The birthday girl Chris told me this is a fairly traditional English way of celebrating birthdays. Ah, then that means I must have a very traditional side.
Growing up, my birthday celebrations were always very simple or on the boring side, having a meal with family or friends. However, this time, I saw another possibility, which inspired me to be more creative in the future or at least do something similar. So what was it?
Let’s look at her invitation letter first: ‘It will be held at a cottage over the weekend and please bring an instrument or songs from the 60s (because Chris was born in that era) to share’. It’s about two hours' drive from my place. If you were me, would you go? I am glad I did, always say ‘yes’.
Here are the 5 things I fancy about.
Open-mic session
When I got there, it was almost 5pm. The session has already started. It was freezing outside, but as soon as I entered inside, a different world was in front of me, cozy and warm! People were sitting in a circle and an old man was standing, singing with his guitar.
After I sat down, Chris told me that I could put down my name on the blackboard as usual if I wanted to sing. But to my surprise, I found my name ‘Chien’ was already there. I felt joy, obviously, someone has heard my singing before and wanted to listen to it again. What a confidence booster, thanks!
Then I went outside to talk to my friend Rowena, Chris’s daughter. During our chat, I was told to go back to the room, because it was my turn to sing now. What? I haven’t prepared yet. In the past, I always needed some time to do a quick rehearsal beforehand. Well, let’s face the challenge.
I started to share the songs that I was about to perform in the upcoming week. What a perfect testing time. It went very well and I was been told that I became more comfortable singing and talking in front of people too after my first MC experience at Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival last year. Yay!
It brought me some of my childhood memories back too. I did always like to be in the spotlight to sing or tell a story. Finally, I started to reconnect the dots. Cool!
The house we stayed at - Wuthering Heights
It was so stylish and unique.
The name is based on the famous novel Wuthering Heights. The whole house looked like a very old and classic building, but actually, it was only completed in the 1980s. Because the owners collected all the old parts from different places with her dad. How special!
Food sharing
I love the cake that Chris made because it really reflected her attitude towards ageing. As human beings, especially females, we tend to become more reluctant to tell people about our age. While Chris was different. I felt more joy in this celebration.
She said: ‘Finally, I will soon be retired, which means I will be able to have much more time to do the things I like, to paint, sing songs, play the mandolin and do some certain psychological practices that I enjoy.’
Also, I was pleased that everyone loved the Chinese dessert I brought too. It was sticky rice pancake 糯米粑, crispy outside, but soft inside. Also, a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds gave the pancake a layer of fragrance.
Spontaneous entertainment time
I asked people to choose their favourite location in the house, and then I took a photo of them as a background, but they had to wear a special headband. In the end, 9 of them joined and they all had fun. That taught me again, the importance of going with the flow and being free and silly. That could definitely make your life more interesting.
Also, watching two guests playing with the fire and music was super cool. I don’t know if you are the same, but whenever I looked at the fire at night, I always felt a sense of peace, very comforting.
Conversations
People are always the most important and interesting creatures in my eyes. Two of the conversations stood out.
With Chris
She told me that she was into Chinese painting. For her, western painting sometimes could be too rigid. While for eastern painting, especially the watercolour one, it’s flowy. It was very harder to control but at the same time, it could bring you more spontaneous fun. You would never know what kind of image you would end up with.
Chris also said she tried to change people’s general view about watercolour painting in the western world too. Painters liked to use dark colours, so it could be dull sometimes. That's why she wanted to do something different, combing eastern style to educate people that watercolour painting can be colourful and bright too.
Talk with Rory
It was so good to see he was stepping more and more towards his own path. He said he used to change 20 jobs in 3 years. He was very unhappy and confused. Then he realised that maybe standard office work just didn't suit him. He told me now he felt much happier, because he became his own boss, and that was something he always wanted to do. I noticed when he was talking, his eyes were shining.
Rory also said, most of his family members were money orientated. While for him, being happy about what he was doing was far more important, and his lifestyle didn’t require much money either. At that moment, I felt I found my tribe. That was a sign of having a good conversation because we just don't need to think about what we needed to say next.
Thanks so much again for inviting me, my dear friend Chris. Now it’s my turn to think about what I want to do for my birthday.
