbows illuminated Richmond Park, and the most amount of deer I've ever seen in my life - there were hundreds of them, both Red and Fallow Deer - on the drive back to Barnes. Which perfect really as it bookended the most complete and stunning rainbow I ever saw in my life on my take my mind off my birthday trip to the Serengetti, as the end of one era now approaches rapidly - Meep.

My birthday's started wonderfully.

The incredibly talented and absolutely lovely ljs wrote me Anya the romance consultant to my darling Harry and Ruth, complete with some adorable Giles/Anya and the irrepressible Jools, all set in her wonderful Investigations and Acquisitions BTVS/Spooksverse. Absolutely what I wanted and put such a big smile on my face - much in the manner of Harry smiling at Ruth. ::goes all soft and wibbly with joy. Run, don't walk to partake of the glorious The Red Shoes

And the equally wonderful and lovely cindermon wrote me a lovely slice of post-NFA Spike/Illyria. I love those two together, especially post-NFA - they're just so honest - so Spike getting someone to say the words and knowing she means them meant I adored Cool Blue.

Thanks to for the lovely birthday greetings. It really means a lot.