Party Tricks

With S&K, I head mid-afternoon to T’s 30th birthday BBQ and party.

This is the way to host a party alright, we could only marvel and learn.

The party isn’t at T’s tiny flat, but at a colleague’s house/garden (I mean why watch your own place get trashed?).

Accompanying the drinking, eating and general merry making, various guests provide entertainment. The close-up magician is a quality act, though perhaps slightly overshadowed by the fire-eater (I’m sure primary school teachers didn’t do that kind of thing in my day).

When the one-man-band starts up, initially my heart sinks, but actually he was pretty good.

Until of course the pan-pipes came out.

At which point S and I just looked at each other and exclaimed in unison "Sally!"

So returning a previous favour I phone her mobile and let her listen to a ‘gig’.

On hearing details of the party and my companions, her response is "you’re not with S&K again?!? I don’t know why you don’t just move in!"

(A fine idea...if only they'd let me...but anyway, back to the party…)

Later S&M entertain with guitars and singing, including a special, audience sing-a-long version of When I’m Sixty-Four with adapted lyrics.

K starts on her third bottle of wine and I’m mighty impressed at how well she’s holding it together. A little problem with finding the last word of each sentence, but other than that…

The party continues into the night and just after midnight, just as it seems things are starting to wind down, a late guest arrives, fresh from singing at a jazz gig. Next thing you know we have an intimate little jazz gig of our own as she sings T his favourite song, Stormy Weather (didn't think you'd appreciate a call at that time Sall...).

A fine, fine party. But it does lift the bar rather.

As we rise to leave around 1am, S looks at K and says "Have you got a key?". K replies "No, I haven’t, I thought you had!"

And so the eldest Radlet is roused from her bed to enable her irresponsible parents re-admittance to the family home. I, the designated driver and therefore sober component, suggest she should possible ground the pair of them and certainly remember this next time she has a Malteaser moment and locks herself out.

(of course if they would just adopt me and be done with it, I could have been responsible for the key...you know it makes sense ;-) )