8.00 p.m.

The evening passes in a whirl of images. There is music and dancing. More friends arrive to share in the festivities. I am outside for a while smoking a cigar and letting all the noise wash over me. Those guests with long journeys home start to drift away as it gets later. I begin to lose energy though L is still zipping around, dancing and talking.

Towards the end of the evening we take a break and go up to our room for a while. We get there to discover that some of our friends have been and decorated it for us. There are balloons everywhere; tied to the table and chairs, in the minibar, even down the toilet. There are flower petals leading from the door, up the spiral staircase to the bedroom and more are scattered all over the bed. Messages of congratulation are written in shaving gel across the bathroom mirror. It's all a lovely, unexpected touch. We go back down to the party.