Milking his 50th down on the farm

WHAT KATI DID NEXT: So the half-century birthday of my husband is continuing on into its fourth week.

I have organised two trips up to the Lake District, with two different sets of friends, the A and B team and have just come back from a weekend that I organised, in the Yorkshire Dales with friends staying in a lovely and surprisingly cheap (it’s out of season) cottage on a farm.

He has been well and truly spoiled has the husband, but 50 is a big number. Our three-year-old can’t even count that high, so I felt like we should mark it as such.

On the actual day I surprised him with a banjo, he’s always wanted one, he intends to learn the tune “Duelling Banjos” from the film “Deliverance”. Best Google it.

I surprised him with a framed picture I had taken of his teenagers with our babies in his parents’ garden. That made him cry (it must be his age) and finally, I surprised him with a big family lunch at a restaurant.

He was only expecting it to be me, I think he was very pleased. Then off we went to the Lakes, then off we went to the Lakes again, next to the Yorkshire Dales and in February we plan to head off to Italy. Doesn’t that sound posh? Friends even offered to pay for his plane ticket.

Incredibly generous we thought, until we realised it was going to cost them £7.50 on RyanAir.

We laughed but they’re going to have to put something else on the table. I’m joking of course.

Everybody has been wonderfully generous towards him and I think he has been truly touched by the time people have put aside for him.

It’s a bit like being present at your own funeral, not the age thing, but more the fact that people have been incredibly kind and loving so you get a small glimpse into the outpouring of love you may get when you’re pushing up the daisies.

On the way back from the Dales this evening though, I said, in an excited manner: “I can’t wait for my 40th after all of this.”

To which he replied: “Yes, what are you going to organise for that? ‘Cos I don’t think you’ll ever beat my birthday.”

I haven’t spoken to him since.