Well, the birthday was a rather fabulous affair actually.
It kicked off with drinks in town on Thursday.
I invited all the best friends – most of whom are regulars at the Pub Quiz each Tuesday. Once everyone was there the night really took off. I was bought Baileys all night and they changed from singles to doubles without me noticing(!) and that is when I got VERY tipsy. Towards 11 o’clock I was very happy and there were many hugs, declarations of love for London and my friends in it, and all such things. Great friends as they are, some enterprising ex-perthites even tried to freak me out by setting up a random man in the bar to say he had met me at the Cott and we had *ahem* locked lips! At first I thought that I was starting to forget faces, but as soon as he tried to claim tonsil hockey I smelt a rat … never done THAT in the Cott.
I was rather blasé about my lack of headache the next morning, and all involved in the buying my drinks scam were a little miffed. There was an amusing flurry of emails from the guests when I told them so:
ORIGINAL MESSAGE – FROM CLAIRE
Fi, Howard, Jacinta, Kim, Matt, Monica and Sue
Thank you all so much for the fabulous night. Thankfully all your combined evil plans failed ...
#1 I may have been a little tipsy but I don't have a headache
#2 I did not believe that phoney 'snog at the Cott' man
#3 I got home without having any embarrassing episodes with night buses, firemen or penguins
I was forced to reign in the more enthusiastic of them:
ORIGINAL MESSAGE – FROM CLAIRE
I pose the question - who needs enemies when you have friends like these?
*slightly strained grin*
MONICA:
Extract from Email 1: I still say we have to try harder next time. Less milk. More alcohol. A funnel.
Extract from Email 2: This stuff'll be ready for next year's Claire-intoxication mission.
Extract from Email 3: And more convincing (and less lecherous) "snog at the Cott" men...
HOWARD:
Extract from Email 1: Can't believe it, no head ache?!! You have now set down a challenge. he he he!
Extract from Email 2: Kim > "Claire is now feeling the effects"
Yes! big cheer! Challenge completed in record time, well done Kim!
KIM:
Extract from Email 1: damn ... next time we'll get you triples. :-)
Extract from Email 2: I can proudly declare that Claire is now feeling the effects from last night. She may not have had a headache earlier, but we just had lunch at the local "boat pub" with the fire brigade rescue boat speeding past creating some nasty waves. Claire left looking a little pale...
Friday night was SUPPOSED to be quiet but I was feeling so good Jacinta, Kim and I headed out to inigo in Clapham, my favourite club in London. I was completely sober but danced until I wore holes in my shoes.
The three of us met up in town again Saturday night intending to see a show and instead got to see the New Zealanders celebrating Waitangi Day and halting all the traffic in Parliament Square with the haka.
Browsing through the cheap tickets booths we decided to give the show a miss and go drinking. So we went to an Aussie bar in Covent Garden and proceeded to indulge in the £7.50 jugs of cocktails.
7 jugs and 14 drinks later we were excessively hammered. We talked to some very nice boys … hmmm … can’t quite remember …
What I do remember is Kim going home and Jacinta and I going on to a club and having a very good dance in a very skanky club until the wee hours!
Sunday was the last day of the Carnival - Kim and I took the train out to Cambridge.
We did a lightening tour of the colleges, which were so different to Oxford as to make them just as good, and then we had a mini pub-crawl, including ostrich meat burgers, Baileys hot chocolates and cake – what else does a girl need?
I slept for 12 hours Sunday night. A great birthday all up.
It kicked off with drinks in town on Thursday.
I invited all the best friends – most of whom are regulars at the Pub Quiz each Tuesday. Once everyone was there the night really took off. I was bought Baileys all night and they changed from singles to doubles without me noticing(!) and that is when I got VERY tipsy. Towards 11 o’clock I was very happy and there were many hugs, declarations of love for London and my friends in it, and all such things. Great friends as they are, some enterprising ex-perthites even tried to freak me out by setting up a random man in the bar to say he had met me at the Cott and we had *ahem* locked lips! At first I thought that I was starting to forget faces, but as soon as he tried to claim tonsil hockey I smelt a rat … never done THAT in the Cott.
I was rather blasé about my lack of headache the next morning, and all involved in the buying my drinks scam were a little miffed. There was an amusing flurry of emails from the guests when I told them so:
ORIGINAL MESSAGE – FROM CLAIRE
Fi, Howard, Jacinta, Kim, Matt, Monica and Sue
Thank you all so much for the fabulous night. Thankfully all your combined evil plans failed ...
#1 I may have been a little tipsy but I don't have a headache
#2 I did not believe that phoney 'snog at the Cott' man
#3 I got home without having any embarrassing episodes with night buses, firemen or penguins
I was forced to reign in the more enthusiastic of them:
ORIGINAL MESSAGE – FROM CLAIRE
I pose the question - who needs enemies when you have friends like these?
*slightly strained grin*
MONICA:
Extract from Email 1: I still say we have to try harder next time. Less milk. More alcohol. A funnel.
Extract from Email 2: This stuff'll be ready for next year's Claire-intoxication mission.
Extract from Email 3: And more convincing (and less lecherous) "snog at the Cott" men...
HOWARD:
Extract from Email 1: Can't believe it, no head ache?!! You have now set down a challenge. he he he!
Extract from Email 2: Kim > "Claire is now feeling the effects"
Yes! big cheer! Challenge completed in record time, well done Kim!
KIM:
Extract from Email 1: damn ... next time we'll get you triples. :-)
Extract from Email 2: I can proudly declare that Claire is now feeling the effects from last night. She may not have had a headache earlier, but we just had lunch at the local "boat pub" with the fire brigade rescue boat speeding past creating some nasty waves. Claire left looking a little pale...
Friday night was SUPPOSED to be quiet but I was feeling so good Jacinta, Kim and I headed out to inigo in Clapham, my favourite club in London. I was completely sober but danced until I wore holes in my shoes.
The three of us met up in town again Saturday night intending to see a show and instead got to see the New Zealanders celebrating Waitangi Day and halting all the traffic in Parliament Square with the haka.
Browsing through the cheap tickets booths we decided to give the show a miss and go drinking. So we went to an Aussie bar in Covent Garden and proceeded to indulge in the £7.50 jugs of cocktails.
7 jugs and 14 drinks later we were excessively hammered. We talked to some very nice boys … hmmm … can’t quite remember …
What I do remember is Kim going home and Jacinta and I going on to a club and having a very good dance in a very skanky club until the wee hours!
Sunday was the last day of the Carnival - Kim and I took the train out to Cambridge.
We did a lightening tour of the colleges, which were so different to Oxford as to make them just as good, and then we had a mini pub-crawl, including ostrich meat burgers, Baileys hot chocolates and cake – what else does a girl need?
I slept for 12 hours Sunday night. A great birthday all up.