Friday 21st December 2007

With optimism outweighing adversity, we looked at the calendar and took a gamble. Christmas Day 2007 fell on a Tuesday, so what would be the best course of action for a pre-break celebration? Should we try for a full on weekend event? Something unheard of outside the remit of a full blown NEPA Ball? Should we risk a Christmas Eve Party on a Monday, when in all likelihood most businesses would be closed but most people would be either frantically trawling the shops for some last minute bargains, or sensibly feet up in front of the box in preparation for Santa’s imminent arrival. No. Consensus and common sense dictated that the last Friday before Christmas would be the best bet for a good turnout. And sure enough, in the end, we managed a respectable crowd, but only after a long afternoon’s wait. Even the promise of ample free wine (while stocks lasted) wasn’t sufficient to entice you there for the first hour or two.

However, as the afternoon progressed, the numbers grew steadily until a decent sized gathering of NEPA stalwarts clustered in their best Christmas T-shirts and jumpers. Ronnie, Mark and I tried to get round as many as possible, meeting new faces, making introductions or getting re-acquainted and establishing new connections before the drink took hold and the noise got too loud to permit further discussions. All in all it seems a good time was had by most.

Moving on to Revolution for pitchers of Vodka and Red Bull probably wasn’t the wisest decision I made last year, but from the photos I discovered on my digital the next morning (well, ok, afternoon) there seem to have been some happy faces there.I know I enjoyed the day. I hope you did too, and look forward to touching base again in the not too distant.

Our thanks to the Apartment for keeping things flowing, to PPD for doing the tickets and to everyone who showed their support by coming along. Hope you had a good Christmas and are looking forward to everything we have planned for 2008, be it business, sports or social. Be part of it and help make it better for everyone. Ed.