The Kindness of Family

For my 60th birthday, my wife and children organised for a secret weekend away in deepest Norfolk and festooned me with gifts, based around The List.

It was one of the most poignant moments of my life. I won't bother to list everything that was given to me but it was easily the most gifts I've ever received (and that includes childhood). Some of the gifts were lovely - a diabolo for the circus skill; the two writing pads for the sonnet; the OS map for the Hadrian's wall walk - and some of them were grotesque - the leg waxing strips, baseball cap and cowboy outfit spring to mind.

That doesn't matter. It was, quite simply, truly a moment in which the thoughtfulness of my family towards me was writ large. Strangely, though, I wasn't moved to tears, as I normally am with kindnesses. What I felt was warmth, acceptance and valuing of me. I felt both complete and humble. There was no need for tears..

Thank you.

The List

They wrote out the List in whatever order the ideas came to them. In order to make it manageable, I've categorised them.

Creative
write a cryptic crossword
compose a sonnet
make cheese
freestyle rap against Matt (my son)
brew own beer
design and make a t-shirt
learn to knit
create a hanging basket
go glass blowing
learn semaphore
learn a circus skill
learn to yodel
paint a self-portrait
make Sue (my wife) a piece of jewellery
create a flower press
build a sculpture out of unusual garden stuff
write a letter to Brian Blessed
build a sandcastle with Iona, Arlo and Gus (my grandchildren)
make a Jamie Oliver 30-minute meal in thirty minutes
buy a scrapbook to document my sixtieth year
write a memoir of my sixtieth year

Adventurous
wash hair in Aira Force
dye beard purple
try shark
wear nail varnish to work
take a martial arts lesson
go orienteering
apply to be on a quiz show
hire a camper van and drive from John O'Groats to Land's End
get photo taken with a famous person
go skinny-dipping in the sea
appear in the local paper
visit all 4 UK capital cities
get a body piercing
organise a canal holiday
get a facial
star in a play
dress as a cowboy for the day and leave the house
climb a mountain
walk Hadrian's Wall with Andy (friend)
play a game of golf
visit 2 castles

Altruistic
do something nice for a stranger
volunteer to play cribbage at an OAPs home
host a murder mystery weekend
go to Iona's (granddaughter) school to listen to readers
bake mince pies for my neighbours
tell someone a very deliberate lie
surprise Sue with something pleasant
start an online petition

Odd
buy and wear an item of leather
call Dragons' Den with a business idea
wax legs (for charity)
take 6 different forms of transport
do a family tree
unlock my bike
save £1 every day and then do something unusual with the £365
watch IMDB's top 20 films
buy an album from 6 different musical genres
eat only vegetarian meals for a week

What's it all About?

It all started when my children (now in their early thirties) got their heads together and drew up a list of 60 things they thought I should do during my 61st year of life. It was my 60th birthday on Sunday 1st May 2016 and so the countdown has begun to get through the list.

What I'm going to do is post a monthly report, on the first of every month, charting the progress I've made with the challenges I've been set. In that way, I hope to keep on top of it all.

If you're middle-aged and interested in the subtle ways in which children get revenge for their upbringing, read on. If not, move on - there's loads of other blogs.