We quickly rectified the situation, although not entirely content on popping the special champagne my friend had been given for her graduation, we scoffed the pie, gulped the coffee and got back on the booze, whilst simultaneously putting on our coats, determined to catch a spark or two in the sky.
Of course, by the time the lot of us made it to the pond it was 30 minutes into 2011 and there wasn't a boom, not even a disappointing squeal, not in our immediate area. There were however some cheerful workers at the nearby off-licence giving away prosecco and bringing good cheer. We toasted them and enjoyed a few minutes of good-hearted fun before heading for a party we had heard about.
Unfortunately, the party was rather dismal, and it turned out the one down the corridor was a little livelier. Not lively enough for us mind, and after taking the night's first victim to bed, returning to round up the troops, we headed for a pub in London Fields usually so achingly trendy it makes me want to turn up in my bright pink waterproof jacket and ugly hiking boots. Fortunately for us, the hipsters had bigger fish to fry and we entered a time and space warp where the only music worth playing came out of or near to Manchester. Not entirely my cup of tea, but so it goes. I couldn't complain because our friend from Tibet via India managed to get us in by speaking Hindi to the bouncers. When I later asked her what she had said, she just responded: 'I just asked them to let us in, saying, "please, let us in"'. Pretty persuasive, I'd say.
At 4am the pub sounded it's bell and we headed back to the livelier party which thankfully was still going. A friend lost her wallet and another met some Chileans. The Chileans went back to my friend's house for an after party, and a girl from Dorset who had taken too many drugs frightened me home.
At 7.30 I returned to an open front door, this was a bit mystifying. Luckily, I live in flats so no one could walk in (unless they had a credit card...ahem) and our possessions were left unharmed I fell asleep and awoke in the afternoon, with little desire to move I knitted in bed listening to Swans.
Then I got up, made a coffee and knitted outside of bed, strictly keeping on pyjamas and dressing gown with no desire to shower or change. I watched Big and Independence day and decided that in 2011 I would grow up, and save the world.
