Tuesday 18 June 2013

Happy Birthday Uncle Stan

Picture a sunny Sunday afternoon in a typical English country garden. Friends and family sit around chatting over a glass of wine or a cup of tea. A three piece band entertains in the background. The garden looks pretty with lots of colour and fine greenery. Young and old alike, family, friends, and neighbours have come together to celebrate Stan's 90th birthday. We were lucky, the weather was just perfect.

Stan was in his element, this is the Stan we know, surrounded by some of his many friends. He loves entertaining with his cheeky sense of humour, I can see where I get it from, there's many a time we have a giggle together.





Right Stan, are you ready to cut the cake.
Everyone joins in the Happy Birthday song.
Stan goes back to entertaining his friends.
While the ladies finish cutting the cake and handing out the plates.
Where's my cake.

Here is a little video I made, it's just over five minutes long. Please excuse the background noise, the house is close to a busy dual carriageway.

It was a smashing party, the weather was perfect, the food was great, organised by Pat. She also put in extra effort to get the garden looking nice in the weeks before. Family came from London for the celebrations.  And most importantly Stan had a brilliant 90th party. 
And me? I loved it, and was glad to be a part of it. But what's all this then, an RAC truck with my car on the back of it. I set off at 6.30pm to come home, but very quickly realised that something was wrong with the car, so I returned to the house. An RAC man was on the scene within an hour and diagnosed a broken front road spring, the car could not be driven. Apparently sometime during the day while the car was sat on the drive, there was a massive bang, and someone said they saw my car shake. I couldn't see anything wrong so wondered if something had happened on the nearby dual carriageway which was just the other side of the garden fence. I have since found out that a spring usually breaks while the vehicle is stationary.


So, bad luck that it happened at all, but good luck that I was not stranded at the side of the road. It's in for repair and I am waiting for the call when it's ready. While it's in the front brakes will be getting done, I could tell they were getting a bit lumpy and that was the next job on the agenda. A hefty bill that I could have done without, but as my car is high up on my priority list I have saved enough cash to pay for it. My emergency fund will be a bit depleted, but with my money management skills honed to perfection, it won't be long before I have topped up the balance.
The scrimping continues. Toodle pip.

24 comments:

  1. Looked like a lovely party! sorry about your car though :O(

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  2. Stan looks the life and soul of the party! Sorry about your car,we had a hefty bill for brake pads and rotors last week...but you need brakes!
    Jane x

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  3. Happy Birthday Uncle Stan!

    well done you,Ilona, for not being caught unawares by a visit from Big Bill :-D

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  4. Loved the wave Uncle Stan gave you while you were filming - lovely cheeky grin - I think you definitely take after him!!! Sorry about the car but good for you having the forethought to save for repairs.

    Linda xx

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  5. Forgot to say - his garden is lovely.

    Linda xx

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  6. What a lovely day. There is definitely a family resemblence, I am so glad you all had a lovely day. My dad's 90th is in September, so fingers crossed for an equally good day. Such a shame about the car, little consolation that you were prepared financially, but much safer for you when it is done.

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  7. Nice weather for a nice party. Love the cake, is it a fruit cake with the 5 a day on top? Happy and sad situation with your car. I wouldn't be looking forward to a repair bill but on the plus side you didn't use any fuel to get home. Hope the repair bill is as resonable as poss.
    Dave.

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  8. Wonderful party! Your car seems to not be very old. Is the warranty still on?

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  9. Happy Birthday, Uncle Stan.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  10. Happy Birthday to Uncle Stan! You two look like peas in a pod, Ilona :)

    Sorry about your car but glad it happened where it did. I just had my brakes done yesterday...$254. That's the cost of stopping, apparently!

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  11. Happy Birthday to your Uncle Stan! Looks like he had a lovely day. Sorry to hear about the car, same thing happened to me not so long ago - spring snapped and brakes needed doing - but these expenses can't be avoided and like you, I carefully budget and plan for such events. Hope you're back on the road soon :)

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  12. Looks like you all had a lovely, happy gathering for Uncle Stan's birthday.

    Pity about your car. I'm sure it won't have wasted your happy day although it would have been good if it hadn't happened!!

    Susan

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  13. What a wonderful party! Love the music. Your family and friends look like very nice people. Thanks for sharing.
    Martha from Kansas

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  14. Happy Birthday to Uncle Stan. It looks like a lovely gathering. Sorry about the car. I hope the bill isn't terrible. Thanks for your reply the other day.

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  15. Happy birthday to your uncle - it looked like a fantastic party.

    Sorry to hear your car is bit poorly. Hope it'll feel better soon!

    Joyce

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  16. Hi Ilona,

    I just HAVE to say it - I LOVE your hair colour! Much better than blonde! It really is fab. Keep it up.

    Regards
    DeeJay from Whangarei in New Zealand

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    1. Thank you DeeJay. Lots of people have made nice comments about my hair.

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  17. Hi Ilona, i was wondering if Nellie Knowitall knows all about mending cars. Farmers are usually quite good at keeping the machinery going. I bet £50 worth of bits and an afternoon with the spanners, Nellie would get you back on the road for a fraction of the cost. In return you could make her some new tesco carrier bag undies.
    Dave

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    1. Dave, you crack me up, you should write a blog.

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    2. I've too much time on my hands, off work with a dodgy knee but i do a couple of days to get some money and it goes again. I'm not too well up on computers and i wouldn't know where to start with a blog.

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  18. Thought the party looked fab. Also, I like the color of your hair. Sometimes we all need a change, right?
    Ilona, after your car was taken away, how did you get home? Did the tow truck driver give you a lift home?
    I was stuck out on a highway once when my car's timing belt broke. It was so scary because the car just stops immediately when that happens. I managed to get the car over to the side of the busy highway. I had to get a ride home in the tow truck and the driver was such a speed demon. He was downright negligent! My car was swerving back and forth (attached to the back of his truck) on the highway and when I got home, I reported him to his company. I had never done anything like that before and wouldn't do that unless it was really bad. It was really bad! I was so scared. What an awful experience. So I'm hoping you had a safe trip home.

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  19. Uncle Stan's party looked like great fun. Glad the weather was kind to you and that a good time was had by all.

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  20. Loved the party and Happy Birthday to your Uncle Stan! Such a lovely country garden. Pat did a beautiful job! Sorry about the car but like you said, they do cost money and we all have to plan for that. At least it was fixable. Oh, and I adore your red hair!

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  21. Love the music! Kansas City, MO, USA is one of the hotbeds of jazz and swing music historically! By the way, I noticed no one made a comment about Uncle Stan's birthday cakes. Do the decorations reflect his current hobbies? He looks like such a sweetie and with a mischievous glint in his eye, to boot! I bet he's fun to be with! LOL! So you had a bittersweet day! :)

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