A right royal birthday bash

God save the Queen as she turns the ripe old age of 80 today. We remember because Paul Surtees, president of the Royal Over-Seas League has been reminding us constantly. Surtees (below) will be celebrating the birth of Elizabeth II, queen of the Commonwealth since 1953, with a full schedule of events tomorrow, including a service at St John's Cathedral and lunch at the China Club. The menu: coronation chicken, some Chinese food and English fruit cake.

As Surtees argues, even in post-handover Hong Kong, the monarch is still worth celebrating. 'She's still queen of a lot of countries, including Australia and Canada, and those countries are represented by people here and we wish to celebrate her 80 years and the good job she has done.' In gratitude, the queen sent a hand-written note to Surtees.