Keeping the tradition going

Today was the day of our annual work Christmas lunch, an occasion which I love and cherish. I had a panic a few weeks ago when I thought I might not be able to go due to lack of babysitter, but Husbandio very selflessly arranged to take the day off to look after Emily and collect Isabel from school so that I could swan off into town and drink myself silly. And I do truly appreciate it!

In the end it was not the heavily booze-laden occasion which it has been in previous years, but still a very good time was had by all. We failed to stick completely to the budget, but since the CEO was there to sign and didn't seem too cross we think we may have got away with it! The food was yummy although portion size was not what it could have been (translation - I could have eaten the whole meal twice!). For the record, I had smoked eel (with some rice thing sandwiched between two slices of beetroot - there's always beetroot in these bloody posh restaurants), duck a l'orange (with some kind of beetroot jus, as if to add insult to injury) and then posh Xmas pud. Yummy, but small.....

Drinks-wise, I had champers to start then some white wine. In past years I've had white with the starter, red with the main, and several amarettos to wash down the pud. Those were the days - lunch starting at noon, and not leaving the venue until closing time, eleven hours later. Apparently, one year one member of staff got the wrong coat from the cloakroom attendant but figured it was nicer than her own coat so kept it. And on another occasion one of us (not me, I hasten to add) was taken back to the office after the lunch on the grounds of not being able to get home by himself. He fell asleep leaning his head on the edge of the boardroom table, creating a large indentation on his forehead which lasted well into the next day. These are really quite mild stories, I admit, but we've had some marvellous times at our Christmas lunches, so thanks to the company, and cheers!