We had decided to stay in and celebrate quietly - so Mark went to the pub for a quick one at lunchtime. Then the cat caught fire, which meant that Hammerite & I had to evacuate the house (due to the smell) and run down to the pub to tell Mark all about it. We were just on our way home again when one of the neighbours turned up & bought us a drink. So we called it fate & stayed til the end. We did try to get some singing going at the very end, but noone could remember any whole songs (too drunk) - it was good fun trying though. Anyway - the main thing is that the cat is alright - he's a really fluffy one (or was....) so it was just singeing really & didn't reach the skin at all. Still, at least I know what smells worse than a stinky old cat now : a singed stinky old cat of course!
Happy new year everyone...

Kris