Dinner at The Athenaeum Club With Desmond.

That's Desmond Browne QC, Desmond. Yup, the barrister with the most fearsome reputation in the world of law, Dezzer is pretty good at arguing and talking to the point people just agree with him. When my friend from The Young Stationers invited me to a black tie dinner with Desmond, I couldn't say no, I wanted to see how good this guy was, and as the talk was quite relevant to bloggers and people who publish content on the internet, I figured Jasiminne would be interested in it too, so I took her with me. 

I made a fashion faux pas and wore the exact same dress I wore to the Young Stationers Dinner last year! I was in a hurry before work that day and just grabbed it, realizing when I got to work that it was the same one. *sigh*

We got there a little late when all the wine had run out and there was only sherry left for the drinks reception. Sherry!? At a drinks reception? So we went on the hunt for wine and scotch. The staff weren't impressed and informed us that we weren't allowed to wander around the club without a member escorting us (first club I have ever come across with this rule), we explained our predicament 'bad day, need wine, only sherry left, help!', and after taking us back to the room they got us our drinks. 

We sat down for dinner, and Jasiminne and I caught up and chatted about the blogging world, events, what we'd been up to, and all of the gossip about one particular blogger. Desmond Browne's talk was actually really useful, as we learnt that if we were to tell the world about this knowledge we're harboring, it wouldn't be illegal or libelous, as as long as it's true and there's evidence of its truth...which there is, then it's totally legal. Woopee! Now to decide whether to tell or not... one day...maybe.

For dinner I had the avocado to start with, I loved it as avocado is my favourite, so to have a plate of avocado put in front of me made my day! Then mains were Guinea Fowl, and dessert was Lemon Torte. Delish!

After dinner was the talk by Desmond Browne QC. Paddy introduced him, and then he spoke for about 40 minutes. I really wish the talk was a bit shorter, it was fascinating, but I was constantly having to look at my watch to make sure I didn't miss the last train home! The same happened at the Bucks Club Dinner last year, Paddy - please make the talks shorter so I can stay longer!

After the talk I had to head off...but not before Jasiminne and I defied the rules and explored the club...we snuck around on our tip toes trying not to make a sound, and crept upstairs to see behind all the closed doors. As we were about to enter the bar we heard someone, so ran into the room next door...which we discovered was the library that had clearly just had an intimate dinner held inside it. 

We took great delight in taking photos in this Harry Potter-esque library, it's probably one of the most beautiful libraries I've ever seen, and I wish it were all mine! I saw the candlestick and picked it up to see how heavy it was...it was very heavy, and as we heard someone outside the door a candle fell out of it and I dropped the candlestick with an almighty crash! Jasiminne caught the exact moment the candle was falling out of the candlestick, in a curved white blur...

A lovely evening, with fab company!