By Lanier Laney

Beaufort pediatrician, Francis Rushton, wanted to find a unique place to celebrate his 60th birthday. Knowing that his son would be hiking in Europe, he Googled his family’s surname and found Rushton Hall, a castle with hotel and spa two hours north of London in Northhamptonshire. He emailed and

[caption id="attachment_3527" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Black tie dinner at the castle in England"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Black-tie-dinner-.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-3527" title="Black tie dinner" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Black-tie-dinner--300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

Facebooked friends to join his family for an unforgettable birthday.     Among those attending were family members Margaret Rushton (she is Arts Coordinator for Beaufort County Schools) with sons Will  (a resident physician in the Charlottesville, Va., hospital ER), Seth (who just received a Master’s in English Literature from Tulane University), and Meggie (a publicist for Random House’s Fodor Travel Guides in New York City).

Also flying in to celebrate were a whole jolly group from Beaufort that included: Mike and Jane Frederick; Edna Crews; David and Terry Murray; Josette and Jim Grimsley, and their daughter, Margaret Grimsley Antelme, who now lives in London, and her new son, Xan pronounces “Zan” (from Alexander). Coincidentally, Edna, Jane and Jim were also celebrating birthdays that week.
Said Josette Grimsley about the trip, “Staying in a castle surrounded by beautiful rolling countryside transported all of us into another time. High tea with scones and cottled cream, cocktails in the Great Hall, spa treatments, and excursions into the historic area were unforgettable. Francis’ black-tie birthday dinner and dance was made delightful by his thoughtful comments about each of his friends and family attending. It was good to see the reunion of his family, especially his fantastic mother.”
And Edna Crews added, “It was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was like a fairy tale. We really were in a castle and surrounded by one of the most congenial groups of people I have ever had the pleasure of being with for such a special occasion.”
Here are some pics from the event.