So another year came and went bringing with it more wrinkles and grey hair but never mind. I was meant to blog about it way before now but between running the Ireland Twitter account and life – and procrastinating I didn’t get around to it.

Lucy and I headed to Dublin for the day. The Perfect Murder was on at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre and as I’d read the book by Peter James I was keen to see the play.

We had lunch first, I had a voucher for Milano’s so we went there. I’m delighted I had the voucher because €36 for two pizzas and two drinks is mad money! After lunch we went to Antoinette’s Bakery, a great bakery that specialises in Gluten free and vegan goodies. It was worth getting lost about 15 times! I blame google maps.

Now on to the play. It was brilliant, I can’t speak highly enough of it. There were only 5 actors in it, including Shane Ritchie and Jessie Wallace (Alfie and Kat from Eastenders), all were fantastic. It was so funny with a couple of proper jump moments. At one point I swear I jumped the height of myself and the whole audience screamed (not because I jumped, although that’s scary in itself!) The cast teamed with the fantastic lighting, sound and a brilliant set design all added up to ‘the perfect play’. If I lived in Dublin I would have gone to see it again, it was that good.

The icing on the cake was meeting Shane Ritchie afterwards, even though I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards (as usual!).

I had a really lovely birthday and got totally spoilt by family and friends. The family bought me a ticket to see Magnum (the band where the magnumlady name comes from). Lucy and her boyfriend Laurence gave me a voucher for Afternoon Tea in Ashford Castle (another bucket list item ticked off), I can’t wait to go. Jono got me such a fab duvet cover (pic below).

So that was my ‘perfect birthday’ and certainly one to remember.  You can read Lucy’s blog post here.