[The Saucepan Man]

The Saucepan Man, Diamond and LinGalad had been surprised enough when the table at which they were sitting had started crackling and spluttering. But surprise turned to utter amazement as the table let off a worrying *bang*, shot into the air and exploded in a shower of yellow red and purple, not to mention green blue and orange, stars. The sound of the fireworks drowned out the kitchen-related cacophony as Saucepan, together with Diamond and LinGalad were propelled backwards by the force of the rocket-powered table.

As they lay on the floor, covered in soot and watching the rainbow coloured display slowly fading above them, Saucepan turned to his companions and quipped "I knew that I shouldn't have had the rocket salad".

Neither Diamond nor LinGalad were in any particular mood to groan. That was a mistake since, taking their silence as a sign of encouragement, Saucepan ventured "Well, I suppose that's what you might call a power lunch."

Warming to his theme, he continued "I hadn't realised that we were sitting at the High Table ... Perhaps, it was ..."

"One more of those bad jokes buster, and I'll ram that kettle where the mirrorball don't shine" hissed Diamond, her composure finally returning.

There was no trouble with Saucepan's hearing this time as his mouth quickly snapped shut. Standing up and dusting themselves down, they surveyed the smoking area where their table, plates and drinks had been.

"I'm beginning to wonder whether lurking in the shadows might have been the safer option" the Greenwood Elf murmured.

As they moved away from the carnage, Trippo the Hippo, who had reappeared, offered them a seat.

“No, I don’t want your feet” replied Saucepan, winking at him mischievously.

Finding an empty table, they sat down again, having carefully checked underneath to make sure that there were no explosive surprises or pranksome party guests hidden there. To calm their nerves, Saucepan took out the paper and comb that he had borrowed from Eruanna earlier and began to hum the theme from Monty Python. LinGalad looked on in amusement as Diamond (for reasons of plot continuity) picked up a wooden spoon and began to beat time on Saucepan's shoulder-pot.

[ May 03, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]