Once a year, usually the first week of Autumn, our local residents' association hosts a summer party. This involves a 'free' lunch being provided by the local Jewish deli and the tennis courts being sequestered by a children's entertainment troupe who seem to make most of the kids cry or want to spend more time with their parents, not less.
I say 'free' because we have a massive quarterly service charge which presumably a tiny fraction goes into providing our hungry residents with a kebab and some hummus.
It's an awkward affair because there are over 160 flats and you can't know everyone, so the conversation is quite stilted. It's a lot like 160 versions of a member of the Royal family talking to someone. Oh, which flat do you live in? Where is that? And, how long have you lived there?
After those three questions have been asked, it's time to move on. And I never remember the answers anyway. So rather than transcribe this uneventful chit-chat, I tried to capture some of the chaos in the picture below.
The main comment I've had so far is that the squirrels are too big.
Nonetheless, I think it will be adorning the Cholmley Gardens Residents website soon, and questions will be raised about when is Paddington coming.
Yes Paddington is a late comer, after all Alfred Hitchcock, Sherlock Holmes, Asterix, a Dalek and the two creepy guys from Tin Tin all made it on time!
Pretty good