African Queen Blog

Jane’s fiftieth birthday celebration started at 2:00pm on Saturday 3rd December,  organised by her husband Nigel.  It was a family occasion with  Jane’s mother Jennifer,  her sister & brother in-law Debbie & Alan & the the rest were son’s & daughters of the two couples.

The weather was a little bit windy but pleasant enough for everybody to be out on deck, so Bobby upped anchor as soon as all were on board & we started our cruise up river. Cherrie served a complementary glass of ‘Bucks Fizz,’ as the African Queen glided past the wintery looking Chilterns, although I have to say Autumn had not completely disappeared.

It was good to see the family enjoying each others company.

We got back to Mapledurham just before dark around 4:30pm, so there was some time for the family to play games before getting ready for the dinner party. We always serve dinner at 7:30pm. It was another ‘Cape Malay’ dinner, starting with ‘Lamb Samosas with a Cape Malay Dressing,  followed by a ‘Mixed Platter, which consists of ‘Boboti, Sosaties & Tangy Chicken’  all served on a bed of rice with a side salad. Dessert was ‘Traditional Milk Tart’ & ‘Old Cape Brandy Tart.’ Everybody said they enjoyed the dinner.

Before serving the dessert we brought out the ‘Birthday Cake’  I put on our usual birthday CD with the volume very high & Bobby brought out the cake while Cherrie stood by with the camera & we all sang to the birthday girl. She couldn’t blow all the candles out because we had included some magic candles, which are impossible to blow out.

We served the birthday cake the following morning with coffee while cruising down stream

Thank you for celebrating Jane’s birthday on the African Queen.

We wish you all a safe journey home.