Emirates Air Line in London

As some of you may know it was my birthday on Saturday, and to celebrate it, (after lunch with family, of course) The Englishman decided to ignore (!) his fear of heights and take me on the cable car which crosses the Thames. Since it opened for the London Olympics last year, The Emirates cable car has been criticised for being expensive, and for going 'from nowhere to nowhere'. Papers like The Standard have also been writing that no-one ever goes on it.

Well, on Saturday there was a queue! After waiting for about 20 minutes in the sunny but windy quayside, we paid our £3.20 fare on our Oyster cards and got onboard. (I didn't think that was too bad a price).

Once inside it felt a bit as if a ski lift had been put in the wrong place. I must admit that while the Englishman had been apprehensive, I felt real fear once the glass cubicle began to climb up into the air. Somehow a ski lift seems safer - or perhaps on a Nordic skiing holiday I have more adrenalin flowing through my veins?

The views were fantastic, though, especially on such a sunny day. Below us the river snaked towards the sea, with the Thames Barriers to the East and The Millennium Dome - or O2 as it's now called - to the West. In the distance, the glass fronted skyscrapers of Canary Wharf glinted in sun.

In the end The Englishman wasn't at all bothered about the height. Typical, when he's OK, I'm not...It wasn't as if I didn't enjoy the ride, but I was mighty glad to be back on Terra firma and later on a river boat going back into town.

My Big Fat Birthday

Against all odds I survived the day of my big birthday. I'm not usually bothered about my age. Obviously I'd like to be 25, or perhaps even 35, rather than the age I am, but as long as I'm healthy and still get away with wearing jeans, I'm not that worried about the advancing years.

Apart from this time.

For some curious reason I was absolutely dreading the forthcoming birthday. It was a landmark one, that may be one reason, but then I've always maintained that it's the in-between years that are hardest.

At 25 I felt as if I had to be a grown-up. I should know exactly what I wanted out of life. I didn't. I'd just got my first serious job in England and felt like an inexperienced kid in the office. I'd just got married and was trying to cope with being a naval wife. Everything was new to me; my life, my job, my friends. I felt far from being in control of anything.

By 30 I was a happy mother of a toddler and was expecting my second.

At 35 I felt as if life was passing me by. With two small children in tow, I was constantly chasing my tail and tired. I was in a job I didn't want, a house that was falling apart but no funds to refurbish it, and body that was beginning to show signs of ageing. I went on a diet that year.

At 40 the children were older and I got more sleep.  I felt young and full of energy. I spent the birthday skiing in Finland with good friends.

There was another mini-crisis at 45 when I realised I was closer to 50 than 40.

So I guess I've been smarting for this birthday for a few years now. But, my friends, it was OK! My family created a wonderful day for me, champagne and good food and brilliant company throughout the day. Because I hadn't wanted a big party, or in fact had asked everyone just to forget about the day, it was wonderful to have so many cards and flowers and presents. It was as if the day was a surprise to me too.

And today - the day after - I feel more energetic than ever. I've been running around the house putting up pictures, clearing out boxes of files and organising books. I got the builder to make a small bench out of some old church pews we had inherited from the previous occupants of this house. Having admired the pine, which he reckons is over 100 years old, he even made some shelves out of the bits we couldn't use for the bench.

Next week this house will be on the market. Though I'm sad to leave this place with all its memories, I'm also excited about the future. More importantly, I don't feel any older than I did the day before yesterday.