Day 160: Party Party

Today's soundtrack: Beethoven : Symphony No.6 in F major Op.68, 'Pastoral'

Ooooh look! We've gone all cultural today! I like this one too. What did they advertise with this one?

I have to say, it's a lot more relaxing, typing to a spot of Beethoven rather than to, say, The Rezillos. Time and a place I guess.

Anyway - what have we been up to today?

Out early to do the shopping - just a quick one as we aren't planning any major culinary activity over the weekend, and - remarkably - the booze cupboard is reasonably well stocked just now.

No household chores today either - I've done enough this week to set male emancipation back decades so the rest of my chores can wait awhile.

All in all then, it was a bit of a lazy day really. Caught up on the football gossip - all is remarkably calm in the Everton camp at the moment, it's remarkable how one good result can turn things round quite quickly.

No job activity to report either, other than one phone call from my favourite consultant, who is trying manfully to get me in front of another firm of accountants - despite a series of delays, it now looks like something might happen in the next couple of weeks. Just a chat, not an interview, but the more people I can get in front of the better.

The Hunter brought another little critter in today, unfortunately I didn't get there quickly enough to rescue this one but I think its despatch was swift and unmessy at least.

Tonight though, we partied like it was 1999 in Runcorn! Well, we sat quietly eating and drinking in a corner for a few hours like it was 1999. Our 'partying' days are a bit behind us now I fear. That said, it was a really nice night - one of Mrs W's work colleagues was celebrating her 30th birthday and we'd been invited along.

Big mix of ages - full family affair with friends and a few work colleagues - the sort of do Peter Kay built a career poking gentle fun at. We settled down with a few of Mrs W's workmates for a drink and a chat, then weighed into the buffet before the band came on.

Yep, we had a band! And they were pretty good too. Not your typical party band, they rocked too much for that! I recognised some Foo Fighters and QOTSA in there, and one other song that is still bugging me - a 'tip of my tongue' tune that I just can't place. It'll come to me. Eventually.

Before it got too late, Mrs W's homing instinct kicked in and we left quietly. Not before spotting that our hostess, who had been fretting early on about how it would turn out, looked to be perfectly relaxed and happy on the dancefloor. Which is as it should be.

The buffet had been more than good enough to put the kibosh on Mrs W's plan to drop in for a kebab on the way home, so we got straight back, uncorked the wine and flopped in front of the telly.

God, we're getting old.

After Mrs W admitted defeat, I took the rest of the wine into the study, stuck the headphones on and played some choons loudly until the early hours. Normally when I do this, the whisky gets opened at some stage and I wake up in the study chair at around 4:30, head flung back, slobber dripping from the corner of my mouth and a slightly tickly throat from all the snoring I've been doing. This time however sanity prevailed and I remained compos mentis until admitting defeat myself around half two.

The evening's soundtrack included a lot of Prince - and just how talented is the fun-sized popster from Minneapolis? Great songs, fantastic virtuosity on a range of instruments and despite being about three feet tall, a bit of a hit with the ladies, I gather.

And why not, when you can churn out stuff like this? This is from the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert, a tribute to George Harrison featuring Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, George's lad Dhani - and Prince, performing an amazing bit of guitar playing that any of the greats would have been proud of.