Friday 17th September.
It started out as the intended convivial quiet gathering.
Suffering some uncertainty as to whether I was being terribly rude – but hey, it was my birthday, and moreover Luke forced my hand. As in literally picked me up and carried me out the door – I abandoned said gathering temporarily to go see these people play a venue down the road with a roomful of balloons at around 11pm.
(Due to a combination of behind-scheduleness and licensing restrictions, they very nearly didn’t. But in the end they beat the odds – and the law – and totally did.)
Then, with a few new guests in tow, we returned to CH an hour and a bit later to find the former quiet gathering had unexpectedly hit critical mass in our absence and was comprehensively going OFF. Omg!
The universe, in effect, threw me a bitchin surprise party.
Big thanks to everybody who conspired with the universe to make it such a happy one.