Party, Party, Party

Late September was the time for drinking, dancing and general merryment as 3 parties took place in the space of 7 days. But before I tell tales of drunken revelry I'll start this post on a more 'cultural' theme.

The Barbican held a John Pilger film festival showcasing the fine documentaries this brilliant Australian investigative journalist has made. Laxmi, Chantel and I decided to attend the documentary about the Chagos Islanders. The Chagos Islands were sold by the British to the Americans so they could establish a military base in the Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia). However the pesky problem of the Chagossian locals was solved by simply herded them on to ships bound for Mauritius where they were left at the dock without any support. This documentary went on to investigate the terrible social problems these people have endured since and the ongoing legal fight to retain the homeland. That is such a simple explanation but I urge you to look at http://www.chagossupport.org.uk/ for more information.

My other more theatrical cultural experience was to see the production of 'Bent' (about gay men in Nazi Germany featuring Alan Cumming) thanks to a free ticket from Mike. Though it has received mixed reviews I thought it was absolutely fantastic - I don't get emotional quite easily (well when watching films etc) but at the end I must say I was really holding back the tears!


(Clockwise from left Renee, Chloe, Nicole, Rick, Steven, myself and Ajaye)

So on to the parties! First up was gorgeous Chloe's 23rd birthday (photo above). Nicole, myself and Renee attended the bash at Dovedale pub in Battersea. All was going well until Chloe's workmate Rick bought a bottle of champers which turns me into a raving loon. Soon I was having a loud and long debate with Rick about Australia's superiority in the sporting arena. After a few more drinks and photos we decided to make our exit - though Nicole went home I dragged poor Renee to attend Mike and Co's 'toga' party.

Though we were not dressed in togas (not many were) I did manage to take posession of Aaron's army helmet for the rest of the night. My memory seems to escape me of certain events but it was a fantastic evening and I do remember sending Renee home at 2am and being one of only 4 people left at the end listening to Chet Baker, Edit Piaf and Frank Sinatra at the end of the evening (still with the helmet).

Unfortunately the night's activities caused me to oversleep and miss my scheduled appointment of meeting Nicole and Renee at the tube station to watch her Gaelic Final. By some form of miracle I managed to get home, shower, dress, eat, catch 3 tubes and then run in very noisy flip flops to the grounds and arrive just in time for kick off. Unfortunately Tara Ladies lost by 2 points in a very close game that devastated poor Nicole. They did have some delicious burgers there though so all in all it wasn't too bad.

So where's the 3rd celebration Well that was our housewarming and it does warrant a post of it's own especially as this one is far longer than I intended!