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Posted 23/05/2020 in Local Experiences

Local Lockdown Birthday Challenge


Local Lockdown Birthday Challenge

This week I challenged myself to celebrate my wife’s birthday using only companies in who are members of the East of Bath community site - I hope this blog post inspires you to challenge yourself to do the same.   

We can no longer go out for a nice meal, have friends around for a Friday night or decant to the Pub.  Like so much in our life right now, COVID 19 has forced us to think and act differently about Birthday celebrations.

Here is what we did.

Part 1.  Presents to wrap - taken care of by Leah and her team at John Moore Sports (see Shop Local blog)

Part 2.  Breakfast. I used the online ordering and delivery options from The Thoughtful Bakery which delivers to Batheaston Car Park on a Thursday morning.  The croissants and sourdough bread were amazing and a great way to start the day - I highly recommend the almond croissant, massive and delicious!  It had the chance to briefly meet Duncan, the owner and baker, for a social distance chat in the car park to find out more about his business and how COVID 19 has forced his company to pivot a couple of times. 

Part 3.  Flowers. I used the online order service for The Fresh Flower Company Shop in Colerne, and although they offered to deliver, I used the order as an excuse to go and use their pick up service and meet Rachel, the owner of the business.  The flowers are beautiful, the wife was very happy with this addition to the day, and a wonderful fragrance is now all around the lounge.  It also allowed me to meet Rachel, another passionate individual who is working out the best way to run her flower shop and help with PPE for the NHS in her spare time!

Part 4.  Dinner Out.  OK so this is a tough one but the weather was great so I announced that we were going out for a picnic dinner.  This did not go down well as the fridge was bare but I had already ordered a picnic box by phone with Robyn at Goodness Grazers!   The mood changed at 5 pm when a Goodness Grazers picnic box was delivered.  I missed the delivery but was greeted with “Wow, look what’s just been delivered, it’s amazing!”  We put some wine and glasses in a bag and head up the Northend Valley to find a sunny spot and an amazing view for a family picnic.

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The review of the day is in from the most important person 

 “One of the best birthday’s I’ve had for a long time!”

I am grateful that COVID 19 has made me think and act differently.  When was the last time you ordered presents for your loved one and knew the first names of the people whose passion made the gifts possible?  The answer for me is “first time this week!” I have learnt a lot about and from Leah, Duncan, Rachel and Robyn and am even more passionate about what we are achieving with the East of Bath community than ever before.

Take the East of Bath Birthday Challenge yourself and enjoy the wonderful opportunities that this lockdown has given us.