After a rather late night, the slow birthday morning was well received by all. And what better way to wake ourselves up a bit than the traditional ‘birthday swim’!

A big brunch at The Cottage and lots of cards and pressies started off a different kind of birthday for Clare as we packed up for a day away…

After quite a lot of last minute plan changes, things worked out rather well for everyone. I was due to be on a climbing trip in the Scottish Highlands and Clare has been booked to give a speech at a conference in Bristol. As it turned out, I was able to offer my chauffeur skills (at a very reasonable fee), and travelled to Bristol with Clare – by 5pm we were viewing the famous suspension bridge at Clifton.

In another unexpected turn of events, it transpired that Neil was also working in the area, so Clare had a birthday bonus as our timing meant that our paths crossed and we could all have dinner together.

Clare is working tomorrow at Trinity College and we’ve been put up for the night. It’s a nice pad…

A happy mix of work and play!