Bar-b-qs and birthdays

It was the long hot Corpus Christi weekend here - hottest May Weekend on record and that was good on one hand as we had 2 bbqs - first was in the Odenwald at Ian's farmhouse - wonderful lamb from a party service and Ian's inimitable ratatouille - plus his interesting wife, sister in-law (with whom our kids walked the dog and chatted amicably in the cool thick walled house, apparently, we heard later), kids (big, doctors etc.) and friends. Then next day the heat held up and it was our turn to entertain B's relatives and we did that in style as well, if I say so myself. So it was hard to return to the grind today, but lucky nature played along with us in turning cooler for the office stint. Now having dealt with Ian's 62 birthday and leaving do from work (end of an era, only to be kept up by e-mail, the boon of retirement), thoughts turn to my mother's 80th on thursday - just ordered a bunch of flowers and a copy of my book, of course, at good old http://pabd.com/topics/scifi (top of the page, "Grannnies & Time Machines"). Then at end of June we will all congregate from over the globe for a big restaurant meal to mark the occasion. Let's hope it goes off okay and the long lost brothers will be in the same place at same time for first time in several years. That would be nice for mother and us - hopefully one big happy family...