Happy Birthday Claire

Finished at last; it has been hard work getting there but we are finished in the nick of time to go on our holidays today with a clear mind. Happy Birthday darling, you have worked so hard; almost as hard as me. Flying out of Luton Airport to Kalkan Turkey and from the pictures it looks great. I had a look at the weather forecast and it has been 36 degrees this week. Maybe a little hot for me but I know the birthday girl can handle it. I have a secret surprise for Claire’s birthday when we get there. I am going to treat her to a day’s beauty treatment for all the hard work she has put in. And anyway, I have a discount voucher so it’s a shame to waste it.

Here is a photo of our lounge at Jim and Shirley’s and another one of the Oldbrook flat lounge, both finished. We are very pleased with the pair of them and all the hard work has been worth it. Also the kitchens turned out great in both of them; here is Claire just pointing out a few bits for me to clear up. Look at that lovely double glazing! Our friends Ian and Jane from Ampthill Glass have really done us proud. Thanx guys! The windows in the kitchen look really great, so much better than before. We got both flats at Oldbrook done and finished off and the one bed at Giffard Park while we were about it. Here is Champ, probably the best glazer in the world. We especially asked for him as he makes such a great professional job and he is a nice guy as well.

We also had Harriet’s Uncle Shaun and Lil erect a fence like they did for Harriet’s garden. It makes it so much more private and somehow looks bigger that when it was open. We really have been causing a disturbance over the last month or so and the neighbours will probably be happier than we are that it’s finally finished. We will have to bring them a stick of rock back from our holiday.

Claire loves painting fences and she actually managed to paint this new one before Shaun and Lil had finished it. While they nipped out to B&Q for some bits they were surprised to see it painted upon their return. She even mopped up after herself. Whenever we are watching one of those house renovation programs she always says, “Why didn’t they paint the garden fences, they renovate the garden but never paint the fences”.

Also happy birthday to Claire's twin sisters, Louise and Julia who bizarrly share the same birthday as Claire only a year apart. Georgina flew off to Tanzania and Kenya on Wednesday for a month with her school so hope she has a great adventure trekking across Africa. Jim, Shirley and Dan fly out to Singapore when we get back and Tom will be flying from Korea to meet them there for a week. Hope you all have a great time guys; I will see you for a drink and catch up Jim when you get back. George and Joan are off touring around Ireland for 3 weeks while we are away. Chris, Vanessa and crew are off to Corfu for a couple of weeks. Seems quite normal, but with a twist; they are driving there. Wow, that 4x4 must be pretty good. Everybody seems to be going away, it must be holiday time.

Have a wonderful birthday Claire and a great relaxing holiday; I’m going to pamper you the whole two weeks with lots of BBQ’s, salads and nice wine. We might try a few of the local restaurants to as I have some discount vouchers for some of them. I found a great local website that posts local discount vouchers for everything.

Have a great holiday everyone!