What a very special time for me

Last night I fulfilled one of my life’s ambitions, which was of course to visit Soho House for the launch of Alex Buchanan’s The Game. When you’ve been building up to something for so long, there’s every chance it’s going to be a disappointment – not so. The venue was amazing, whilst the night itself continually wavered between the hilarious and the surreal. (N.B. this is definitely a good thing.)

The guests - a  mix of Alex’s friends and family, fellow E&T authors and financial journalists – made enthusiastic headway into the free bar, and then Alex gave a short speech, during which he regaled us with some of his more risque stories which couldn’t be included in the book. (I was standing next to Alex whilst he spoke, uncomfortably aware that we were being filmed by one of Alex’s friends. Keen to show that we were all having a good time, somewhere on camera there is now a short film of me laughing like a maniac every time Alex opened his mouth.)   

There was a mad rush for books as the assembled company flicked through to see if any of their anecdotes or colleagues had been included, leading to some slightly odd over-heard conversations along the lines of “Yes! I made it! The day I broke my client’s nose!” The remaining copies were sold by a particularly enthusiastic guest, but whether this was down to her excellent sales techique or the aforementioned free bar is yet to be decided.

Towards the end of the night, a friendly guest reliably informed me that ‘any future boyfriend of yours must drink rose’ (little did he know that this is already something on which I absolutely insist), whilst another tried to convince me to try ‘the most alcoholic martini in London’ (I have it on good authority that this is not true, and that should one wish to try the strongest martini in London, they should head to Dukes Hotel. The notion of a team outing there has been floated, a prospect which both excites and terrifies me in equal measure.)

I met Lorne’s amazing wife, who to Lorne’s despair told me that she was thinking of sending their daughter to my old school – ‘What?! Look what kind of people they churn out!’ was Lorne’s terrified response – and some of Mark’s friends, who to Mark’s despair let slip his university nickname (which I won’t share – well, perhaps for the right price…) Other conversations included various explanations of the E&T set-up, as a lot of people seem to find it a little odd: “The three of you? In one room? Go on…describe the room”, the amazing ITV programme Take Me Out and, would you believe it, this very blog. (Fame! At last! Or not…) 

After circa 9 million glasses of rose with ice, I called it a night, leaving Lorne et al to carry on the party elsewhere – I know! On a school night! I for one was shocked. So, despite the fact that I am getting through today purely thanks to a caffeine-induced high, it was a successful night all round. For all those who missed out, you can buy a copy of the book here, and if anyone does happen to be in the vicinity of 27 John Street, another Diet Coke really wouldn’t go amiss.