Surely enough, their household's sluggish departure from London delayed our plans. Reminding the sleepy polar bear that we would need to undertake four stops in addition to washing, preparing, and cleanup procedures, the amount of allocated time was insufficient to proceed with the original agenda. Doing what I do best - if I must say so myself - I called for an urgent meeting, contemplating possible solutions within the constraints and outsourcing assistance as needed.
The setup process was a joint effort by the sleepy polar bear and yours truly, who had brought and donned her own for the task. Other attendees did not extend a helping hand by default and, even when asked, there was an unashamedly brazen one that simply declared, "I just came to eat!" before turning back to voice seemingly dreadful concerns of "having too much vacation" left over. That's one member that won't be invited again. House gatherings are team efforts, not maid-making opportunities.
Eventually, at 7:09 PM, the food came together. We were, more or less, on schedule.
The party ceased consumption around the 8:15 PM mark, as per my expectations. Between 8:30 - 9:00 PM, the sleepy polar bear and I engaged in cleanup measures. Some brought bowls and plates to the sink; some twiddled their thumbs and yakked away.