Wednesday 22nd December

The doorbell goes just after seven this morning and K runs to get it. Her twin sister has made it safely back from Hong Kong after an 18-hour delay, across London from Heathrow and to our door - all while we were happily sleeping. Even better, she has come armed with bacon for breakfast, so after we've all got up and caught up, we sit down for some pre-work bacon sarnies. K heads off for the half-day of work she's scheduled for before her Christmas party and the start of her Christmas break, while I head to the office as normal.

Later on, I come home to find K getting ready to leave, and I quickly dump my assorted work-related items before heading to the Hope and Anchor to meet Alex before the party. Just as K is leaving there's a power cut that seems to wipe out half our street, street lamps and all. This means that K has to head off into town and I to Crouch End, leaving our guest sitting in the dark with no entertainment at all. We both feel bad but we both have places to be - luckily I soon get a text to say that it's back on before long.

I meet Alex in the pub with Mushki - the puppy she's currently looking after for her housemate. I'm no dog fan, but Mushki is pretty well behaved and it's fun to watch the assorted Hope and Anchor locals coming over to say hello. I suppose as a dog owner you'd have to get used to interacting with people; they seem to take the animal you're dragging along on a string as an open invitation to chat.

We sit and natter for a while before I have to skid my way back home to collect K's sister and head into Covent Garden for the party. It's at a place called Circus - which doesn't prove too difficult to find, what with the large queue and woman on stilts at the door. We eventually get in to find the place busy already, locating K somewhere near the free bar. After a bit of shuffling around we nab some space around a table, where we feast on nibbles of various qualities and endless free beers. It's not long before I start to get a bit claustrophobic, though, and at about 11 I decide to leave while the tubes are still running - leaving K and her sister to party on and get a company-paid cab home.