December 30th, 2007
At Your Service
Every year, preparations for the 31st of December have followed the same pattern for Andy and Julie. They invite all their friends round and Julie spends the best part of a week cleaning the house from top to bottom, trying to make everything look respectable following the rigors of Christmas. By the time New Year’s Eve arrives, even the vacuum cleaner doesn’t want to cooperate, refusing point blank to pick up the Christmas tree’s fallen pine needles from the carpet. Andy goes to the off-licence to buy enough alcohol to sink a battleship, whilst Julie (by her own admission, no Delia Smith) heads for the kitchen and attempts to tackle the buffet. Many hours and scores of vol-au-vents later, Julie’s exhausted, covered in flour and a bit fed up, and there isn’t enough room in the fridge for all those chicken drumsticks. Andy can’t remember where he stored the guests’ inflatable mattresses from last year and seems to be suffering the mild depression that many of us experience at the end of the year.