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Sunday buffet.

Outside, the midday sun glared, but inside the church it was cool and still and dark, just like it always is in churches everywhere. Marble and polished woodwork. Statues and silence. Stained glass and last week's parish flyers on the pews.

William slept through the whole thing. He woke momentarily when the priest poured the water over his head but was asleep again in seconds. Then the oil on the forehead. Then the blessing. Then it was over. William's baptism day.

Then everyone came back to our place for what was a kind of cross between lunch and afternoon tea. And it was a bit of a mixture. All the usual things. Sandwiches of many kinds, T.'s mini sausage rolls, little bowls of this and that, cocktail frankfurts, cakes; and - outside help this time - for the curry lovers, I had ordered some food from my new favourite grocery/deli/caterer, the quaintly named Desi Needs. A huge bowl of channa masala, another of magnificently spicy pepper chicken and a platter of pakoras, probably the best I've tried. With some pickles and chutneys and raita on the side.

There was chilled white wine and gin and tonics and cold beer. There were pots of tea for the tea drinkers and cold fruit juice for the children. Some sat outside on picnic blankets on the lawn, some stayed inside. Others just walked around and made sure everyone had a drink and enough to eat.

Then we had a lemon yogurt cake and champagne and coffee and more tea. And for the children, I got out the tub of vanilla ice-cream, a box of cones and a bowl of 'sprinkles' and they all lined up to be served ice-creams. Kids love that at a party. Canisha had two. Aria took hers around the side of the house and dropped it into the dog's water bowl. So the dog got an ice-cream as well. Aria was given another and did the same thing. She's almost two. You can't tell them anything.

She didn't get a third one, however.

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