Another Festival Over

There was only one free night left in my week and the boss decided that was the night he would take his staff out for a team-bonding dinner - since he had a free table for 10 at a master chef dinner. I was not excited by the prospect and said I would rather be knitting, but Simon is a lovely boss and, oh well, team spirit and all that. So I went. And wasn't I glad. What a divine repast. Course after course of delicate, imaginative morsels of absolute excellence. With luscious wines. Lots of wonderous culinary treats but never too much. And we co-workers got to chat and swap life stories and see each other as individuals outside the work place. After all, we are a sort of family and we spend more time with each other than we do with our blood families. Yet we don't really know each other all that well. Just within the work context. We see each other under stress. We know each other's strengths and talents. Yet not much of the private selves at all. I "met" a couple of my workmates that night and, tired as I was, I was loathe to leave - although I was the first to do so.