Surprise Weekend

In honour of my husband's 40th birthday, I whisked him away for a surprise weekend in Arundel. I had been a long time hatching this plot and had booked the hotel before Christmas. I arranged for the children to stay with their grandad and the dog with a friend. I cleared his church commitments and made sure his boss knew not to arrange the upcoming social this weekend. I nearly came unstuck when I realised that his only smart shoes were at school with him, but a quick e-mail requesting them as a prop for the children's film club sorted that. He had not guessed at all and was still debating whether to get a take-away curry or a fancy supermarket meal for dinner when I 'missed' the turn-off home and pulled onto the motorway.

We had a delightful weekend in a fabulous hotel and the food in the restaurant was top-class. Even my breakfast apple was a work of art! Arundel is a pretty town, full of characterful cafes and antiques shops but not somewhere to go if you want anything else. I enjoyed the names of some of the establishments and photographed this one thinking it would make a good name for a character in one of my son's stories.

We were not in need of antiques but we did get lunch out in a tea-shop, and that was all we ventured out for. It was just wonderful to spend the day with the papers, a puzzle book and a cheesy Saturday afternoon film. I often take time out for activities, but seldom for inactivity and it was good to do nothing! We talked and laughed and hugged and held hands. We reflected on a relationship that had started on his birthday 21 years before and which we had promised to make forever on his birthday 19 years before and it was as much a celebration of our marriage as of his birthday.