Andy D'Agorne

Within a matter of hours, the back garden of the 'ancestral home' in Penkridge was transformed into a suitable setting for my Mum's 80th birthday celebration. My brother Nick and family arrived from Devon, we arrived from York and within a few hours the marquee was up (incorporating one bush that was the only obstacle to a big enough area of lawn!) , camping tables and chairs out and food prepared. There are suitable venues for hire in the village, but this was the cheapest 'self catering' option and mercifully the rain stopped for the whole day. Thankfully we didnt have to abandon proceedings with it staying fine all evening and the 40 or so people who came all made it a memorable event for the family. On looking at one of the presents given to my Mum which featured pictures of the 'Great Flood' of 1958 I realised that next year will be the 50th anniversary of the D'Agorne's arriving in Penkridge! The village town cryer and 'webmaster' was there too - very handy for summoning everyone's attention for the birthday song and cake cutting. His version of events can be found at http://penkridgecrier.blogspot.com/2008/08/town-crier-helps-celebrate-paulines.html#links