City centres around the world will be buzzing tonight with Work Christmas parties, given that it is the last Friday before Christmas. How depressing. One of the MAJOR disadvantages of leaving my job all those years ago to look after the kids is the fact that I no longer get to have a work Christmas Party.
At EMI in the 80′s the parties were huge. They’d hire out the ballroom of a hotel and fill it full of giant chess pieces and vodka luges and cabaret acts and get artists to sing and we’d all just love it and talk about it for months both before and afterwards and everybody but everybody simply had to behave badly because, well it was still Rock and Roll then.
Now, owing to a change of career, (which I should have thought more seriously about), the only Christmas party I get is pretty tame in comparison. There is non alcoholic mulled wine to drink and there are nuts. There is gluten free, lactose free, dairy free, sugar free chocolate cake (that unbelievably still tasted like chocolate cake rather than the cardboard box it came in) and there are people looking young and gorgeous because they don’t do anything unhealthy and therefore their skin is glowing and wrinkle free…..and then there is me, the ageing rock chick wandering around trying to work out where I can find an alcoholic beverage.
I have also had our Book Group Christmas Party. I always look forward to this and generally make a vain attempt at trying to replicate something akin to a, well, a Christmas party, but this year it didn’t work, Not that we didn’t all have a lovely time. Instead of going out, all five of us (the sixth, much younger, gorgeous, just written her first book member that we all felt very proud of having in our group has already resigned. My teenage son said “well that was obviously going to happen mum, she was WAY too cool for all you lot”) stayed in. We ate, drank, laughed, almost cried several times, had chocolate, coffee and then we drank holy water from Lourdes, just because our host offered us some. Not really the Christmas party I had in mind – how am I ever going to meet a new man if I sit in with five women drinking holy water?
So. Maybe I should head in to London tonight and gatecrash a party.
Or maybe not.
Pity the poor hospitals – no doubt they will get twice as many patients sitting in their A & E waiting rooms through the night what with that lethal alcohol and icy conditions combo.
December 18th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Oh God.Therein lies my life! I too had fabulous parties – harbour cruises with Bolly and blinis – and now well I’m looking really festive sitting at home full of head cold, yard full of snow, wondering where the Englishman has got to in the wilds of Reading, on his work do. Hmm.. I used to have a career…and friends come to think of it. Really have to get a grip in the New Year and come out of my corner fighting.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:05 am
you go girl x
December 18th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Being an aging rock chick is considerably cooler than being an aging non-rock chick. Can’t be sure it was the water, but my cousin lost her virginity to a trainee priest at Lourdes so don’t knock that!. If you are looking to gatecrash a party, I’ll help. It has never been easier due to the smoking ban…you just “return” from a fag break. x
December 19th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Banker bloke – what are you doing commenting on my blog when frankly you should be at numerous work do parties…..but v good idea – hadn’t thought of that fag break tactic Lx
December 19th, 2009 at 5:48 am
No party is fun without an aging rock chick for company x
December 18th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Hmm? The Children’s Mother is at the Staff Do tonight, no drink for her either, she has a 25 mile drive back over the hills in the Landrover afterwards to get home. And it is snowing!
I think the Book Club party was sounding not too bad, until the holy water bit…….!
December 19th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I know. The holy water did it for me too. Hope the CM gets home in the landrover safely Lx
December 19th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Gatecrash! Gatecrash! Gatecrash! For me!
December 19th, 2009 at 8:19 am
I was just wondering whether you would want to gatecrash a Christmas party? I have awful memories of them – being jolly with lots of people who you had the misfortune to work with! Am I feeling Christmassy? Nope.
December 19th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Non-alcoholic mulled wine, nuts, gluten-free, lactose-free, dairy-free, sugar-free chocolate cake…
… some people really know how to enjoy themselves!
Sod that. We’re all going to end up wrinkly and dead so we might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here or until the planet dies, whichever comes first.
Rock on!
December 19th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
OK!!! I WILL Lxxx