Ben and Bill migrated from Switzerland together in 1967. They planned to stay for the obligatory two years just to learn to speak English. However, the plan changed once they arrived and fell in love with Australia and the girls who became their soul partners. They have remained friends since then even though their lives led them to live in far away places. Bill and I lived in PNG for quite a few years and Ben and Lyn lived in NT for some time. Now Ben and Lyn live in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane. Ben turned 80 last week and the celebration was held on last Sunday at Flaxton Gardens. So I had a two hour drive to Flaxton. I decided to book into a guesthouse nearby to stay overnight so not to be driving home late in the evening. It was a lovely celebration with a delicious lunch and set in a beautiful place.
Very happy birthday Ben!
ReplyDeleteAs long as there were not 80 candles on the cake :)
How lovely Diane. A good drive indeed and you did well. The photos are lovely.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your friend.
The venue looks wonderful and how good to have a life long friend, especially one who has similar tastes in shirts.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful long friendship! Happy 80th to Ben! How could you not fall in love with Australia? Not to mention the amazing Australian girls they met! Best wishes to you all from Georgia, USA. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful place to meet up with old friends! We have old friends about 4 hours from us…hard to make that long drive now…Larry’s buddy is 83 and wife is 81…we are 79 and 75. I guess we’ll be the ones to make the trip…They don’t trust driving that far anymore. Life is just flying by!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Donna
Happy Birthday to Be, Great photos. Take care, enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteA very Happy Birthday to Ben. Well done to he and Bill for a lifelong friendship. The venue & view for the party and the guesthouse where you overnighted are stunning.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! Great idea to stay overnight in the guesthouse. Happy Birthday to Ben and thanks for bringing us along. Loved the photos!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Ben. Great that they are still close enough for celebrations. Staying over at night was the best plan. Keep well. t'other Diane
ReplyDeleteSounds a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing these photographs.
Happy birthday wishes to Ben.
All the best Jan
Lifelong friendships are the best and nice that Bill and Ben were able to get together for the birthday celebration. We will be doing the same this weekend to celebrate a relative's 90th birthday. A good decision to stay overnight rather than face a long drive home after all the festivities. The venue looked great too!
ReplyDeleteoh how delightful to have such a longstanding close friendship and so much shared history. And what a wonderful birthday in such a gorgeous place. Up to many more years 🎉🎊
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Ben! There is nothing like old friends who know you and your story.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
What a wonderful time for you all, looked an amazing place to celebrate a birthday.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to stay in touch with old friends and Ben's birthday celebration was perfect! I'm so glad you were able to get there! Your lodging looks like it was a good place to rest up for the long drive the next day.)
ReplyDelete