I need a holiday to recover from birthday celebrations

In fact, a close friend recently commented that this has been the longest birthday celebration in history.

At the beginning of the year I asked for ideas as to how to celebrate/commiserate reaching half a century and some of the suggestions in response were bizarre, to say the least.

I decided to follow a more traditional route and began by throwing a party with most of my friends and family in attendance.

That was in July and, despite the best endeavours of the British weather, most people seemed to have a good time. I know I certainly did although I had a very thick head, thicker than usual, the next day.

My birthday actually fell on the Tuesday following that little shindig, and my work colleagues arranged the obligatory collection which allowed age-appropriate gifts to be bought. Thanks for the incontinence pants guys.

My children teamed up on the evening of my birthday and made dinner, as well as providing me with some really special gifts. I really enjoyed my birthday as a result and will remember it forever.

I also decided to have a wild celebration with my mates and, the other week, 15 of us set off to Benidorm for the week.

We decided to stay in the hotel where they film the TV series and went all-inclusive. This obviously meant we had to drink as much alcohol as we could manage to get our money’s worth.

Believe me, I wouldn’t be buying shares in that particular establishment given the amount of alcohol we poured down our necks.

We had a superb time but trips like that really take their toll as none of us are getting any younger. I felt as though I needed a holiday to recover once I’d returned.

The good news is that it will be at least another 10 years before I have to put my body through anything like that again.

Hopefully, I’ll have grown up a bit by then and will have a more responsible and mature attitude.

Somehow, given my mates I can’t see that happening.