Wednesday 21 July 2010

MY BIG FAT GREEK BIRTHDAY

As I mentioned last Wednesday, I celebrated my first (well, my sixty-first) birthday in my Greek house (that is to say, the house that I stay in when I go to Greece!) in Emporios on the island of Kalymnos.

The party was held, naturally, at Artistico Restaurant, where Yorgos and Irini Glinatsi gave me this utterly scrumptious and uniquely personalised birthday cake...

My Big Fat Greek Birthday Cake!

Mercifully, the other sixty candles were omitted for reasons of health and safety: i.e. the risk of either setting fire to the entire village or me going into cardiac arrest whilst trying to blow them out!

As is traditional on such occasions, everyone else in the restaurant got a slice (which, obviously, I tried not to be too mean-spirited about) but, luckily, I got a corner-piece which I decided was the best option since it clearly fell within my healthy 'five-a-day' allocation!

14 comments:

Andy Latham said...

A very happy Birthday to you Brian! Having the big day in Greece must be terrific! Do they have any unusual methods of celebration there other than putting fruit on a cake?

Brian Sibley said...

Usually anointing you with a dollop of cream from the cake - omitted on this occasion out of respect for my advanced years! Other than that just usual Greek things such as loud arguments involving lots of gesticulation!

Boll Weavil said...

Hope you saved some for us Mr B !

Unknown said...

From hereonin I shall think of you as Brian "The Brain" Sibley ;-)

SharonM said...

Looks fabulous, Brian - or should that be Brain.

andy in greece said...

please tell me I am not the only one who spotted the slight smelling pistake.

Brian Sibley said...

Boll Weavil - Er... 'fraid not! But it wouldn't have travelled well!

Ian, Sharon and Andy in Greece - You've all earned your Observer Badges!

sue in greece said...

Smashing cake......do tell me which part of your anatomy is having a birthday next week :-) xxx

Suzanne said...

Looks great! Last night I went to a 50 year anniversary of a local Shadows tribute groupe. Apart from the great music, enjoyed by a table full of mad middle-aged biddies, we had a massive cake in the shape of a 6 foot long guitar... to be shared between 200 people!

Brian Sibley said...

Suzanne - Six foot divided by 200 people. How many notes each did that work out at?

Sue in Greece - You ought to know: you ate a piece of my brain!

Phil said...

You must never tire of having your name misspelled...

But you're one of the few people to have a quiz named after you (Brian of Britain!)

Brian Sibley said...

It started early: in fact, when I was born my very own mother wrote to my grandparents to say, "Our baby has been born and we are calling him Brain." So you see, I'm well used it!

Chuck Munson said...

Brian,

The photos from Greece that you have treated us to are wonderful. You must have some amazing friends at the Artistico Taverna! The inadvertant misspelling of your name (remember "it's all Latin [alphabet]" to them!) reminds me of a little place that friends and I discovered at Ipsos Beach on Corfu wonderfully named "Cafe and Drings"! And yes, ouzo is terrific for loosening any tightly bound strings on the soul!

Belated birthday greetings! I am pleased that we share the same birth month as mine is on Saturday.

Welcome back!

Brian Sibley said...

Couldn't agree more. I don't give a damn how they spelled my name - they could have written it in Greek and I'd have been just as happy! Actually I rather like the look of my name in Greek --- Βραϊαν.