Happy Birthday to me (still not dead)

It’s my birthday today.

I’m 63 so it’s not one of those milestone occasions that for me took place at 30 and 60.

On my 30th birthday I was living in Camberwell, south east London. I invited some people round for dinner and a friend’s girlfriend surprised me by baking a birthday cake with a large ‘30’ on it.

I was quite touched. Unfortunately they split up soon after and that was the last time I saw her!

On my 60th birthday my wife arranged for us to have dinner and stay overnight at a Michelin star restaurant in Lincolnshire.

What she didn’t tell me was that she had also arranged for two very good friends of ours to be there too, so that was an even bigger surprise.

Those occasions apart, most birthdays have come and gone without fanfare, which I’m quite happy about.

It’s not that I’m in denial or don’t want to be reminded about my age. Getting older doesn’t bother me at all and the good news is, I’m still not dead.

PS. I’ve just received an email that reads ‘Happy Birthday from Belmond’.

Belmond is the company that operates ‘luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide’.

To the best of my knowledge I have never booked anything through the company which is not to say I wouldn’t like to.

One of my top trips would be the Venice Simpleton Orient Express, Paris to Istanbul (10 nights).

They also organise packages and tours to other parts of the world including South East Asia and South America, both of which are on my bucket list.

How they know my date of birth however is a mystery because it’s not something I post on social media.

Nevertheless it's a smart move on their part because at my age I'm grateful to receive anything.