December Diary ~ part II

Xmas drinks: Sir Richard Steale

Our annual pre-Xmas drinks included new faces this year: Claire’s new boyfriend, Macca, a chatty and cheerful Scottish guy; Daniel, an interesting children actor from Germany but living in Austria; Zuza, my lovely friend from Bratislava; and Dan, a sweet friend of mine from Milan who I randomly met in London. For the first time, this year, the trio Richard-Chrys-Ian honoured us of their presence too.

We opted for a classic venue in Belsize Park, a pub named after the Irish writer Sir Richard Steele. It is a proper decadent chic venue decorated with loads of quirky bric a brac, old fashion portraits, antique photos and other rather kitsch objects: from deer’s heads to mummified birds, and dusty books, of course. But the people are the real attraction of this bizarre place. Proper eccentrics of all ages and social background: from celebrities to the local weirdos, this pub is always a surprising meeting experience. That night we got pleasantly surprised by a trio of old musicians who entertained us with some Beatles songs played with harmonica, violin and guitar.

Company Xmas party at The Room by the River

Before the party I invited a few people to get ready at my place and have a pre-party drink. We arrived fashionably late due to my indecision about the dress to show off—the long purple dress or the navy short dress? :o )

The party was hosted near the river in a huge marquee. It was called The Room by the River, although no view over the river was visible from there. It was a black tie event, and everybody made an effort to look very elegant. Black was the dominant colour. I personally chose the puffy navy blue chiffon dress which I accessorised it with shocking pink short leather gloves, red thick tights, a wood beaded necklace (purple and lilac with a bright red rose) I made, and high-knee black boots for a global ’60s effect. My hair was gathered in a simple pony tail. The party was undoubtedly

well organised: it started with an aperitif on a rather dull reception room and followed with a buffet dinner, offering chicken in an Italian tomato and olive sauce, meat balls of lamb (always covered in tomato) and an oven baked vegetarian dish made of vegetables and mozzarella. The side dishes were potato and veggy based. The dessert was a simple cup of chantilly mixed with fresh fruit. The décor of the main room featured, predominantly, big rounded tables and sparkling pink lights for a television studio effect. This year the venue was even bigger than the previous years, and socialise was therefore harder. I spent the first half of the night trying to recognise the presents and hardly managed to speak with most of the guests.

A quite large dance floor was set at the end of the main room, but I did not go nearer to it, repulsed by the horrible commercial music they were playing.

The hall, on the other side, was the best place to socialise and converse. It had a bar and a chocolate fountain! The theme of the party was in fact *chocolate*, and, although this fountain offered tasty milky choco and the best profiteroles, it was quite small and the only reminder of the party’s theme.

As a Cinderella, I left at midnight to catch my direct tube home. And, as a good girl, I was at home half an hour later bright and safe and sober.

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The week went on with more social engagements: on Wed I met Elisa, an interesting Italian girl I met on the plane one year ago. Funnily enough we are flying back on 8th January togther again, and it was unplanned! I spent some time on my own on Thursday night while Steve was away for his Christmas party at work. And on Friday another department Xmas party at Zebrano. Nice venue in Carnaby Street, nice food and nice to chat with the colleagues in a different environment. Second photo from the top © MonoMax Ltd