Date crumble slice

When my Scottish friend told me she'd be travelling back to Scotlant while her husband remained in Australia and his 60th birthday happened to be during her time away, a whole bunch of family and friends decided to plan a surprise 60th birthday party.  Our friend Gordon is always lending us a hand with various bits of landscaping or odd jobs and we were really looking forward to planning his party to celebrate this milestone.

A few of us got together one Friday night to plan the party then divided the work between us.  The idea was that everyone invited would bring along a dish which would be put towards the meal.  I decided to make a massive lasagne.  This is always popular and convenient for feeding a crowd.  I also made a batch of  delicious date crumble slice.  I followed the recipe found here as it always turns out perfectly.  I figured the oats were a very distant nod to Gordon's Scottish heritage while the slice itself could be conveniently held in one hand while balancing a cup of tea in the other. 

Besides the party being a surprise, we also hired a bag piper to come along and play a few Scottish tunes so this was something everyone was waiting to see.  Our friend was genuinely surprised by the party and was speechless as the bag piper entered playing a familiar tune.  Our job was done! The evening was a real success and everyone bringing a dish worked really well.  There was such a range of different food to be enjoyed and all of it was simply delicious.  The slice was a perfect addition to the dessert table and it was nice to see it being enjoyed!