大象传媒

Good morning and a very happy birthday if it鈥檚 your birthday today.聽 Her Majesty the Queen will, I hope, be waking to family birthday greetings today, even though her official birthday and many a street party, concert and exhibition will be taking place in a few weeks鈥� time in June.
I鈥檝e tried different approaches to birthdays over the years:聽 my own and other people鈥檚.聽 I have one or two more to go before I can claim to be 90, so there鈥檚 still time to experiment with ways to celebrate.聽 I could go for the full on night out with friends or a more personal time for reflection and taking stock. One year I decided to take the day off work and spend the day at home, only I found I had to wait until the evening when everyone else was back for the full effect.聽 So the next year, I decided to go to work as usual.聽 This was an odd one.聽 I was rather hoping others might have remembered it was my birthday and when they didn鈥檛, I鈥檓 afraid I may have gone into a bit of a sulk.聽 Even in later years there is still a thrill when it鈥檚 your birthday, but work carried on around me as normal.聽 I think I ended up by announcing it by means of cake in a tea break.聽 A birthday is a good day to be treated, to be special.

In the same year the queen was born, A A Milne published 鈥淲innie the Pooh鈥� with its cast of characters whose personalities we recognise in others as well as ourselves perhaps:聽 the bear of little brain, the faithful friendship of piglet and the gloom of Eeyore.聽 We might then also celebrate Eeyore鈥檚 birthday today, remembering his gloom at being forgotten and then his simple joy at the presents from his friends:聽 the accidentally burst balloon and the empty honey pot to put it in.

A prayer for today 鈥� Lord, help me to value the kindness of friends and help me to grow wiser through the years and to be a good friend to others.
Amen