12th December - The biggie!!!! So, the night before was the last of the yoga course...and it was bloody cancelled - flooded studio! Well, what to do?? Yep, off to the pub for a pint and tea with my wee pal Emma. Only problem was that I was so high about my birthday that I was drunk before I got there. I babbled a wee bit then home to bed...no pressies after midnight...we just thought we'd wait till morning.

Of course, I was wakened at 8am - Mum, Sister, Brother, Goddaughter - all separately, all singing happy birthday...ah, already it was a brilliant day.

Then, laid out in front of me was what seemed like (and probably was) a guzillian pressies...oh, where to start!??! I just got tore in...lovely lovely gifts - rucksack, helmet for the scooter, talking helmet alarm clock(!), tin of tomato soup(eh), clothes...and hunners more...oh my god, and it was only 8.30!

Then I just chilled out a wee bit, reading one of my new books and wondering how I would get to meet Caitlin after school and stuff. So then, someone turned up at the front door...Amanda called out 'oh hi Cameron' (her brother who should've been at work)...then in the door trundled Caitlin & Judy - 'SURPRISE'. Well, they were dead excited and I was dead excited and Amanda was dead excited...so I excited them over to my pile of pressies and went through them all...Caitlin couldn't give me her pressie yet 'just because...'

After a wee while, I suggested lunch - 'I know, why not go and surprise Julie (my wee sis) at her office and then have lunch in the wee cafe downstairs?'. 'yeah, yeah, magic' they all replied. So...in we piled...drove up towards Julie's office, then Amanda gave me an envelope which contained a wee pass for me to go raleigh driving at Knockhill race course...right there and then...!

Well, it was about one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life...Caitlin, Judy and Mand were all waving by the sidelines but I was too busy skidding and driving too fast to notice...it was wonderful. Although, I swear that my co-pilot had a wee smirk at the beginning - 'So, Carol, have you ever done anything like this before?'...'eh, well, I drive a scooter...' Honestly, I'm he was laughing to himself...

I was pretty shattered after that - well what d'you expect at my age? So we decided that we would head home. I suggested going out to eat - I was starving too but Judy suggested a wee glass of fizz - 'oh alright then...' - I didn't realise that she was stalling till other pals turned up with a fabby pressie of a DVD player and hunners of DVDs for it too - including season 1 of the West Wing and The Shawshank Redemption...I think that these people know me well - The Shawshank was a gift from Caitlin incidentally, she couldn't give it to me earlier cos then I would have known the player was to follow - aha!

Then, my wee sis turned up at my place with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers...just stunning. I was having trouble remembering to breath!

The rest of the evening was a wee impromptu party drinking fizz and playing DVDs, as well as looking and re-looking at all my pressies...I guess its difficult to put into words, but I had the most fantastic feeling - all day.

And all of the next day too...I always have the very grand title of being the musical director at my friend's dancing show - loosely translated, this means 'her that turns the music on and off'! As ever, it was a wonderful show...only this year, Caitlin sang Wild Mountain Tyme, while I played the guitar - it was absolutely tremendous - her voice is the voice of an angel - a posh one from the West End of Glasgow that is!

Then, lunch. Then, home for the party. I don't think my heart/brain/body can take much more!!!

Before the party, the girls had put up some pictures of me...in the West Wing! Bennie, who has done the latest two album covers had managed to get stills from the TV Series and super-imposed my head onto Stockard Channing et al. Well, it was hilarious - my breasts were gigantic and my hands looked like I was about forty...oh, sorry...about 80 years old. It was a scream, the pics really looked like I was in each of the scenes...hilarious. Well, hilarious until my friend Phil from uni was blown away, unable to believe that I was 'actually in that television show'! eh, duh, Phil...for a start, I only wear a 34a bra size...the hands? well...!

Apart from me looking like the first lady...the night was absolutely magic. There were about 80 people in our wee house, fairy lights, pictures, hunners of dancing, hunners of booze, hunners of laughing and chips at midnight...but the pies de resistance was that Johnny and his brother Wallace - The Cameron Brothers - came along and played some live music - it was truly wonderful...my livvy full of folk that I love listening to one of my favourit-ist, magic-ist guitarists...Wallace too is an incredible talent - all that in the one family - !

So, a two-day birthday celebration that hasn't quite ended yet...heaven...

I hope that your festive season, whether you celebrate it or not, is peaceful and that you enjoy lots of love and happiness.

Happy Christmas and luck and love in 2004...

Carol