You don't have to be a Sherlock to find a birthday venue but it helps

It is the time of the year when Number One Son grows older officially. He will soon turn three and it was the time to consider how we are going to celebrate his big day. We have been regularly invited to the birthday parties in the village and I and Archaeologist Husband thought that we really should have a proper party. Our tiny home and its front room could perhaps conveniently accommodate three toddlers playing, with their parents, and the small square of lawn in the garden is too tiny for a bouncy castle. It just did not occur to us how difficult the practical side will be.

Photo by the parish council

Our village has a proper spacious village hall so we thought that a couple of months in advance of the big day willbe enough and allow us a sensible time to make the preparations. We just had not fathomed how popular the hall is with different parties. Both suitable weekends were fully booked, the former with a company for training, which was slightly irritating since I just wonder if they really need a full Sunday in those circumstances. We were advised by the nice lady from the parish council to book in the future during the previous September when the diary for the coming winter and spring will be issued to avoid disappointment.

Luckily, I managed to secure a promise from a friend that we will be able to hold the party in their large garden if everything else goes pear-shape. I was also remaindered of the village scout hut, which is available for hire. From one lady in the NCT coffee group I could get a telephone number for another lady who turned out to be the beaver leader. She actually did not know who was taking the bookings since they had just had a new chair. Thus, I was duly given another telephone number for the leader of the local scouts in order to get the correct telephone number for the person responsible for the bookings. After leaving a message to an answer phone I received the correct mobile phone number and could make an enquiry.

After a couple of days I was contacted again and was told that our favourite day was already taken. In the meantime I had been reminded in the playground about the local church rooms so I had already started tracking down the church booking officer. Luckily, the names and telephone numbers of the wardens were provided on the notice board by the church so I could leave another message to an answer phone of a church warden in order to get the correct contact details. One day while I was away Archaeologist Husband received a telephone call with the right name and telephone number. A telephone call, a public liability insurance check and two occasions of sending forms back and forth later we now have a booking. Just the invitations, activities and equipment hire, food and decorations to go...