The time of my life

Sociable souls tell Eleanor Doughty the secret of a memorable party

- Eleanor Doughty

OH, Nina, what a lot of parties,' lamented Adam Fenwick-Symes in Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies, published in 1930. The Bright Young Things with whom Adam socialised knew how to party, at 'Masked parties, Savage parties, Victorian parties, Greek parties, Wild West parties, Russian parties, Circus parties, parties where one had to dress as somebody else...'as Waugh wrote.

Now the pandemic has subsided, it's official: the party is back—and we don't just mean the 'Midnight Orgies at No. 10', as Waugh described... oh wait, hang on. 'Carrie does throw a great party,' whispers someone who knows.

The recipe for a great party relies on a few key ingredients. First among these is people. Interviewed for a documentary in 2014, the Society photographer Hugo Burnand explained that former Tatler editor Jane Procter once gave him some advice on getting the best shot. 'She said: “You're going to have a picture of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, and a picture of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger... but the picture I want is of the Duke of Marlborough with Jerry Hall.” This level of contrast is key to a successful guest list. 'You always need a good helping of younger guests,' says Nicholas Coleridge, chairman of the V&A Museum. 'Nothing is sadder than a gathering exclusively of oldies.' Tor Dashwood, co-founder of digital party-planning platform House of Party Planning, agrees. 'You don't want to do a singles area, but cleverly put together some single people and mix old and young. It's a bit sad when there's an older table.'