birthday celebrations!

My father really is remarkable when it comes to party-animal staying power - for any age; let alone for 99 ... I threw a party for him and about 36 neighbors, friends and relatives - and although the guests drifted away with nightfall, he's only just gone to bed, at 10.50 p.m. ... I believe a good time was had by all!  Here he is being toasted;

cutting a rather fine cake (courtesy of Paul's);

giving a speech, with Julia Hardy by his side here - I first knew Julia when I was about 10, and we both rode at the stables at the top of the road, which she later ran -

here's Ray sitting in the living room - visible through the kitchen hatch - while I get ready all kinds of calorific lunch thingies from Marks and Spencers to put in the oven;

and here, for those of you who haven't seen it already, is my favorite pic of all - Ray with his balloons (you know - the kind that when you get them out of the packet and read the instructions, say "attach the helium pump to ...".  I had to improvise with blowing through a straw and sticking a blister sticking plaster over the valve ... [and no, these will not, of course, be allowed to escape in any outdoor wildlife-damaging future].  It was an excellent party!