Par-tay.

If there’s a benefit to growing older (disregarding that whole overrated “wisdom” thing) it’s that you get to host a party, and not have to drive home afterwards. At some point during the party, you might even get to blow out some candles on a delicious cake. I’ve just had a great experience doing just that.

Loads of people came, from as far as Sydney (for the party) and from London (for their own reasons, but to the party they came) and a cross-generational mix of attendees meant that everyone had a good time, or hid their sadness well. No rain, good food, the swing in the garden didn’t break, the deck held, nobody changed the music on the iPod, and the “paint over this mural we don’t like” experiment went very well indeed. Now we’ve just got to paint the rest of the house, and clear out the dishwasher so we can run it again.

So thanks to all who came, we hope to do it again soon. Apologies if you couldn’t make it or weren’t invited; a short, sharp email to me will get you on the VIP list for next time. (Probably.) I will try to talk to more of you for longer then, or at smaller gatherings where it’s just a lot easier to communicate. Attendees: comments are open. Go for it, and see you again soon.