Best of British

My mate Calli is a real inspiration, so she is. Every year she, her sister and friends hold a party in January with an obligatory fancy dress code and a slightly off kilter theme. Fairly mucks about with any plans you may have had for de-toxing but that's a ridiculous notion anyway.

This year's theme was 'Best of British', which is a great theme because its one of those slow burners: at first you think, yeah, okay, that's a fine idea, Ill go as a...and then suddenly,

WHAM!

a thousand brilliant costume plans leap into your brain.

Like, I'll go as a...

BA Air Hostess (this is Calli and her sister and their four fantastic legs)

A Beefeater? Mary Poppins? (yes that's me on the right: have to say, the Poppins was a bit tough on someone too superstitious to open an umbrella indoors..)

A Brownie? A Cricketer? Its like, there aren't enough slightly porny costumes in the world for this theme...

hey! I might come as a Spice Girl (Breaking the rule that blacking up is only allowed if you are coming as Mr T.. I think. I'm reliably informed that since Avid Merrion all bets are off re. Scary)

Or St George! That's brilliant!

What about being a Beatle? So cool... (although I think George H would have pulled Baby if he'd been on the Spice Girls bus in real life)

A Royal Couple? Bring that on. This is Calli's Mum on the left who clearly does nothing by halves neither

and finally, my personal favourite, the schoolgirl Mum. The only possible improvement here would have been to exchange that glass of rioja for a Pineapple Breezer.

All these very very up for it people went on to create an absolutely rocking party with a riotously sweaty dancefloor. Anyway this all goes to reinforce two Important Lessons:

1) Broad but original themes are really fun to think of costumes for

2) Fancy dressing makes for a swifter passage to Party Greatness.