In Search of the Dream: Flashback

Old-Timer Tram

LakeSide Restaurant

MS Sentosa

I hope you can all see that I've been pretty busy this year with planning my move, packing, learning Egyptian Arabic, dealing with the many problems that have arisen, and keeping up with what's happening.

In the midst of all this, I had the crazy idea of organising a party just as I was in the middle of moving. And not just any party. It was my 50th birthday and leaving party all rolled into one.

I don't normally celebrate my birthdays, but this was likely to be the most special numbered birthday I would ever have in my life. It deserved to be memorable. I branded it "Life is a Journey", representing the twists and turns that life takes. Every half hour of the party was to represent a different decade of my life (for simplicity, starting from the 60s and ending in the 00s and then into the future).

Before I really knew what I was doing, I'd somehow made it all as complicated and organisationally-intense as could be. I wanted starters in an old-timer tram, the main meal at a restaurant (with 80s memorabilia, provided by me), and the dessert on a boat. Oh, and then I had the bright idea of hiring a paranormal entertainer to join us on the boat to represent my parapsychology years. So, four different things to organise. On top of that, there was the catering, which had to be organised separately for tram and for the boat. So, let's make that six different things to organise.

I wasn't quite living in reality. Or, rather, the harsh reality was that I was living in Switzerland!

An approved caterer would charge 22 CHF per person for a basic dessert buffet on the boat; an apero with snacks and wine on the old-timer tram was going to cost 38 CHF per person (this is in addition to the rental costs of the transport). Once you multiply these figures by 25, it gets to a fairly hefty sum.

So, eventually, I decided to make the dessert myself - I am quite happy to bake. The boat people agreed and could also provide plates etc.

And then I looked at the costs for the apero on the tram - you could get steak and chips at Rolli's for that amount! Was it really worth it? I was more hesitant here because I'm not really into starters - I don't eat cheese and am not so fond of cold meats. But the Scrooge in me (and the lack of money in my bank account) won. I would somehow do the starters myself as well. I confirmed this with the tram people and asked to hire the necessary plates and glasses.

But the organisational challenge had now swollen to also baking and providing starters (whilst trying to empty my flat), plus transporting the starters to the tram depot and getting the dessert to the boat. And then I also needed to prepare the tram before it left the depot with the starters. I crossed my fingers and prayed it would work out.

Fortunately for me, Geraldine (whose birthday is also on 10th Sept) was visiting me for the week. Consequently, her (possibly) final vacation in Switzerland was spent helping me to get ingredients, prepare the starters and desserts, and transport them to the various locations, rather than going to the spa and a theatre event as originally planned. Moral of the story: be my friend at your own risk.

Of course, my life is never complete without something going wrong. On the day, the tram people informed me that they would not be able to provide the plates and glasses. So, off Geraldine and I rushed to the local supermarket. I need to credit Geraldine here for the joke that we were using plastic glasses, not because they were cheap, but because they were super-trendy in the 70s and so actually I had provided only the very best for my guests.

In the end, we made it! For Geraldine and I, it all started at the tram depot. We had a quick glass of champagne before departing, the old-timer tram lurched forward and stopped. Then lurched forward and stopped. The champagne glasses also slid but managed not to confirm our fears of empty glasses all over the floor before we'd even started. The tram driver called someone over to discuss the tram. It lurched forward and stopped. My heart sank with an image of the tram breaking down before we'd even started. But eventually we were on our way!

For me, at any rate, the evening flew past. I felt we'd hardly started by the time we arrived "home" at Burkliplatz with the boat, but I guess that's also how life is. I must be more than half-way through my life now, but I feel I've hardly begun. Thank you to everyone who came along and who, just by being there, helped to make it happen. And, Muriel, I'm still trying to work out how I can thank you - it just feels impossible to thank you adequately!

I already had my (undiagnosed) frozen shoulder at this time and I've since found out that frozen shoulder is also known as 50's shoulder, so I guess my body has taken Swiss punctuality just a bit too seriously .

I am now 50 years and 19 days old. Next week I am working full-time until Oct 9th, so I will probably take a rest from this blog until then (unless anything dramatic happens, which I hope it won't). My next moving date is Oct 6th to Hye-Youn's and my move to Egypt is Oct 10th. I will no doubt catch up at some point in this timeframe.

Meanwhile, health, wealth and happiness to all!