Hi there people,
As those of you who read my blog were aware, it was one of my best friends' 30th birthday over the weekend. We're quite a close knit group of five and we're all turning 30 this year and next.
This time it was Uzma's turn.
We went out for a lovely dinner at our local Zizzis, I think they're one of the best chain restaurants because their food is always delicious and reasonably priced, the service is attentive and quick and they're good at coping with large parties of people comprised mainly of noisy rugby girls!!
I made some red velvet cupcakes to take along to the party....
The Christmas lights were up in Zizzis which made the place look very twinkly.
Uzma and I posing.
A very special present. My friends and I are clubbing together this year for our 30th's so we can buy something really memorable for each other. I love the curiousity on her face turning to pure unadulterated joy!!
There was some left in the kitty for some Champney's goodies too.
Er, someone high jacked the camera for his own evil purposes!!
Oooh and more cake.
And speeches.
You can't see it very well here but I attached a glittery '30' confetti to my cheek using lip gloss. It didn't stick for long!
Grrrrrrrrrrr, I love pizza!
As an aside, I was appalled later on in the evening by the attitude of bouncers nowadays. My boyfriend went to another bar with some of his friends while I stayed with mine, eventually I grew tired and my cheap fake Jeffrey Campbell shoes were starting to hurt a little so I attempted to phone him so we could go home. My phone for some reason refused to work so I left the bar I was in and walked around the corner to where he'd said he would be only to be faced with the rudest and most unhelpful bouncer I have ever had the misfortune to encounter.
He refused to let me in even though I wasn't drunk, explained to him that I wasn't interested in drinking in there and just wanted to find my boyfriend, showed him that my phone wouldn't work, was incredibly rational and polite when speaking to him, offered to let him search my bag and accompany me inside to ensure that I was telling the truth and not just desperate for a drink or to make trouble, all because of a 'policy' they have where people aren't admitted after 12:30am (it was 12:35am when I arrived there).
I would have thought that perhaps a situation like this would have come under 'extenuating circumstances' and that surely it isn't very responsible to leave a woman on her own to wander around in freezing temperatures without a working phone. I was told in an increasingly rude and hostile manner that my situation "wasn't his problem".
So I decided to walk back around to the bar where my friends were so I could organise my travel home with them - only to encounter an equally rude member of that establishments' door staff who also refused me entry because of a 'policy' and thus ensured that I was cut off from anyone who would be able to travel home with me!!
Luckily I ran into my boyfriend further up the street as he had gone to a different bar and was outside putting his friends into a taxi so all was well in the end, but needless to say I was furious and disgusted by these men's treatment of me.
I am old enough (sadly) to remember a time when bouncers treated a woman with courtesy and kindness, especially if she was in a potentially harmful situation.
Both of these establishments will be receiving sternly worded letters from me but all of this has left me wondering if this is an attitude employed by door staff in general across the country nowadays or if it is a phenomenon unique to my local towns?
On Sunday I had a very lazy morning then baked a chocolate fudge cake to take round to my parent's house in the evening as it was my Mother's birthday over the weekend too.
It went down very nicely with a big helping of custard.
I also cooked my parents dinner while I was there and made a stroganoff which is something I haven't cooked in a while!!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend.
I'm off to see Florence and the Machine tomorrow night which I am rather looking forward to so I'll post about that later in the week.
Lxx
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