Nir and Jonny

I made a birthday card for Nir last year with the greeting "Enjoy your last year in your 30s". Of course this year he was celebrating his 40th birthday and a new card was requested. He is a baal kore (the person who reads the weekly excerpt from the Torah during synagogue services) and enjoys Jewish learning. His wife says that he also has a cheeky side to him. He is a big football fan and loves the Israeli football club Macabbi Haifa and Ronaldo. He also likes listening to Shwekey, an Orthodox Jewish recording artist and musical entertainer, and singing with his kids.

I have shown Nir with one of his favoured kodesh books (religious texts) in one hand and a football in the other! He is wearing an Israeli policeman's hat - a reminder of the fun times he had with his kids at Purim, a Jewish holiday where customs include wearing masks and costumes to public celebrations and parades. Behind him is a badge of his favourite football team, to his right is a picture of Ronaldo and to his left, Yaakov Shwekey. I added a big red number 40 to mark his age and a few music notes too, since he loves to sing with his kids.

Nir's wife sent me the wonderful photo of him proudly showing off his card.

Jonny has received many, many cards of mine over the years! Last year I showed him joining in a karaoke session singing Queen's "We Are The Champions". This year, lockdown year, his wife asked me to show him sitting on the brown sofa on their balcony with his laptop on his knees. He has his England shirt on - a little dig at the fact he was supposed to see them play in the Euros this summer - and his favoured blue Reading F.C. cap. I added some red and blue balloons and bunting because, let's face it, the brown sofa wasn't so exciting!

"Great card as usual" Jonny wrote to me.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesdays with a Twist, The Happy Now Blog Link- Up and My Corner of the World.