I celebrate a big birthday today. I am not saying which one – but pensions, bus passes and my own personal B & Q Diamond Card are involved. [For those that don’t know – B & Q are a big DIY chain and when you reach mature years you can get a discount card – 10% off on Wednesdays. Very useful for creative embroiderers.]
Here are my birthday cakes. One for college tonight, one for the family at the weekend. They are Chocolate Guinness cakes – which sounds unlikely but tastes good. I like Guinness. My midwife told me to drink it 30 years ago: she never told me to stop. I gather that these days, not only are you discouraged from drinking while pregnant, you are limited to a glass a day afterwards. Not sure whether Guinness cake contributes to the one a day, although I'm sure you know that chocolate is a vegetable and so one of your five a day ...
The recipe is a Delia Smith one from the net - I had a genuine Guinness one but lost it so thanks to DIL #1 for finding a replacement. I am not [dare I say it?] a Delia fan but this recipe works well, although there are probably a year's supply of calories in the icing alone!
The real celebration will be this weekend – meal out on Friday, visit from my favourite birthday present at the weekend. [The one that arrived 4 months early, last November.]
The star of the show at yesterday's birthday party, in her beautiful party dress and shrug. She was a bit overwhelmed, i think, with all the people and the presents, but was very well behaved as usual. 
