tired
kharin and I did a final news check early this morning before setting off for 
strange_complex's half-age party.By setting off early, we were able to take in Birmingham Botanical Gardens in the morning. The site is fairly compact but there is a lot of material in there. As well as the standard fare of botanical gardens, there was an amount of specialization in aviaries containing a variety of birds - peacocks, parrots, several tropical starlings, and so on. Particularly interesting in the plant department was an accidentally crossed tree fern specimen in the sub-tropical section, and the historical gardens, depicting Roman, Mediaeval and Tudor gardens, though this section was small and signposted discreetly.
On to
strange_complex and her mother's party - many thanks to both - which was a very pleasant and civilised affair, with excellent food, drink, music and company. Who could ask for more? As the sun baked down, the partygoers paraded around the superb garden, chasing the shadier spots. Amongst others, and after kharin's rendezvous last week, this time I met up with renowned LJ celebrity rosamicula. She is somewhat less scary than I had imagined; or perhaps the appearance of being less scary actually makes her more so - after all, she did insist on taking a close-up photograph of my chest. 