For the first time in my adult life, I spent my birthday in the land of my birth. Pretty far from the original event, it's true, but in a green and pleasant part of England, to be sure. We started the day at Wimborne Market, which is a combination of fresh foods, garden plants, clothes, flea market finds, whatever-you're-looking-for market, coming out with lots of veggies for dinner and (I couldn't resist) a very small Purbeck Pottery jug. My present to me.

Next stop was Mary and Lionel's daughter Mary's house, where we met and admired lovely Ruby, who is four months old, and enjoyed our hostess's pear almond tart. Back at the house, we had an early dinner; the main dish was dubbed Angela's Vegetable Medley in my honour. Claire had to catch a flight to Edinburgh from Southampton airport, normally a 40 minute drive away. By the time we left it was teeming rain and traffic was unusually slow most of the way. We dashed into the terminal with less than half an hour to flight time, but Claire was ushered in quickly and on her way.

Back home again, we set to work on a large bag of windfall apples that needed to be peeled and cooked before they spoiled. Our birthday tea was a traditional Dorset apple cake along with Dorset cheddar, a Dorset blue cheese and a very creamy French blue, nicely complemented with port. An excellent and memorable birthday!