Party

I had a battered sausage from the chip shop for lunch because I’d be at the Christmas party in the evening and thought I ought to have something substantial beforehand. Several times today, people popped up on video calls from the office. I was surprised, as I assumed most would go to the party directly from home to avoid carrying laptops to the venue.

The invite listed the party’s start time as 4:30 pm. I’ve no idea how many arrived that early, but I know a fair few came from the office about an hour later. My train pulled into Waterloo just after 6 pm, and I realised I’d done no exercise that day, so I decided to walk across Blackfriars Bridge to the venue, near St. Paul’s. 

In the end, I arrived just after 7 pm. I don’t enjoy attending large parties where I’m unsure how many people I know, as I’m not good at making small talk with strangers. However, some colleagues were all sitting outside as I walked in, so I was immediately with people I knew.

I mainly stuck to small glasses of the free bubbles and spent the evening chatting with colleagues. I felt like I mingled well. We each had a voucher to make our own cocktails, but there was quite a queue. In the end, I watched a few people create lurid-looking drinks while I asked the barman to make me an espresso martini. I think I got the better drink.

As it was a Tuesday evening, I’d been reminding myself all day not to have a big night out. So, when I considered following my cocktail with another drink, I spotted a short queue at the cloakroom and seized the chance to make a quiet exit.