Lara’s 30′th
March 26th, 2004
Last Friday, March 19th, saw two significant life events for Lara: First, it was her 30th birthday; and second, the last ever episode of her favourite show, Sex and the City was on TV. The symbolism of this coincidence was not lost on us, and to celebrate these eras ending we took the day off.
A relaxing day was followed by dinner at the highly recommended Strand restaurant. The meal was indeed outstanding, and in particular I can vouch for the pan-fried gnocchi in dolcelatte, and the apple and walnut sticky-toffee pudding
Saturday saw Lara’s surprise birthday party, and before I tell you more I must give a big shout to everyone who helped make it a great night: thanks everyone! You know who you are 
I would’ve put money on Lara sussing my plan prior to the event, but to my considerable surprise I managed to maintain the pretence right up until the arrival of our first guests.
Having managed earlier to have shifted her out of the house into the wet afternoon, I’d been able to cook without fear of discovery. Consequently the first part of the evening was filled with burritos, nibbles, champagne and brownies as the house slowly filled up (recipes to follow soon, Paula).
Each new guest’s arrival was a fresh surprise for Lara, and seeing her reactions was a real pay-off: "Oh my God, it’s Anna …what’s she doing here?!" This was especially true when she started suggesting people I should have invited, only for them to turn up next.
Phase 2 of the evening consisted of a mass-decamp to Stick-it-on, the club where the punters are the DJ’s (see my review from last November). We’ve spent a fair proportion of our twenties dancing to other DJ’s so it seemed right that we turn the tables (literally) on this momentous occasion. I’d booked slots on the decks for both Lara (DJ LP30) and myself (Robotperson). Full approval was given to the ‘Lara’s greatest hits’ set I had selected for her, and although we were both a bit nervous, we were ready. At this point I’d like to send out a big thanks to ‘DJ Dangerous’ Dave for filling in the gaps in my set with the help of his p2p mp3 downloads – nice one.
On the night, the order that the 12 DJ’s played in was drawn from a hat. Lara got a great slot in the middle of the evening, and I got the dubious honour of finishing off the night – although I believe I did this in fine style with the help of the King. Our selections:
DJ LP30
- One more time – Daft Punk
- Groove is in the Heart – Deee-lite
- Off the Wall – Michael Jackson
- Because of you – Scanty Sandwich
Robotperson
- Intergalactic Funk (Star Wars disco theme) – Meco
- Happy Birthday – Stevie Wonder
- Everybody needs a Carnival – Fatboy Slim (the tune with the biggest breakdown of the night – monster!)
- Burning Love – Elvis
Lara’s set was a real crowd pleaser, and place was rocking without the massive support she got from our party – we had a terrific time. Thanks again everyone.