The Lace Anniversary

Last Sunday, the 12th June, we celebrated our 13th (Lace) Wedding Anniversary. Our combined ages are now 120 years, we’ve been together for (almost) 30 years, and this is our fifth year of living in our farmhouse, De Witte Wand.

All the above seemed like a good excuse for a party, so on Sunday over thirty friends (old and new) joined us for lunch in the garden.

Our new friends are from the neighbourhood, and they followed the local tradition of placing two fir trees decorated with paper roses outside the front door.

As it was Martin’s birthday very recently, they also brought along an Abraham to mark the occasion.

And since we had put up a tent for the party in the garden, they planted a Meiboom (Maypole) next to it. Whenever a new building is erected in this part of the Netherlands, a Meiboom is placed next to it to mark the occasion.

It’s also traditional to make speeches at these events. Fortunately, these were light-hearted, accompanied by joke presents (e.g. we were presented with walking sticks, a box to soak our false teeth overnight in, and two pairs of long-johns), so everyone was thoroughly entertained.

The weather was kind, and I think a good time was had by all. Martin and I certainly enjoyed it. Our thanks to everyone who helped make it special, and particularly to our new friends from the neighbourhood who have welcomed us so warmly, and who went to great trouble to make this a special day for us.