On Sunday, we headed out for our walk at lunchtime, and the sun was splitting the streets. It was absolutely glorious. William, somewhat unusually chose to walk too, so we were all at a different pace but it was good as we could take in some more of the stairs and hills behind the Boulevard, and also William could really investigate and explore the paths. We walked down the stairs from the chateau to the old mill houses, then along the road to the Gare, stopping to play Pooh Sticks at the bridge opposite the station. From here we wandered back up the steep hills behind the funicular and unto the Boulevard. We then headed along the Boulevard, through Clemenceau and up towards the Courthouse. William played in the fountains at the courthouse and then we made our way home. It was hot, William had walked 5k, and we were all hungry.
Iain lit the BBQ, and almost simultaneously cracked open a beer. He foresaw that Monday would be laden with last minute Zoom meetings so felt that Sunday would be the best opportunity to celebrate his birthday. He enjoyed a few [read: many] cold beers in the sun all afternoon while William and I baked his cake, wrapped presents, and wrote out cards.
It was hilarious trying to get William to tell me what to write:
Me: Why do you love Dad?
W: Because he gets presents.
Me: No, think about the things Dad does that you like. (I'm thinking, Horsey-Horsey, football, wrestling, snuggling...)
W: I like his eyes.
Me: ?!?!?!
W: And his nose..., ..., ....
And so it went on, William just saying random things, none of which were specifically representative of his relationship with Iain. But it all went in the card. Very funny.
Iain re-lit the BBQ for dinner and we had entrecôte du boeuf, fries, and chimichurri sauce. We started on the GnTs and cranked up the Zoom for another Cleland Quiz night. Gregor and I were joint quizmasters for the evening so this meant Iain was flying solo for half the rounds. Combine this with his all day boozing and you'll not be surprised to hear that we came last. Again. Sake! It was a great night playing and talking nonsense and we ended up not getting William to be until about 10.30pm. After this Iain and I reconvened in the kitchen where we drank the rest of the gin in the house, and had a record session until 1 in the morning. Good times for the Big Man's birthday. 42 eh? In the words of Fairport Convention, where does the time go?
To finish, I was rather pleased with Iain's cake. We've previously talked about using the premixed lemon cake from Auchan to make a double layer cake and filling it with butter icing or similar. I tried it, and here is the finished article plus some photos of Iain living his best life:
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