Champagne, Strawberries & Chocolate Cake

Remember yesterday I said watch this space? I am pleased to at last be able to announce that Number 1 son has proposed to his girlfriend – I've known he was planning it for a couple of weeks to coincide with her 18th birthday (yes, I know soooo young but what can I say??). Poor boy was so damn nervous it wasn't true. But give D his credit, he went about it the right way and asked A's father for permission – poor boy's heart was pounding so hard in anticipation, but the reaction he got was almost stunned silence, he was so surprised. Anyway, no wedding just yet, A has to get through university first and they obviously need to save for a home etc.

The birthday cake was not a complete disaster – just partial! I decided to pour chocolate over the top but couldn't work out how to keep it there, so I created a collar out of tin foil, so far so good, except that it wasn't quite big enough so I added a piece on with Sellotape – it didn't hold! So, imagine this, there I am, bowl of hot melted chocolate in one hand and trying to hold the foil in place with the other. I thought it looked good – it appeared to have contained the chocolate within the foil – wrong. It had all seeped down the sides of the cake, got stuck in the foil and I couldn't get the foil off or take the cake off the plate which by this time was covered in chocolate. Never mind, we managed to eat some and I have to say it was quite delicious – eat your heart out Master Chef, presentation isn't everything!

A&D thought it would be a good idea to go to Felixstowe for ice creams – only a few miles away for those of you who don't know the area – by the sea. We went with A's mum & brother – amazingly her Dad had not told her Mum about D's visit so when we turned up at their house with A waving her ring around her poor Mum was completely gobsmacked - I must say she recovered very quickly! It was very windy and quite cold down by the beach, so we decided to head off to a local (ish) pub and sat outside with A having her first legal drink in a pub – a lovely way to end a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Well, all the events of today have left me feeling wiped out and I need to get myself psyched up to go back to work tomorrow – think I'll take myself upstairs with the Sunday paper and magazines, bliss!