By the time I got to Paula and Bob's party, Rob had left ages ago. Pat and Peter were late, as usual. Barbara and Tim had just arrived, and Simon, who'd been there for ages, was serving them with some things to nibble. Tony was already a bit tipsy, and was picking quarrels with anyone who'd listen.
Apparently that's why Rob had left. He'd hardly taken his coat off when Tony started going on at him, so he just upped and left. When Angela had seen Tony arriving, she told Simon to keep an eye on how much he had to drink. Angela had got there early to help Paula, and was busy in the kitchen. When I asked Jim and Chris what Tony had said to rob, they couldn't tell me because they hadn't heard anything. They didn't even know that Rob had been there
They'd arrived soon after Simon, and had been stuck in conversation with Bob ever since I opened the door to let in Alice, so she and I settled down for a good chat and a gossip about Pat and Peter before they arrived. All in all, it was quite a good party.