A Rather Sociable Weekend

Well I have to say that I was glad when Sunday night arrived and I was able to catch up with my sleep after a rather sociable and over-indulgent weekend.

It started on Friday lunchtime with the South of France BT Xmas Lunch. Much planning had gone into the venue for this annual extravaganza. Should we go down to Mougins, the gastronomic capital of the area with fabulous restaurants on every corner? Should we hit Monaco and try the 3-star Michelin restaurant of Alain Ducasse ? We could even bomb down to Cannes to try the Martinez or Nice to lunch in the Negresco. In the end, we went to Grasse for a curry.

What a gastronomic comedown. I suppose it (the curry) was ok-ish. Not bad for a curry created in France but not a patch on the one I had the previous Tuesday in London but then again, London has more curry restaurants than Bombay (or Mumbai as it’s now called), so it’s curry creations should be good. Much wine accompanied the meal and as I was being driven there and back by my mate Ashley, I rather over-imbibed. No problem, I had the rest of Friday to recover.

Later on that evening as I lay slumped on the sofa trying to work out how to work the TV remote, the phone went. J had popped next door to see the neighbours, Tan and Angie and this was Angie on the blower saying that Tan and J were having a love-in and that she was feeling left out. I stumbled the 20 yards to their house to find Tan and J mutually complementing each other on their respective weight loss programmes (about 30 kilos between them) and comparing the gaps between their waists and their trousers. It was pathetic. Angie, who is pregnant and putting on weight and who probably felt a bit left out of this mutual celebration,  poured me the first of several large glasses of wine, produced some pizza and a good night was had by all. I think!  

Saturday morning was rather hazy. My head, not the weather. There was nothing for it but to get my logging tools out and cut up a few tree trunks. This exercise sorted me out and got me ready for Saturday night’s party at Mike and Lesley’s. Their place is only about 3 minutes away and as soon as we arrived, yet more white wine found its way into my hands. Mike, the host, explained that the first glass would be served by him but after that, it was every man for himself – just what I wanted to hear. There was quite an eclectic mix of people there, most of whom I knew and I managed to beat all expectations and behave myself until about 1am when I started to ‘accost’ my good friend, the Reverend Anne Naylor. I noticed that as I attempted to make her less saintly she didn’t exactly run away! J dragged me off but unfortunately got me another glass of wine which only served to cause more mayhem as I decided that the hostess could do with her armpits being cleaned with baby wipes which was probably ok until I started to eat them and hang them on the Xmas tree. Needless to say that on Sunday morning I had totally forgotten the escapades of the previous evening but couldn’t work out what the strange taste in my mouth was!

After two nights of decadence, there was only one thing for it. I needed to cleanse my soul so I went to church with J. You’ll all be pleased to hear that I refused the communion wine!!!!      

The picture is of J who couldn't last the pace either. Sunday morning - she didn't even take her clothes off from the night before!