Here’s a snap of the front door of Divorce Towers:
Yes, yes, I know it’s still only November ….I know Christmas is aaaages away ….but actually I had my Christmas party yesterday, so I got the wreath out early and stuck it up and it did seem to help get us all in a festive mood.
There were mishaps …..for instance, the mulled wine pan frazzled itself to a cinder when I forgot to replenish it and caused a very unfestive stink. I think you’ll agree it takes a special type of culinary incompetence to burn wine. I also forgot to serve the mince pies – I found them all sitting meekly in the oven this morning, waiting to be heated up and given out. If only they’d said something, banged on the oven door, anything! And, of course, the kids took over the sitting room and sat in stately splendour on my new apparently-Mongolian cushions, watching DVDs amid my swish cupboards and beautiful poinsettias (special offer at Sainsbury’s) while all the grown-ups crammed into the kitchen BUT we did all have a good time, I think.
Best of all, I got lots of compliments on my new party frock, though slightly worryingly it turned out several friends had already tried it on in the shop and rejected it, for various reasons – there are not many frockshops in Dulwich. Still, I got a text first thing this morning saying I looked gorgeous which was lovely. I think in future friends should get together at parties and agree who is going to send the complimentary next-day text to the hostess. It really helps, and has completely taken my mind off the latest row with you-know-who, plus the fact that the tumble drier (bought in June) and the telephone (bought in September) have both inexplicably broken overnight. And both were from lovely John Lewis, too, what is the world coming to?
Still, my new mantra is ‘lovely frock’. I shall keep chanting it all day. And I shall be wearing it to death this Christmas, be warned!