The Christmas Socials started almost by accident in 2010 and has become a regular feature since then simply because everybody enjoys the evenings so much.
There was a new venue this year, The Sun Tavern in Covent Garden, but everything else was much the same. And as gastro pubs all look the same it was difficult to tell that we were in a different venue anyway.
There was very little formality to the evening. We were allowed to sit where we wanted, instead of sitting according to our chosen meals as we usually do, taking care to put our £1 Secret Santa's on different tables. Tubes of Smarties were popular presents this year and having bought a standard tube myself the day before I got a tube of just pink ones back. I was very happy with that.
The only other difference from the monthly LIKE meetings was that we did not have a speaker to spark our conversations on a specific subject, instead we started our own conversations on our own topics. We are a group that loves to have conversations and the atmosphere was immediately relaxed, friendly and lively.
I found myself on a table for six some of whom I knew reasonable well and one who I started the evening not knowing at all. She was the librarian at Dr Williams's Library in Bloomsbury. I had not heard of this before but as it describes itself as the pre-eminent research library of English Protestant nonconformity that is not too surprising. It looks quirky, much like Sir John Soane's Museum, so I might get there one day.
The food was fine, the wine and beer was quite drinkable and the company was excellent.
My employer gave up on Christmas parties some time ago and I now think of the LIKE party as my work party except it has people there with a common interest rather than a common employer, which makes it a lot more fun.
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