The most unbelievable week of my life 💜

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all as well as can be expected on your own journeys right now.

This post isn't really about food, pancreatitis or anything like that for once — it's about the most unbelievable week of my life.

On the 5th of May, I turned 50. Yes, I know… I don't look 50.

Because evenings are difficult for me now with fatigue, I organised a little afternoon get-together on the Tuesday at Palm 5 on the paseo. Around 20 people came, and it was such a lovely afternoon with great company and lots of laughs.

People kept saying to me, "Your 50th birthday will go on longer than just one day." I smiled politely, thinking "yeah right".

Well… apparently they were right.

The rest of the week carried on with little meet-ups, coffees and 0.0 beers with people who couldn't make Tuesday. Then on Saturday, my friend Paul, who had been in the UK on my actual birthday, asked me to join him and his friend Angela for a birthday drink at Feathers Bar.

It had started raining on the way there — typical — but apart from my hair, a bit of rain has never really bothered me.

As we walked in, I noticed balloons everywhere and said to Paul, "Are you sure we should be here? It looks like there's a party on!"

He insisted.

Then the entire bar erupted into Happy Birthday.

And that's when the real shock hit.

Standing there were my brother, my nephew, my cousins, my friend Louise and her partner — who I thought had flown home days earlier — along with her mum and dad, who I've known since growing up. There were friends from my old local pub in the UK, friends I've made here in Spain, and people who regularly holiday here too.

Honestly, I thought I was dreaming.

I swore. A lot.

Then I hugged my brother and burst into tears.

It turns out this surprise had been planned for FIVE MONTHS between my brother Mark, Matt who owns the bar, Louise secretly going through my Facebook contacting people, and Kathy, my flatmate, helping organise everything too.

How they all managed to keep this secret from me for so long, I genuinely have no idea.

There were photos of me everywhere from every stage of my life, balloons all over the place, and a room full of people who had travelled just to celebrate with me.

I spent the first hour completely in shock.

To say I felt special would be a huge understatement.

It was honestly one of the most magical experiences of my life, and a memory I will carry with me forever.

I also got to spend most of Sunday with family before they flew home that evening, which made it even more special.

Physically, I'm still recovering, but mentally, I don't think I've ever felt so loved in my entire life.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped make it happen — especially my brother Mark — and to every single person who came, travelled, planned, lied to me successfully, and made it such an unforgettable time.

I will never, ever forget it.

Julia 💜