Karin and I received an invitation in the autumn of 2011. Thomas Thomsen would be 75 years old on 2nd January, and this was to be celebrated with a reception and brunch in Hvidovre, a suburb of Copenhagen, the following Saturday. My first thoughts were about what I should give Thomas. The present we had given him at the reception when he retired from DAF had brought him joy, so my thoughts were on something else creative.
An idea quickly dawned on me. That same morning I had thrown out some old, worn out running shoes. I delved into the rubbish bin and took them out, washed them and hung them out to dry. I then found an expanded-polystyrene box, which I covered in paper bearing the logo of The Great Wall Marathon. I put the shoes into it and inserted a small plant in each. To one of the shoes I attached a label which read “The Great Wall Marathon Finisher” and to the other one a label with “Amsterdam Marathon Finisher” on it. Between the two shoes, I laid a bottle of champagne before scattering on wrapped chocolates. The whole package was wrapped in cellophane with labels bearing the Great Wall Marathon logo. Finally, I tied bows in red and yellow to represent the Chinese flag. I made the card myself, and on the front was a picture of Thomas and me taken in 2009, with him giving me a little hare in celebration of the marathon’s tenth anniversary.
The present went down extremely well, and we enjoyed several pleasurable hours, during which time many familiar faces turned up. Albatros Travel arranged a little stunt during which Thomas received a variety of fun gifts.
Buy the book here.
