I spent the evening down on the Thames with a group of Legal Eagles, the bitterly cold wind and rain eventually subsiding by the time the boat got down near the Millennium Dome for us to appreciate the lasers of the Meridian from Greenwich penetrating the clouds, (to the chagrin of our French host who thinks Paris should be the locus of all time (joke - he's a dual national).

Aside from the Latin American dancing from a live band and the celebration of my friend's 40th birthday, conversation around the table centred on Strictly Come Dancing (the Ross/Brand controversy being a dead subject) and the ridiculous premise that the UK would send troops to a third war in the Congo. All present have been following the Rwanda, Uganda, Congolese tragedies for at least 20 years and can see nothing in the statements of the British government which doesn't spring to mind the two word phrase "Expensive Folly".

We also all decided that Obama is going to be elected President, notwithstanding the late headlines about his illegal immigrant Auntie in Chicago which are gracing this evening's press.

Mainly, we discussed old times. These involved reminiscences about Hong Kong and the fact that in two decades our ex-colleague PB has never been surpassed as the most pathologically tight-fisted man on the planet. Of interest was the discussion about the possibility that significant parts of the charitable sector in the UK have been taken over by people whose managerial models have not progressed from the 1970s and that they will therefore not be able to display or apply the flexibility that is required for that sector of the country's economy to ameliorate the worst impacts of the current downturn in the economy without considerable delay and pain.

Generally we all decided that the solution was the sushi, prawn tempura, spicy chicken wings and Korean noodles on offer, washed down with a quaffable wine from Australia called "The Paddock".