Mr K’s 60th Birthday
The whole event was planned weeks ago when we got an email from Claire, Mr K’s daughter, asking us if we would all attend a surprise birthday party. As the weeks went on, I did wonder if she knew what she was letting herself in for. As it turned out, she did!
Six of us decided to meet up on the M4 and ride to South Mimms and meet up with the rest. A fairly uneventful ride got us there in good time and soon after, the rest of the gang arrived. Ten of us then rode to our hotel, and miraculously, dodgy satnav allowing, one half the reception of Holiday Inn was full of leather clad bikers. The other half was full of top hats and tails, looking for a wedding, and a few glances in our direction confirmed their worst fears. Yes, Centre 12 had hit town. Being the hardened bikers we are, the first thing we needed was a wee. Having checked in, and found the bar, any food ordered had to be gulped down because we were told Mr K was 10 minutes away and at that point, we didn’t even know where he lived.
When we did find it, we were amazed by the number of people already there. A few minutes later and we heard Mr K walking towards his house and as his head turned the corner an almighty roar went up and all he could do was tell us what a bunch of b*****ds we all were. The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting to people we hadn’t seen for ages, and, well, drinking. I’ll leave you to guess who was drinking red wine in pint glasses, vodka from the bottle, neat JD and Black Pig, which apparently wasn’t as good as the last brew (something to do with being only 98% proof this time).
As the afternoon wore on, I hoped Mr K wasn’t on a water meter, because the loo must have emptied a small reservoir judging by the queue. The day became a little cooler so we dived into the marquee that their neighbours had provided for the day, in their own garden. That’s understanding neighbours! I’m not so sure how understanding they were when “Who the f**k is Alice” was sung at top voice by all.
The rest of the evening went too quickly and after goodbyes to the birthday boy, we staggered back to the hotel, some of us staggering a little more than others, you know who you are!
A great day, and thoroughly deserved because Mr K, you are a VSOC legend and it was fun to share the day with you.
A brilliant ride back only marred by getting told off by a formidable granny for parking on the pavement at South Mimms, and home, with that good feeling again.
Tel n’ Jen.
