This time last week, I turned 3o. To celebrate I threw a party at Adam Street.

Half way through the night a girl who I’d invited on a whim after she atted  me on Twitter came up to me and we had the following conversation...

Her: (borderline offended) “Hey! Your Twitter profile is bullshit. You’re not ‘kind of a dick’!”

Me: “I assure you I am. What makes you say that?”

Her: “If you were a dick, you wouldn’t have all these friends.”

She’s wrong of course, not least because she had no idea how many former friends weren’t at the party - but I can’t fault her logic. Looking around the bar and seeing it full of people who can still bear to be in the same room as me was as flattering as it was surprising. And the party was just the climax of a great day, a day beginning at brunch with Clare Christian during which we realised that we’ve been friends for over ten years. Given everything we’ve been through, that’s fucking remarkable. It’s been a hell of a decade.

What’s almost as remarkable is that - against all odds - I managed to spend my entire birthday - finishing back at my ridiculous hotel at 4am - entirely sober. Not drinking shouldn’t be a source of pride, but weirdly it is. Next stop: New Year’s Eve.

(Update: Girl from above conversation has posted her own version of the party. This is why you should always invite people from the Internet to your birthday.)