The diary entry in the McKenzie family diary for the 24th April 1923 is brief “ Dipping up at Crawfords, baby boy born.”
On Saturday about 60 people gathered at the Geraldine Hotel for lunch, to celebrate this baby boy’s birthday, my Dad. Mum has spent many months planning the event with us all roped into help along the way. There was the guest list, the invitations, the cake, the choice of meal, the placemats, the decorations and the flowers. It all came together on Saturday morning when some of us went down to the hotel to set up the dining room. It looked lovely with the flowers that Barbara and I had arranged, the balloons, decorations and place-mats, all contributing to make the room look inviting and festive.
The guests started to arrive about 12:30pm and lots of talk ensued as people caught up with each other. Not all knew each other but the common link was Dad. Most of his nieces and nephews had made the journey to Geraldine and for some of us it has been many years since we have seen each other. Some of Dad’s boyhood friends were also there as well as others who had become friends throughout his life.
Missing was Jessica, who had had to return to the UK the previous week but not without contributing to the day. She had iced the birthday cake, using the toys that depict a dog trial scene and have been used for nearly 50 years on Dad’s birthday cakes. She also designed the place-mats by scanning and using the photos Mum had sorted out.
The proceedings were lead by my brother in law Keith who took on the role of MC for the day. First we enjoyed a beautiful roast
beef meal followed by pavlova and fruit for dessert.
There was then more time for socialising and reminiscing before the formal part of the afternoon with speeches from the MC, myself, Joy and Fraser. There were also several impromptu speeches from ‘the floor’ before the cake was cut, Happy Birthday sung and Dad had his ‘right of reply.‘ He has always been a good speech maker and this one was no exception. He speaks without notes, (I suspect this skill comes from his early days as a debater) and he had us all in fits of laughter with his jokes and quick wit. At 90 Dad is truly amazing and to look at him you could easily mistake him for someone 20 years younger. 
The final part of the afternoon was a cup of tea and a slice of the birthday cake before everyone started drifting away, with some having traveled a good couple of hours (or more for those from the North Island and Australia) to be there. The verdict was that the day had been a great success.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we were all glad we had made the effort to be there and to help, as a friend, Uncle, Father, Grandfather, and wife celebrate such an auspicious occasion. 
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