Party Saturday

Yeah...wild it was - lots of balloons and crisps.
It occurred in the far northern wastes of the city, where all the Ben Sherman-wearing Islington-ites move when they start families.

It was Nat and Theo's birthday, but most of the kids were Zack's friends. Nearly every house in the neighbourhood contains children under 5, so lots were there. I blew up the balloons and manned the gifts table. I often found myself seeing the children as they may be in a few years, and then again when they're teenagers.

One little boy - I swear - all he did for three hours was hurl balloons on top of each other shouting, "Die, die die!"
Crazy balloon boy aside, they were all amazingly well-behaved. Only two of them cried, one needed a plaster, and none of their parents were required to shout.

When cake time came, you'd think Michelle was the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Everywhere she went with the cake, they all followed.
I liked the bit where they were all told to sit in their seats, so they all arranged themselves around the table. When they were asked, "Who wants cake?" they all raised their hands shouting, "Me, me, me!"
It was lovely, though the guests of honour slept through it. Michelle thanked everyone for their physical, emotional and financial support over the past year. Most importantly, she thanked Zack for being such a good big brother with two babies to take care of. Everyone clapped, Zack jumped up and down, and I nearly cried.

Near the end, Michelle took me by the hand and dragged me outside. I tend to avoid her when things go wrong, which is why earlier I had turned down her invitation to go home with them. However, I can condense an entire summer into three sentences.

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When everyone went home/to another child's birthday party, we immediate family emptied the hall and went back to the house where we had tea. The boys' grandparents are here for the weekend from Zumerzet...where the coider apples growwwww.

I asked Tony what clever things Zack has been saying lately, so it turned into a story swapping session. Let's see if I remember anything.

• Daddy, what's skin for? Is it to hold your bones in?
• (I've forgotten the one that reeeeaaallly made me laugh!)

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Cool Tidbit:
One of Tony's school chums T was at the party, apparently they formed a close trio with Hugh Bonneville. At Tony and Michelle's wedding, T was best man and Hugh read a poem. (Most would know Hugh as Bernie in Notting Hill - he's a bit like that in real life.)
While we're name-dropping, the "(in)famous partner" in yesterday's post is a former paramour of Joan Collins...When their first son was christened, the newspaper quipped that Debbie K had finally tamed the playboy Bungalow Bill.

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Notting Hill is one of my fave movies.

Spike, William's roommate, was priceless. Wouldn't be the same if he wasn't Welsh:

• I knew a girl at school called Pandora. Never got to see her box, though.
• Just going to the kitchen to get some food, then I'm going to tell you a story that will make your balls shrink to the size of raisins.
• Bugger this for a bunch of bananas.
  

Spike: There's something wrong with this yogurt.
William: Ah, that's not yoghurt, that's mayonnaise.
Spike: Ah, right-o then. [Continues eating]

Bernie: But she said she wanted to go out with you?
William: Yes - sort of...
Bernie: That's nice.
William: What?
Bernie: Well, you know, anybody saying they want to go out with you is... pretty great... isn't it...?
William: It was sort of sweet actually - I mean, I know she's an actress and all that, so she can deliver a line - but she said that she might be as famous as can be - but also... that she was just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.
[pause]
William: Oh, sod a dog. I've made the wrong decision, haven't I?