Pre birthday...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Aftersilence
Holst - The Planets
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No 2
Elgar - Cello Concerto
Various - 70's Soul Mix

Up at 5 and to work on the compilation finalised yesterday...

Worked on the design of the cover, moving from the black and white pic of our arrival in Vienna on 4 May last year, to a detail of my painting Untitled No 11 but, on the advice of the Exec Producer, moving back again...

To the store for croissants and returning for breakfast at home around 10:30...

Then, started working on noting the instrumentation on each of the fifty two chosen tracks...

As a distraction, decided to try and tidy out the cupboard in the computer room...

Meg the Black cat gave me a hand, or rather, paw...





...before setting down on sister Pam's makeshift bed...



Uploaded the new 2CD set to the cloud and posted it on here for initial listening pre release later this month...

Out to Loanhead around one for lunch with Pam and mum and we arranged to take a trip back to North Berwick tomorrow with sister Sheila also in attendance...

Perhaps mum will treat us all to lunch...

Then, brought Pam back to Crispycat Towers where we had a chat in the garden with neighbours Fiona and Pietro, who haven't seen Pam for probably over ten years...

Meg the Black Cat remained somewhat trepidatious in the company of Rio the Chihuahua...

Pam caught up with this...





...while Anne was disappointed to see dandilions having returned to the front lawn despite her earlier cull...



We headed round to Anne's mum's for my birthday tea...

A full house today with Anne's mum, her three children (Keith, Anne, Jane), their three partners (Maureen, me, Bobby), the three grandchildren (Craig, Ollie, Kitty), one of two step grandchildren (Rebecca), Rebecca's boyfriend (Murray) and sister Pam - thirteen in all...

Anne's mum was making the birthday tea...



Good times...













I received home made cards from Kitty...



...and Ollie, who had put in quite a lot of work...



Steak Pie was eaten (the requested Baked Beans were conspicuous by their absence though), wine was drunk, cake was cut and a candle was blown out to the strains of "Happy Birthday"...

The internet was used to find the singer of a song which only Jane and Pam knew, "Pamela, Pamela"...



Turned out to be Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders...



Kitty entertained us with her new pets...



..before Pam gave her a bit of a hair do...



Gradually, exits were made until, around 8:30, we took Craig home before returning to base to enjoy part one of "Exile"...

Early to bed - probably just as well considering the 5am rise...

Highlight of the Day : Birthday tea...