I must be bonkers!

Some time ago Keith and I had foolishly agreed to Sophie having a "gathering" for her 17th Birthday. It was set for tonight and I wasn't dreading it as much as her New Year's Eve gathering...how silly of me!

After a busy day at work (Mum and Dad are taking time off and had to go back down to Kent today to see Nan in hospital) I picked up Sophie and two of her friends from school and took them home. Mikey was all set to go away for the weekend to Thetford for Army Cadet Training so we got him all sorted, I took Keith to the pub and then drove Mikey into Northampton where he was meeting all his other comrades for the journey to Norfolk. He looked very smart in his army uniform with his rucksack on his shoulder!

I went back to the pub to pick up Keith and had a quick drink with him. While we were there Ian took a call from Sophie asking me not to get home too soon as one of the gym lifeguards she has her eye on was on his way to the house, the music was turned up loud and we would just spoil her fun (she didn't say this, but she implied it)...

Keith and I debated having a meal at the pub, but we decided to get fish and chips instead and headed home to a house that seemed to be full of teenagers, some of which, the male variety anyway, were huge! There was an enormous motorbike on our drive with a little gaggle of girls surrounding it so I knew the lifeguard had arrived (his name is James and he's a very polite and pleasant young man!).

James roared off on his monster (to get some alcohol, apparently) and Keith and I holed ourselves up in the living room with our supper, trying not to listen to the sounds of revelry all around us. Luckily, when we'd finished eating, Sophie suddenly burst in and said that James's motorbike had broken down in nearby Mawsley and could we go and help him?

I had decided not to have a drink at home so we jumped in the car and went to the rescue, but he couldn't get the bike started so we left it there and took him home with us. Sophie was, no doubt, in heaven!

Back home, Keith went off to bed leaving me to stay in the living room and keep an eye on noise levels and the general rowdiness. I stuck it out until midnight, and had just the occasional word with Sophie asking her to keep the noise down (we hadn't told the neighbours as they were pretty quiet last time!) but I found it difficult to get to sleep with all the banging of doors and shouting...the males were all so loud!

Never again!

Just some of the alcohol consumed tonight!