Let’s Have a Party
Cor blimey Bobby are you really seventy bleedin seven, or just dead?
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Bobby: “Thank you Bertie. I am resting. It was great two years ago when we took the whole family up the i360 in Brighton, but this year is very different.”
2019 Bobby’s Big Birthday Party Bash… the i360 Brighton.
Everyone:
Back: Little Jay, Big Jay, Bobby, Bertie’s nose, Jasmine, Layla, Sonny, Andrew
Front: Kyla May, Faith, Daisy-Mae, Cameron, Giselle.
Best friends.
Long way up. Looking west.
Bertie: “So, Bobby. Here we are in lockdown, again. No friends. No family. No girls. Diddley once said ‘What is it with you and the girls at the office? They all seem to love you.’ It can’t be your young vitality. If they saw you in the morning, creeping out of bed like some old git, they might not be so keen. Especially sleeping aux naturelle. I took a picture. Here it is. Edited to take out everything offensive!
Aux naturelle.
Tell you what, mate. Let’s have a party. Your lovely friend Anne gave you a birthday cake. You bought all your own presents for yourself. We can see what’s lying around Laurel Cottage and have a party to remember.
Who are we going to invite Bobby?”
Bobby: “All the bears and my alter egos…”
The Bears: Trevor, Eamonn and Bertie.
The Alter Egos
Pierre Bobblegook.
Jimmy (as per Rab C Nesbitt)
Stone me mate… Bob’s yer Uncle.
Roberto de Muffdiva.
Roller Bobster.
Greedy old git. One cake. Six alter egos.
The Presents: From Him to Him
From the London Transport Museum Shop – Seat moquette patterns (which he made me model!)
Victoria Line.
District Line.
Routemaster bus.
Underground Map.
The Tube Mapper Project.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.
Original Fulham programme for the very first match Bobby ever attended at Craven Cottage.
Elvis: “The Girl of my Best Friend”. Bobby’s favourite record of all time.
The Games
“Sorry”.
“Buckaroo”.
“Frustration”.
“Dominoes”.
“Marble Run”.
The Dancing
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip: “Twisting at Cloud Nine Dance Hall”
The Birds
Goldfinches and Siskins in the snow.
The Great British Garden Birdwatch. Make sure you join in
Click here for the Great British Garden Watch.
The Birthday Snow
(Two days early)
Daisy-Mae.
South Holmwood.
Son and daughter. Andrew and Daisy-Mae.
Grandad and Granddaughter.
Lighting a Candle to Diddley and Bobby
– – – – – – –
Happy Birthday Dad! Ax
Happy Birthday Bob…so well planned and nicely put together. Very original.
Well, that took me back to so many memories – Elvis was my idol, I even had a disc of him being interviewed : “I guess you know I got a lot of cars״ I played it so often I had memorized the lines.
I remember The Twist was quite an internalized experience, it wasn’t necessary to engage with your partner if you didn’t want to.
1950s a very different universe to now.