Birthday girl

I am having such a lovely birthday. Lots of cards and gorgeous pressies - in the photo I am wearing a lovely white cotton shirt from Joe Brown that my sister bought me, along with a caftan and some harem trousers - and at lunchtime I am going out for a special facial, a present from Daphne, my lovely massage therapist. God, do my aching shoulders need her magic fingers!

Dear Mr Grumpy got up at 5 am to bake me some birthday fairy cakes, which he iced, covered in little icing stars and put candles in two of them. The one with the green candle had a note with it to say it had been made by Flad and he had iced it with his tail! It's the first time ever that I've eaten cake for breakfast.

I was planning a party on Saturday but hardly anyone was free so instead, I am going on a writing workshop in Covent Garden on how to write good description, given by Siobhan Curran, author of the prizewinning Dear Dylan. In the evening, a couple of people are dropping in for drinks and on Monday I have treated myself to a special showing of The King's Speech, with a dinner thrown in. So I have lots to look forward to and feel very lucky indeed.

(PS: the box did contain more jewellery - a lovely set of silver pendant and earrings in a Celtic knot design. I shall have to have my right ear pierced again before I can wear them, though. It's healed up. The left one never does, just the right one. Strange, isn't it?)