A bit of rain and a lot of good vibes at the 21st #AfterWorkNoWork

I ended the invitation with a line about creating our own moments, and creating the ones we want to remember.

Then on Thursday evening the sky opened for about ten minutes.

Not one person went home. Michele had the big parasols up on the terrace before anybody arrived, so we all shuffled underneath and carried on talking. Grazie mille for that, Michele. Having the parasols already up is the difference between a shower being a problem and a shower being nothing much at all.

Twenty-one editions in, and I will admit I still get a small flutter beforehand wondering whether anyone will come. You came. You keep coming, and I do not take it for granted.

Michele and the team looked after everybody. Finger food with every drink, which is the arrangement we have, and I think you all appreciated it. He has asked me to collect feedback so the next one is even better, so if you have any, send it to me and I will pass it on.

The cards

This edition was the first outing for something I had been quietly working on for weeks.

Everybody got a small yellow card at the door. Your card told you who you were for the evening. The Espresso Sniper. The Rain Denier, which given the weather was doing well to keep a straight face. The One Who Stays Till Last. It also told you that four or five other people on that terrace had the same theme as you, and that your job was to go and find them.

Some of you ended up talking to people you had never met, which is the whole point and the reason I made them. There is even a group photograph from the night with the cards being held up in it, which I did not ask anyone to pose for.

My favourite photograph from the whole evening is four of you holding up The Kind Word, The Sunshine, The Good Morning and The Big Smile. That is four fifths of a theme called The Good Vibes, all found each other, all delighted about it. The High Five was somewhere else, presumably giving one.

You can have them

The cards are yours now. Free to download and print, for whatever you are putting on. An office party, a conference, welcome drinks, the first day of a course. There are three decks depending on how many people you are expecting.

The next one

There will be a 22nd edition, and it is looking like Wednesday 30 September. A change of day, because some of you cannot do Thursdays and some of you cannot do Wednesdays and September is going to be busy for all of us.

The list keeps growing, but if it does not have you on it then it is not big enough. Send me a message and I will add you.

The one rule stays the same. Do not talk about work. Or at least, not too loud.