Revelry

Dear Octopus,


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today. Last night the six of us (Jeremy, Clare, Shan, Mark, Simon and myself) went to Boisdale's in Belgravia for dinner.To summarise:


6 people
3 courses
2 bottles of champagne
11 bottles of wine
9 cigars


The cigars in question were supplied by Simon (professional cigar dealer and therefore at the absolute zenith of highest Cuban quality) and were smoked after dinner out on Boisdale's specially-designed covered smoking terrace; complete with armchairs, cashmere blankets and jazz music. It was lovely, if cold. I chose a girthy Romeo y Julieta reminiscent of Winston Churchill, if not actually named after him. 


Secret Santa gifts received were:

• Mark: x1 hand-crankable personal torch, in the shape of a penguin (from Shan)
• Simon: x1 IOU for an as-yet undelivered Grenadier Guards Regimental Brass Band CD, an IOU for a novelty wine stopper, x2 Terry's Chocolate Oranges, x1 box of Guylian chocolates (from Jeremy)
• Jeremy: x1 mini-electronic organ (from Simon)
• Clare: x1 book of trivia on the London Underground (from Mark)
• Me: x1 copy of 'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen (from Clare)
• Shan: x1 red woolly hat with dangly ears (from me)

All in all, a mixed bag of gifts for / from a mixed bag of individuals, really. But very drunken, and very good fun. Even the 20 minutes of emotional speeches / repeated toastings at the end. But Sir Isaac Newton quipped that every action has an equal and opposition reaction (not much of a quip, when you think about it) and as such I'm feeling the effects of said revelry demonstratively. Not even two partially-melted segments of Simon's chocolate orange could assuage this hangover's effects.

It's 5.30 and I want to go to bed.

Your loving friend,

Action Squid