Well, I got out of bed in London at 5.30 am, got the plane to Amsterdam, met Marjan, who then – thanks, Marjan!’ – drove us to into Germany, where we met Doug, Steve, Carina, two Johns, Glasgow and Watford, Maggie, Marc, Richard, Ender, Ulla and so many other friends old and new, had a Jukes Xmas party, drove back to Amsterdam and got back to bed at 6.30am the following day. Wow. I haven´t pulled a 24 hr partying shift for about 25 years.

Oh, but what a swell party it was! The Lagerhalle sits in an arch in the wall of the old part of Osnabruck (parties of tourists were following historically-dressed, lantern-bearing guides on ghosts walks past it as we approached); but inside it’s a very smart complex with a huge bar in front of the venue and another one upstairs, and facilities going on and on (up two flights to the cloakroom and down one to the rest rooms, past a spookily illuminated hole with plaster lizards in it. We were greeted at the door by Klaus in his own historical dress (a 3-piece suit of Jukes circa ’77 vintage) and entered to find buffets piled high with succulent meats, side dishes and deserts and a free bar for the duration. This had to be Jukes heaven!

The amazing Reiner, who had organised the whole party, gave a gracious speech to throw the proceedings open (though, as I may have mentioned, the bar already was) and welcomed guests from the UK, US, Canada, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to huge cheers – we all really did feel welcome.

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