Is there anybody there

World renowned Medium Madame Mazatsky lead us in a session to try and contact those who have passed on, but unfortunately Liz Truss didn’t respond (much to everyone’s relief). As you can see being a psychic requires a lot of concentration and at least two observers to make sure the position of the hands is just right right to help you achieve a strong contact with the astral plane. 

Actually she was trying on a pair of bone conducting Shokz earphones, which eventually got passed around the whole room as they were a new concept for most people. As they work through the temples, they left opinion divided between those who want to shut the world out and those who want to be able to have their ears free to hear what’s going on when listening to music.

I love a good dinner party. Our hosts did a fantastic meal including catering for us vegans in a wholly inclusive way (the food was subtly different but not so’s you’d notice - ie mushroom as opposed to steak pie - and utterly delicious). A mixed up gender table setting dissolved after the main course and the rest of the evening had the women all at one end and the blokes up the other. We didn’t just talk about football and work. In fact it was far less stereotypical than that. There was a conversation about how many times a night you have to go to the lavatory as you get older. The politics of asking people where they come from (referencing The Lady In Waiting Affair). Films (why is it that every time you discuss movies at a dinner party there is someone who says "I’ve never seen Star Wars"?). And bedbugs, which is fascinating. I never knew there was so much in this topic. Apparently they are resilient and nasty little creatures and we had the benefit of both a professional opinion and a victim’s case study to chew on (someone who bought them back from abroad in their luggage). There are fourteen international varieties, one North American version being resistant to spray treatment. They can even get in the woodwork of your bed and be impossible to get out. The only other way to kill them is with heat treatment, which is highly inconvenient. And burn your bed and get a new one.

We had to change the subject eventually, it was just too scary. 

Got home at 1am feeling rather good after an evening in the company of old friends. Only one or two minor political skirmishes, which is not bad for the age we live in. I feel very lucky to have so much going for me on nights like this, with a warm home, a full stomach, and people to connect with. Not everyone can say that.