A Magical Christmas Party
	The 21st December 2001 was the Boudoir party at the Magical Mystery Venue. I took the afternoon off work and drove into central London where I had booked an hotel room. Siobhan had booked into the same hotel and our plan was to join the other girls at the Boudoir and travel to the club together. I checked it around 2pm and just managed to be ready to go in, my new black and sliver floor length gown,by 5pm when our taxi was due. I hadn't had time for a coloured coat of nail varnish so I took it with me in case an opportunity presented itself.
	The traffic was pretty bad, a combination of normal rush hour and Christmas shoppers, and it took one hour and ten minutes to get the Boudoir. Luckily we had still arrived in plenty of time. The salon was full of girls, some fully made over, others partly madeover.
	I knew a few of the girls already (Mandy, Nicola, Misty), knew some of the others by email contact (Maddy and Caprice) and I was introduced to the others (Karol, Jaynnie, Cathy, Rebecca). Renee joined us a little later. We had a little time to spare so I was able to complete my nails.
	Then out came the cameras and we all took lot's of pictures of each other. Jodie's Mum and Dad arrived as they would be joining us for the evening. Our mini-bus arrived shortly afterwards and, once the girls and Jodie were ready, we boarded the coach and headed to the club. Again the traffic was somewhat heavy so it took around forty minutes to get there.
	The club was approached through a dimly lit garden. As we neared the entrance we could see what appeared to be a cadaverous seven foot waiter with a large covered serving dish. As I passed him, the cover lifted to reveal a head (that of the guy actually in the costume) who directed me to the entrance. The club inside was decorated in a Gothic style with many candles all around the place. The main bar area was also the area where food was being served (a hot buffet). The other clientele (fifty-plus ordinary folk on their Christmas parties too) were already queuing for their food. We moved through to the cloak room to check out coats and then retired to the private salon upstairs (we were special guests of the owner and host). The room was a large one with a roaring open fire, the same Gothic feel and the walls adorned with various theatrical playbills, various magical or pseudo occult paraphernalia plus one wall had extensive bookshelves. There were comfortable leather upholstered chairs and velvet upholstered low stools for us to sit on. Lauren, a TS friend of Rebecca's was already there waiting for us and Vicky Lee from the Way-out was also their with some friends.
	After a short while we were informed that the food queue had cleared so we went down to collect our meal and then returned to the salon to eat. After the meal we were invited to tour the 'Haunted Cellar'. This was along the lines of a fair ground haunted house but with humorous guide and the unexpected appearance of a nice young lady vampire. After that I got a drink and retired to the salon once more as my feet required a rest - I was wearing my lovely but impractical black stiletto Sandals you see :-)
	Some of the other girls had a Tarot reading or tried the 'whispering chair' which apparently tells your fortune but I didn't get an invite (possibly because we were so late) and to be honest I didn't mind too much. I was also surprised to spot a couple of well known faces sitting together at the far end of the salon - some actors from popular TV shows. I felt it disrespectful to go over and talk to them but it was somehow exciting to know they were there.
	It was soon time to go down to see the magic show - we had a ringside seat so we really got to see the tricks close up. My favourite three tricks were 1) The dancing cane - it's not so much how this one is done but how well it was done that impressed me 2) Chopping a guy from the audiences head off - I didn't see how they worked the trick on this one so I was genuinely surprised 3) Plunging the knife through his own arm - again I knew he couldn't possible be doing that but with blood spurting out in all directions as the knife moved up and down his arm it still made me cringe !
	Once the show was over they cleared away the tables to make room for dancing - I was a little nervous about joining in as the floor was pretty crowded with the other customers, predominantly young men, who I was afraid might not be too pleased to see us there. But eventually Siobhan coaxed me onto the dance floor and despite my unsuitable shoes I did enjoy a little dance around.
	We'd been joined by Nas, a lovely girl that does beauty work for some of the girls and she joined us on the dance floor. When I tried to sit out one dance a powerful girl from one of the other parties there literally dragged me back on the dance floor ! Not I hasten to add because she specifically wanted to dance with me - she just didn't seem to like seeing me sit down so soon :-)
	Back in the bar area and Jaynnie managed to talk to one of the actors (Trudie Godwin of 'The Bill') and get her picture taken with her. I even got to speak to her briefly myself - she was charming. The girls and I then continued to take lot's more pictures of one another :-)
	Time was getting on and the club was due to close at 1am. Jodie arranged cabs for those of us not going back to the Boudoir and the owner was kind enough to let us join him for coffees while we waited for the cabs.
	Our cab arrived and we were whisked back to our hotel in about ten minutes. Back in the room and practicality had to take over - change back and time for bed. But what a lovely night in excellent company - office Christmas parties were never like this!
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