Pip continues to clown around though Zac’s ever-increasing bonuses at work have enabled her to give up working weekends. She is still totally committed to her clown-doctoring and now trains other clowns for the Renee Foundation, as well as doing her twice weekly ward-rounds as Dr Pippity. Pip and Zac were married a couple of years ago. Her sisters were bridesmaids and Zac’s son Tom was his best man. The wedding was in the garden at Farleymoor. Django, in a claret coloured velvet suit and Cuban heeled boots he said were once Jim Morrison’s, gave his eldest niece away. He wanted to do the catering too, but Pip persuaded him to use outside caterers. He made the cake. A mountain of profiteroles with a live-action avalanche and landside during the course of the party. No one was quite sure if this was intentional or not. Least of all Django. It tasted sublime.
Fen and Matt live in East Finchley now, staunchly unmarried but the picture of domesticity none-the-less. Matt is still editing Art Matters and Fen had been very happy working on the Holden collection until a stomach bug that wouldn’t abate was swiftly diagnosed by the doctor as pregnancy. Matt and Jake are still pals though their lives are increasingly divergent; they meet up occasionally and each privately considers how glad they are not to be the other. To Matt, Jake’s commitment to living the life of a cad sounds too much like hard work. To Jake, Matt’s new life of nappies and mortgages seems a little thankless. Abi and Gemma continue to live together, sharing a bed on some occasions and lovers on others. James Caulfield moved from Derbyshire a couple of years ago. He’s gone to Italy where he has olive trees and orange groves and a new dog, Ragu who, it seems, has taught Barry and Beryl to bark in Italian. He sends postcards occasionally to Fen and Matt and they write back. He was touched that their daughter was named Cosima. Fen knew he would be. But of course, she won’t be telling Matt why.
Cat and Ben have spent four exciting years in Boulder, Colorado (setting up home together – and flying the Union Jack from their porch). Their careers have provided ample opportunity for travel – Cat furthering her career as a sports journalist, Ben continuing as team doctor to professional racing team, Megapac.. Rachel, however, has retired as soigneur and moved to a gorgeous town in Colorado, half an hour from Cat and Ben. She now works at a spa as a masseuse making more money for shorter hours than at any time during her working life. Her relationship with Andre the mechanic did not last but there’s a reflexologist at the spa with whom a tentative dalliance is in its infancy. Jawlensky and Ducasse continue to compete for the sports most coveted titles and karma seems to dictate an equal number of trophies for the arch rivals. Josh and Alex still hold court in the salle de presse, driving like lunatics from Stage to Stage and bickering amongst themselves like an elderly married couple. Luca Jones’s career is colourful as ever with lucrative advertising and sponsorship deals giving him the sort of income that the bimbos love. Consequently, his life off the bike is one of fast motorbikes, faster cars and fast women. Cat teases him, which bolsters his ego no end. Ben chides him, worries about him, which secretly quite touches the rider. However, Luca will have to start looking after himself a little more as Ben has just decided not to renew his contract with Megapac. And Cat has handed in her notice at Maillot – she’s loved being assistant editor on the magazine but it’s time to move on. Perhaps she’ll go freelance. At the moment she’s not sure. She’s not even sure that she’s doing the right thing going back to the UK. But she has Ben by her side and her sisters Fen and Pip will welcome her home. Django will probably prepare a Spread in her honour.
Polly has a new job teaching English at boys’ public school where she is the stuff of fantasy and furtive rummaging in trouser pockets. Mostly unbeknown to her. The decibel level at Frognal Boys is far lower than at Belsize Girls School and the pupils are courteous, attentive and diligent about doing homework and handing it in on time. She misses Megan but as her friend and former colleague is still very much ensconced with Dominic, she sees her many nights a week.
The brothers still share studio space but Max moved in with Polly and Megan moved in with Dominic, having rented her Kilburn flat to a girl called Pip McCabe.
Max is still happy being a freelance draughtsman but is taking on a fair amount of freelance work doing jacket design for two publishing houses in London. His relationship with Polly goes from strength to strength but he’s never asked her to marry him again. He has the example of his friends Chloe and William to follow. He and Polly are spending the Millennium with them, Dominic and Megan, down in Cornwall.
Lorna, Polly’s buddy from Vermont came to London this summer, her bags laden with maple syrup and good tidings from all at Hubbardton’s Academy. She adored Max. “What were you thinking,” she asked Polly, “what were you thinking?” Polly and Max are thinking of visiting Kate at Hubbardton’s next Fall.
Chip is very busy. What with honing his physique, having meaningless relationships and fending off lusty young students, he rarely has time to think back over his days in Vermont. He remembers Polly, though. He couldn’t ever forget her.
Those of you who read Polly would know that Chloë and William are blissfully unmarried and have a toddler called Genevieve. Jack arrived 4 months ago weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 10 oz. Genevieve tried to put him in the tumble dryer but luckily William came into the kitchen at the same time as Genevieve was wondering how on earth she could bend her baby brother so he would fit.
William’s pottery has been terrifically successful, though Barbara the goat head-butted her way into the studio and smashed three pieces waiting to be glazed.
In Wales, the Gin Trap, with whom Chloë stayed at the start of her year’s travelling, is organising a millennium pony trek with the help of hunky New Zealander Carl, who has returned from an epic European trip in his orange camper van. Carl and Chloe have not met again, though they’ve spoken on the phone and both reminisce privately and wistfully of the time they had together, especially in the orange camper van. Carl thinks he’ll spend a few more months in Wales before heading off to pastures new.
In Ireland, Gus’s sculpture park has received much critical acclaim. Ronan, who did unmentionable things to Chloë on a block of Kilkenny limestone, has gone to Italy to learn the ways of Michelangelo and the wiles of the Venetian beauties.
In Scotland, Fraser’s gay guesthouse is fully booked all the year round. He falls in and out of love as often as he changes the sheets and regales Chloë with technicolour detail on a weekly basis, for at least an hour.
Jasper and Peregrine still live in Jocelyn’s house in London, Jasper’s knees are giving him “frightful gyp” and because of this, he is giving Peregrine “a frightful headache”.
Chloë still has 3 Penbeagle Street and Mr and Mrs Andrews (whose noses were terribly out of joint when they were overlooked as suitable godparents to Genevieve and Jack) still preside over proceedings there.
Sally, for those of you who have read Chloe, married the delectable Richard Stonehill on the shores of Loch Lomond one summer. In true Sally style, she decided not to wear pants under her frock. She gave them to Chloe to hide in her rucksack.
The Stonehills had a belated honeymoon in Bali, as Richard was busy in his architecture practise working on a new restaurant project for Marco Pierre White.
Sally has been promoted at the Primary School, which is great for her bank account but means she has increased responsibilities and had to forego the annual trip to Paris. Jolly good thing too, I say, because she got up to all sorts of mischief and very nearly came a-cropper when she was last there.
Richard sold his bachelor pad in Notting Hill and Sally sold her tiny flat in Highgate. With property prices being utterly silly in London, they both made huge profits, which they ploughed into a very nice Victorian terrace house in Muswell Hill. It’s not highly convenient for Richard’s work but he bought a motorbike much to Sally’s protestations. She resolutely refuses to ride on the back of it, though secretly she’d quite like to as she’d like the excuse to buy a pair of leather trousers.
Sadly, Sally’s beloved Aunt Celia passed away but left the house on Mull to her precious niece. Sally and Richard will be spending the Millennium there with their friends Bob, Catherine and baby Victoria.
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