I THINK it would be quite accurate to say that those in my social orbit ? myself included ? had an extremely "wild time" this past weekend due to a social gathering of kindred spirits from days gone by (very, very many days).

Some of you who are longterm sufferers of my column may remember one that I wrote exactly two years ago, the subject being a reunion of the now overaged "kids" who used to "hang out" together in the '60s and early 1970s at a certain venue along the South Shore.

Martin drew at the time a wonderful illustration of one of the "youths", who must now be pushing 60, on a stretcher with an oxygen mask being wheeled onto the plane (a lot of them came from the States) and this weekend's scenario follows quite closely in excellence behind the original reunion in 2002.

Reunions aren't normally held so closely in succession. But in this instance, because of the ages of some of the players and their particular fondness for libations (which are manufactured mainly in Barbados), it is necessary for obvious reasons to get together sooner rather than later. "Later" would possibly mean in a different venue altogether ? and the one that I am thinking about is of an extremely high altitude! I don't think that anyone is ready just yet to ascend into high places but if these get-togethers happened more frequently I have no doubt that the team would soon be depleted considerably.

Although the head count was down quite significantly this time round (not due, I might add, to Barbadian thirst quenchers having taken their toll) it made not one iota of difference. Small is good sometimes, not often, but in this case the group was perfectly formed and definitely had inherent hedonistic qualities (tinged with a tiny bit of Kamikaze spirit).

There was one girl in particular who stood out from the rest. Susan had recently married one of the more senior players (long established) and so this was her first encounter with the revellers of times gone by.

You would never have known because she just slotted right in there and if there had been a competition to see who was going to sit in the "naughty chair" first, she would have won hands down!

On one particular evening while having dinner, the visiting Crocadillos (the Harvard singing group) singled her out as the member of the audience they would turn their attentions to and serenade from the stage. In hindsight I'm wondering whether they are thinking that this was such a good idea as she just about stole the show. This, she decided, was the perfect occasion to start a lap dancing routine (not something that you would normally associate with the Harvard crooners and their Radcliffe counterparts) but I think that this is what egged her on.

What a great "bad girl" routine she performed. The evening wasn't over for Susan just yet, she had now got into full whoop-it-up mode and decided that her next unsuspecting victims would be a wedding party back at the hotel where everyone had convened for a nightcap.(thirsty work the cab journey from town to Paget).

As mentioned a rather sedate wedding was taking place and Susan thought that they all looked a little too sombre for her liking and needed livening up. She took it upon herself to accomplish this feat single handed, with great aplomb, great finesse and great success.

She switched from lap dancing to what can only be described as pole dancing/Eastern Promise Fantasy Dancing at its very finest. I don't think that these people knew what had hit them as she slithered around the room using her Pashmina in a way that would make a Himalayan goat hair reaper blush in anticipation of what was to come and contemplate an immediate career change.

This was all hilarious fun and made this wedding one that all the guests will never forget as Susan, without doubt, saved the day.

It was during the dinner on the last night at Horizons (more in a minute) that Malcolm told me a true story that had occurred the other day and that really made me laugh. Bermudians, as we know, can be quite notorious for not turning up for work. We can manufacture all manner of excuses but the one you are about to hear I think is quite ingenious.

OK, so the story goes like this.

An employee of a large construction firm hadn't turned up for work for a few days. On the third day the boss of the company called him up to see why he was absent without leave.

The boss says to this guy: "Hey, Milton, what's up man? Aren't you coming into work?"

"No," Milton replies. "I'm sick."

"Oh," says boss man. "What's wrong with you then?"

"Well, I've got a case of Anal glaucoma," he responds.

There is silence for a few seconds while Stephen the boss takes this one in.

"Anal glaucoma? B'y, what the hell's that?"

Milton's response came very quickly.

"It means," he says, "'that I can't see this ass goin' to work!"

How great is that? Wonderful excuse and hopefully one that some of you will be able to use when a suitable occasion arises.

Now, onto culinary matters and the dinner at Horizons, which by the way was absolutely superb. I was seated next to the delightful Frank, who was feeling a little the worse for wear having had an altercation with the dock the day before.

We had all been on a boat cruise on Saturday afternoon and the combination of Cockspur (Susan says that Cockspur is a pseudonym for kidney stones) and rough seas had taken its toll upon disembarkation.

To stop himself falling in between boat and dock he had managed to remove quite a fair bit of the wooden railing and suffered severe facial rope burn in so doing. Despite his ailments he was great fun to sit next to and he, among others, raved about the dinner, the surroundings and the assembled company.

I don't think I've ever had dinner at Horizons in the winter or whatever season this happens to be, it's difficult to know isn't it? I always think of it as more of a summer venue to go and dine as they do sensational barbecues.

Now I realise that I have really missed out big time in winter dining experiences and will certainly have to make up for lost time. A more convivial atmosphere you would definitely be hard pressed to find. You get the feeling that you are in someone's chic, elegant English country house having dinner added to greatly by all the fireplaces boasting lovely, cheerful blazing log fires. Quite similar in fact to their sister hotel Waterloo House.

The menu was dynamic and when the food arrived it actually looked and tasted as you had imagined it would from the menu description. This is not always the case in many restaurants, as we all know too well. My starter was Greek-style wild mushrooms with lemon and Feta topped with a Lyonnaise salad and Fingerling fries.

It might sound enormous, it wasn't, it was just enough and was the perfect combination of all of the mentioned ingredients.

If no one had been looking I could quite easily have licked the plate. My next course was Crisp Citrus Scented Tempura of Atlantic Salmon Cakes over warm Smoked Salmon, a light Tartare sauce and Salsa Fresca. This again was plate-licking material and satisfied every possible craving that my taste buds desired.

The menu is extremely creative to say the least and I would like to return to sample just about everything on it apart from the "Local Chicken Livers", the thought of which made me feel a little queasy. If I had more space I would like to expound a lot more on dinner at Horizons but as I don't I can't. Just go and make a reservation and find out for yourselves what a wondrous jewel in the culinary crown it is.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope that it proves to be a fabulous weekend for you all and that the sun will shine upon us.

In the hopes that it does I am going to give you a Lamb barbecue recipe to break with the traditional Easter roast that most people normally have. It may seem like a lot of ingredients but you probably have most of them knocking around in your spice rack anyway, it is seriously delicious. Have fun and see you next week.

5-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied with fat and sinew trimmed, 1/2 large onion cut into 2-inch pieces, 6 garlic cloves, peeled, 2 tablespoons mint leaves, 2 tablespoons paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon marjoram leaves, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons each of ground cumin, ground coriander and hot pepper sauce, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Put the first 13 ingredients into a food processor and pulse until they form a coarse paste. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and blend well.

Put the lamb in a large Ziplok bag and pour over the spice mixture. Seal bag and turn several times to make sure that the mixture covers all the lamb completely. Refrigerate over night, turning the bag occasionally. Prepare the barbecue to a medium heat, remove lamb from the bag and shake off the excess. Grill to desired doneness or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 125F - 130F, for medium rare, about 15 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board, cover with foil and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. Cut into 1/3-inch slices and serve.