the Party To End All Parties

[helenic]

Late in June I will once again be celebrating the anniversary of my birth. This date has a happy tendency to coincide with celebrating the finishing of academic toil for another year, the completion of exams, dissertations and degrees, and the start of summer revelry. This year it has a further aspect. Mere days after I turn 22, I (and my beloved sapphic and satyrical suities) will be leaving. strongtrousers and I will be adventuring to the metropolis, becoming Cantabrigian ex-pats and seeking our fortune in the capital. elise will be staying in Cambridge to ensure that it remains fabulous. The Suite, Sapphic or Satyr, Sir Strongtrouser's Lesbian Emporium, the Young Ladies' Seminary for the Taking In of Eccentric Waifs and Strays, in short our fabulous abode, is being taken from us. And there will be a party before we leave, there will be such a party, that all the others we’ve thrown, outrageous though they invariably were, will look like a few dolls sipping tea in comparison. It will be the Party To End All Parties.

Turn up to 27c Elizabeth Way from 8pm on Friday 30th June. Stay as long as you are able to keep partying, although be warned that the hosts will have to go to work on Monday morning. For the duration of the weekend it will be an open house; you are all invited, and encouraged to bring your friends, as long as they are not dull. We have floors you can sleep on if you bring a sleeping bag and can find a space free of party. There will also be locals at the party who might be willing to take in waifs and strays if you offer them sufficiently enticing bribes.

Dress to seduce and to shock. Suggested themes include black tie, bridal, drag, lady or gentleman of negotiable affection (from Victorian prostitute to geisha to rent boy), pyjama party, fairytale, monster, pre-Raphaelite, Shakespearean, Dickens, Ankh-Morpork, fantasy, cyber, music hall and cabaret, fetish, undead, body art, uniform (military or otherwise), bondage, grotesque burlesque, carnival or none of the above. There is no enforced dresscode, but you are strongly encouraged to be fabulous.

There will be gin&tea, endless pimms, cocktails (including the Hovelcraft and the Drunken Frog) and pure undiluted ethanol. In addition to the the consumption of alcohol and other intoxicants there will be as many pastimes as the guests provide. Come prepared to entertain and be entertained. Bring all the booze you can carry and anything or anyone you think might be amusing. We welcome wenches buxom or slender, gentlemen and rogues, wits, eccentrics, dandies, debauchers and drunks. At various points in the weekend the party will spill over onto Midsummer Common, so we are not confined only to indoor sports. If you spin poi bring your shiny things, and if you juggle, show us all your balls. Bring cult films, music, Jenga, Twister, baby oil, plasticene, lego, glitter, guitars, drums, magic tricks, pornography. Bring portable barbeques and things to cook on them, paddling pools, jelly, swimming costumes, blankets and picnic hampers, cake, and exotic things to eat and drink. But above all bring yourselves.

Comments

[fluffymark]

I plan to be in Finland at that time. Wah! Very gutting. Meh. :(

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Booo! You will be missed.

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

Oi. Thesis.

Should I post a suitably edited version of this to my journal?

xx

[libellum.livejournal.com]

I know I'm procrastinating, BUT the party organisation did need to happen soon or else there would be no parties, and I have more time to do it now than I will in a week.

And yes, crosspost! If we invite them, they will come.

[purple-pen.livejournal.com]

Argh! It sound fab, and I would love to, but an Oxford friend's birthday celebrations fall on the exact same day. :( I guess I will hedge my bets for now, but assuming she is doing something groovy, I think it will have to take priority, due to the whole me-also-leaving-Oxford-soon thingummy...

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

Ah, but it will last for the entire weekend, so you could go to one party then the other.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Ah, but will their party last from the Friday until the Monday? If theirs is only one night, you have at least two nights on which it would be possible for you to come to Cambridge. There will almost certainly be other Oxford people you could travel with...

[lemonmerchant.livejournal.com]

It sounds downright astonishing.

[romauld.livejournal.com]

That kind of party tends to be a pretty mind-altering experience.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

The calendar is inexplicably reasonably empty that weekend. Now to see if I can get the planets aligned in the correct manner necessary to actually attend :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Yays! And bring shiny people? :)

[davefish.livejournal.com]

I think that Dott and I may be already pre-booked that weekend, but hopefully we will be able to nip over to Cambridge for a bit of partying.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Would be fab if you can make it :) Feel free to drag Cov goths along if any of them are up for it!

[gnimmel.livejournal.com]

Oooh, shiny. :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Extra shiny if you are there! Can you bring lots of fridge magnets to stick to people's corsetry?

[briggsy.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I haven't been to one of your parties yet, I really should before you go, and I'm free that weekend (at the moment). I don't know exactly where you're based though - psychobriggsy (47) gmail.com :)

[squiddity.livejournal.com]

Well, OK, but I'm only going for the ethanol.

We might have a small cavalcade heading up from the smoke, but I think Matilda might be busy with exams and other nonsense.
I'm sure she'll post somewhere here clarifying.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Last time we kept the ethanol in hollowed-out melons. There is still some melon-ethanol in the freezer, but I'm fairly certain we can obtain significant quantities. It's nice in fruit juice.

Rah, would be good to see you lot if you can manage to herd people Cambridgewards. I know James and Av are planning to come. Hopefully we can tempt you up even if Matilda can't make it?

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

I believe I am free and will be there. :)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_pinkdaisy_/]

Curses! That be the weekend of house moving for me and adam, so it would seem highly unlikely that we will attend.

Although, i will need to go to cambridge at some point to pick up stuff currently residing at my mum's...

[libellum.livejournal.com]

We don't have much other spare social time in Cambridge before we leave - it's extremely hectic :/ But if you could manage one evening of the party that would be absolutely grand :)

[shortcipher]

Mere days after I turn 22, I (and my beloved sapphic and satyrical suities) will be leaving.
Not another one. I keep finding out who all these interesting people are and then they all go away. I don't think they're running away from me…

leave your email address in a comment if you need the address or phone number
shortcipher@livejournal.com

I think I just have to bring si1entdave to this. …Having now phoned him, he agrees! w00t! :-)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Right! I've now got round to adding you (sorry, it takes ages for new people to filter through the VAST AMOUNTS OF STUFF I invariably have going on) which means you can see the contact info post linked on my userinfo. And yay Dave! I can't believe he's avoided me this long, the bastard.

[corchen.livejournal.com]

If I'm supposed to be doing something else, consider it cancelled. If not, consider me booking train tickets, like, now. Shall I bring a tent? *grins*

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! We don't have a garden, but feel free to try and get away with camping on the Common. It's not allowed without a permit but if you find a secluded spot you might be alright. Alternatively you could just try and blag crash space once you get here. Or stay up all night. Or find a Cambridge person with a garden :)

[mr_magicfingers]

I'll be working on the Saturday, which I can't get out of as I'll have taken the previous two saturdays off to do my advanced myofascial release course, hence massively skint that month. I could make it up Friday night and if crashing is available get back into London in time for my noon shift.

I can bring magic fingers at the very least.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Would be great to see you :) Feel free to turn up on Sunday as well if you like! :)

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

gin&tea

Blast! I was all controlled and not going to be weepy until right that damn moment :(

Photos. Many many many photos of all my pretty people. Please.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Oh, my darling. We will raise a toast to you!

Of course photos.

[ixwin.livejournal.com]

Sounds fabulous - I should be able to make it.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Yays!

What time are you planning to be at Stansted on the 13th? The flight's at 18:05, and there's a coach getting in at 16.15, which I thought would probably be okay.

[crag-du.livejournal.com]

That's the weekend I'm away for BBQ goodness up north, damn it! Will double check and confirm one way or 'ther.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Okay hon - would be good to see you though.

Haven't had any luck with the greenery by the way - sorry :/

[notintheseheels.livejournal.com]

Excellent. Hopefully I'll be able to make it up from London.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

YAYS! :D

Potentially dangerous information...

[si1entdave.livejournal.com]

I shall most certainly consider it my duty as the bounder who has completely failed to meet up with you in over a year, to attend.

Also, is it a dangerous thing to propagate the fact that The Fairy GothMother has a sale (http://www.fairygothmother.co.uk/scripts/sale.php) on right now?

[uberredfraggle.livejournal.com]

Thank you for linking this. It was very nice of you to invite me. I know we have been in the same place at the same time before but it would be nice to get to know you properly. :) I will look into that weekend and let you know nearer the time.

Better start thinking about what to wear too... :p

[uberredfraggle.livejournal.com]

p.s I added you as pretty much all of my posts are locked and I don't mind you reading them. I don't expect you to add me back til we've met properly though. :)

[skorpionuk.livejournal.com]

Cheers for the reminder, I've now added this into my calendar. Myself and the Chap will attempt to make it up for at least some of that weekend, but we'll figure out details nearer the time.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! I imagine there will be lots of Cambridge people who'll be glad to see you again :D