Dead in the night

It so nearly didn’t happen and by mid afternoon Saturday we even debated to cancel the party. All through the working week we were struggling to muster up enough energy to do any preparation and even missed out on the annual chaos that is Lewes Bonfire Night thanks to that crappy flu like cold.

Luckily, we’d booked Friday off for the back-breaking work to clear all the remaining hardcore, old plaster and concrete fireplace taking it to the dump. Kerry was still too ill to help so I dosed up with everything we had to scrub the back yard clean.

Saturday was more work with the dining room (soon to be dance) floor to be have the laminate finished and skirting boards fitted. The weather started to misbehave and with 60mph winds expected we ditched the pop-up marquee for the tarpaulin. A few breakages and scratches along the way whilst moving furniture and decorating put us on a downer but the fakes cobwebs, skeletons etc. made the place look excellent.

Trev and Pom rolled up early with the red carpet which stopped our precious laminate getting trashed. No time to rest as I still had to sort the BBQ, get washed, dressed and put on the make-up. Can’t say I was pleased with the face make-up but happy with the suit and Crazy 88 gang mask (from Kill Bill). Everyone else’s efforts were amazing turning the place into a freakshow. Only Steve looked normal bringing his Cereal Killer accessory. Special mentions to Sue for the creepiest face make-up, Chris for his forehead horns, Sarah for painting herself blue (was she the Smurfit bride?), James for his creepy Silas monk look complete with cilice made from a pound shop studded strap and Gavin who came as Neptune complete with God/Father Christmas beard.

Still, no time to truly appreciate the fancy dress as I was organising the food in the persisting rain. Luckily, no vegetarians were hungry or present at the time so everyone was fed before the rain and wind got too much. Couldn’t get the disposable BBQ to light so the veggies had to resort to grilled food. Even the fireworks nearly didn't happen with Trev braving the wetness for some brief banging moments. The rest of the explosives were stock-piled for Pom's birthday meal next week.

Paul did a fantastic job at DJing and we swapped in time before he felt too rough to continue. My own set didn't happen the way I wanted as the Virtual Vinyl amp let me down and almost refused to work until an hour later - it was a Final Scratch headache all over again. I had to resort to old vinyl then play mp3's from one channel until multiple shutdowns and disconnections later. The Video DJing didn't quite go to plan either with only a few late set moments for some cool visuals.

By about 3:30am the stress of all and Kerry's health was almost too much so with some embarrassment and regret we turned the main music off. We kept it going with an Ipod and some random conversations leaving the die-hards on the sofa at 6:30am for the comfort of our bed. I wouldn't say we slept and at 10am Trev was banging on the front door after kipping in his campervan.

Sunday was just cleaning and moving back the furniture. I think either ourselves or mates over estimated on the booze as we've collected a nice haul of vodka for Xmas. We've also gained a witch's hat, Neptune's trident, a lot of boa feathers, some fake blood and another 'line of age' under my left eye. It took another day's motivation and recovery to clear up the rest in between sitting down and watching rubbish daytime TV.