You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I have a long tradition of bad luck on my birthday. A few years back I came off my motorbike and broke my arm. It didn't heal properly. Long story short, a year later I had surgery to correct it. On my 40th the surgical wound got knocked and I spent the early part of the night in an NHS direct centre getting the dressing changed.
Last year I traded my motorbike for a big scooter as the arthritis in one knee is giving me so much grief. I'd had it for less then two months when it was stolen on my birthday.
A replacement was eventually sorted, this time fitted with a tracker. This one was stolen and quickly recovered in the summer. Today, I'm on a train to Bruges, my lovely wife taking me away for my birthday (tomorrow) and I get a call from the tracking company quickly followed by a message from a neighbour. Oh yes the scooter has been lifted. Three blokes in a Transit who threatened my neighbour.
The police have now recovered my scooter but it's put a bit of a dampener on the trip to Bruges.
So cheer me up with your worst birthday experiences.
I turned 18 while working night shift on a production line in a car factory. After work I went straight into town to have a badly infected ingrown toenail removed under local anesthetic then home to bed. Later that night I had my first ever legal pint and immediately vomited violently in a hedge.
So cheer me up with your worst birthday experiences.
My 21st. Night out in Newcastle with some friends. My girlfriend at the time decided she wanted a piggyback. Took a running jump to mount me from the rear (fnarr), only, as I had no idea what was about to happen, on first touch, I ducked thinking something had been thrown at me. Cue girlfriend whiplashing over my back and face-planting the pavement. Blood everywhere. Teeth through upper and lower lips. 7 hours in Newcastle General Hospital. Taxi home. I'd had 1 drink. 😳
Errmmmm - not a funny story but....
Mrs TJ was told she was going to die and soon on her 60th birthday.
In my final year of Uni I met the girl of my dreams on the first day of term. She really was the one, had a great time together, got on great with her family etc. Mid February my 21st birthday came around, she had got together with all the gils in her flat and laid on a surprise party for me, invited school friends from back home in Wales, great cowd. Great party. Gave me a lovely watch for my birthday present.. When the party was over she finished with me. no warning signs, no reasons, just it was over. To say I was a broken man is an understatement.
Took me a fair while to get over that birthday I can tell you.
My 21st was spent at home (still living with parents) while builders put 2 foot long gutter supports into a one foot thick wall. I bought my own house 2 months later.
30th, my now wife moved in with me. My mum refused to visit in protest.
50th, my (still current) wife had a wobbly about the place I had wanted to go out for a meal, so we ended up at ****ing Pizza Hut. And I still haven't had a 50th birthday present. Or 51st, 52nd, 53rd or 54th.
I woke up in a bus shelter in Luxembourg on my 18th birthday. Intentionally.
For my 21st a very nice barrel of beer had been bought, I could only sniff it having caught a nasty little rash.
I thought this was going to be about the time of year, my wife's I'd Jan 4th and mine is 4 days later. Midst of winter, everyone is skint, is dark, cold, wet and generally quite miserable (much like me).
As for luck, well it's at the same time EVERY year!
My mother died on my 56th birthday. The only good thing about that day was that myself, my twin brother and my sister were there- she managed to get back from Italy in time . Birthdays are more difficult than they used to be-we try and spend it with our dad.
A significant birthday was on 23rd March 2020 which rather put paid to any celebrations. It rankles somewhat when you hear of all the birthday bashes and other parties at No. 10.
5 years ago spent my birthday recovering from a major op to remove a chunk of my large colon which contained a tumour. Spent my birthday this year recovering from a major op to remove another chunk of my large colon for the same reason. But the real birthday surprise this year was being told I also had metastatic prostate cancer. Happy days.
F*ck me, I thought I'd had it bad over the years. Thanks for cheering me up.
Spent the eve of my 40th in A&E with an 18 month old who was having febrile convulsions, including a traumatic hour whilst a nurse tried to insert a cannula (gave up in the end.) Missus had planned a lovely weekend away in Peebles, biking, eating, and staying in the Hydro. To cap it all the Hydro wouldn’t refund a penny of our booking even though we gave them 24hrs notice and so lost £500!
Two girlfriends and wife had birthdays Christmas Eve. Next one was New Years Eve.
At least I could remember them...
NIghtmare present time.
my birthday was always in the week after half term.
edit: and my mum died on my birthday. i was an adult and it was far from unexpected, so not a great shock
18th January
every few years it falls on Blue Monday - and even when its a day or two off its all over the news how crap this time of year is. Nobody wants to come out and everyone is skint and pissed off with winter.
Commonly held to be the most depressing day of the year. Blue Monday.
Great tune though.
Midst of winter, everyone is skint, is dark, cold, wet and generally quite miserable
I’m Jan 8th too so recognise this. Made worse by the fact that my Sisters birthday is Dec 24th so when we were kids the family always remembered her birthday when sending Xmas cards but forgot mine.
Also she never had to school on hers whereas a few years I remember first day of term was on mine 😖
Few years.ago.i couldn't get out of the bath. Meniscus tear in my knee went and I couldn't get up. I seen to remember crying cos the pain was so bad. Don't remember how I got out 😂
Spent my 18th birthday at St Luke’s Hospital in Huddersfield with severe depression. Fun times!
I spent my 18th birthday separating bull calves from their knackers
Ah, I remember now my 40th. It was 1 minute past midnight and the phone rang as I sat at the computer (I am a night owl). I wondered which joker had waited until that precise moment to be the first to wish me happy 40th, only to discover it was a cave rescue shout. So I had to grab my stuff and high tail down to the other side of Crickhowell to help look for a long overdue party in Aggy (Very large South Wales cave system). It was a very cold night with snow flurries and I agreed to lay the phone line to the entrance and through the tight entrance series. It is a good 2 km to the entrance for the caving hut where rescue base was established. So we would out several rolls of fine gauge wire all the way to the entrance and then got going in the entrance series. This can be small, tight and wet and we had to ensure the cable was fized well out of the way so it wasn't damaged by passing cavers. By about 4 am we had finally laid the cable through the 250 m of entracne series and popped up into the big passages.... just as the missing group appeared! So they all went out while we spent the next 3 hours winding the whole lot back in again. Finally took to my bed around 10 am. Was a memorable 40th I guess.
In a stange turn of fate there was also a cave rescue call out on my 41st to the same area (different cave), but I didn't volunteer to lay the cable on that one!
My 60th was 15th March 2020. We had a party but a friend didn't attend as she'd only just made it back from a locking down Madrid. How we joked it'd be the party to end all parties.
And it nearly was for a while unless you were a ****.
My wife forgot one of mine (and very nearly the next one too) some years ago. In the run up, I went back and forth from thinking she had found something really nice for me to wondering if she had, indeed, managed to forget it.
I did imagine beforehand that if she had forgotten it we'd end up having wild and kinky apology sex, but when it turned out she actually had it was all just a bit shit.
My 60th was 15th March 2020. We had a party but a friend didn’t attend as she’d only just made it back from a locking down Madrid. How we joked it’d be the party to end all parties.
My Mum's 70th was the day after ... so you know what that means.
My 18th was A-level results day. It was fine for me, as I got the results I needed. Three good mates did terribly: one thought it was hilarious and got shit-faced, another was distraught and in tears and needing consolling thinking his life was over (he's actually ended up doing very well for himself), and the third refused to leave his house. It made celebrating a bit awkward to be honest.
My 60th was 15th March 2020
Exactly a year before mine. beware the ides of march
Can't compete with some of the above but I got bitten by a German Shepherd on my 9th birthday and also got Flightdeck.
when I was around 15 both me and my mother forgot it was my birthday until the evening.
Weirdly it was only my 50th. Seems I'm now losing decades in the wrong direction.
Two girlfriends and wife had birthdays Christmas Eve
Christmas must have been chaotic, sneaking around between those three.
I had a childhood full of disappointing birthdays and believe I have psychological tendency to want to avoid the disappointment. For many years I didn’t bother celebrating them. Then I had kids, and started “It’s Dads Birthday!” That was alright for a while, but now we are so busy with activities adult birthdays are limited to a short card/gift ceremony at breakfast time and perhaps dinner out but only if the evening is free then it’s done.
Something with short lived and limited capacity for enjoyment IME.
Ex-wife had a late second term miscarriage on my 40th birthday. That was really not a good time for either of us and the main reason that I try very hard to ignore my birthday now.
Happy birthday by the way, a scooter is just a scooter. You're in Bruges, so try and enjoy the nice beers and the food for now!
My 21st was spent at home (still living with parents) while builders put 2 foot long gutter supports into a one foot thick wall. I bought my own house 2 months later.
I can't figure out what is happening in this innuendo to cause you to leave home...
I think my brother in law may 'win' this thread.
His twelve year old son died falling out of a tree on his birthday seven years ago. Needless to say, things have been a bit shite on his birthday ever since.
Got chickenpox on my 16th birthday, which meant i couldnt start my new (first job) for a week or so
Day after my 40th birthday, got hit by a car while out on the bike, broken hip amongst other injuries.
Jeez that's a sobering read. And that's from a fellow boyhood free faller, except I got stuck upsidedown and had to be rescued by my mum
Born on New years day nobody remembers, everyones skint I gave up on birthdays years ago. In my mind im still 21 and staying that *grown up * forever
Sounds to me like fate is telling you to stop riding motorbikes/scooters.
Hope your scooter was recovered ok and your birthday trip went well.
Two girlfriends and wife had birthdays Christmas Eve. Next one was New Years Eve.
At least I could remember them…
I know 3 who have theirs on Christmas day, one is my brother-in-law. He absolutely hates it. Mine is on the 29th so slap bang between Christmas and New Year, never had a party ever and presents are always crap as no-one knows what I had a few days before. Worst though was my 40th as it was 2021 so we were of course in lockdown. Had loads planned for it, namely being in New Zealand for a 3 month tour, but instead spent it watching crap on telly, eating a Domino's pizza and drinking an industrial quantity of Pepsi Max (I'm teetotal). Was also unemployed at the time and waiting for Driving Tests to restart so I could get my HGV license so was properly crap. Easily beats my 14th where I was in hospital with concussion after falling off a wall.
Mum died 2 days before dad's 60th. That was a bundle of laughs after nearly 40 years married and 42 together.
My daughter was 30 and dad was 80 during lockdown 1 in 2020. We did that one over zoom with dad in France.