Alex' Birthday Party in London

by Alex
(London)

One of the great traditions of any birthday party or celebration in the UK is singing happy birthday. This is usually done in a restaurant, and the aim is to cause maximum embarrassment to the person who's birthday it is.

Being British means we don’t like being the centre of attention, and if you can sing it loud enough, you can usually get the staff and other diners joining in. The redder the face of the person, the better!

The best one I remember was in a packed Chinese restaurant, where not only did everyone in the restaurant start singing, but they also played a tape of fifty people with very strong Chinese accents singing ‘happy birthday’.

The girl in question went bright red and hid behind her menu. I got into a lot of trouble for that, but she did get a cake with a sparkler in it.