A couple of weeks ago Jamie Lee Curtis, on the Oscars red carpet, explained that she had declined an Oscars nominees dinner party the night before. I can’t imagine anything worse that having to dine with a room full of competitors, all eyeing each other and pretending to be sporting. But Curtis declined for another reason. She doesn’t fancy going out in the evenings anymore. 

Oh man, I cheered when I heard that. YES queen. She was like, it’s a 7.30pm start, which means we don’t get food til 9pm, and “you know what, there’s nothing good happening with me after nine o’clock.” She’s calling for daytime concerts and all sorts, and I am here for this.

This weekend I managed to socialise. You know, leave the house and see friends. Hurrah for me. I went to a 50th. I saw a friend’s band at the pub. I went out for a roast. And I went to a posh networking lunch. I managed all this because they were in the day. This is genuinely the most socialising I’ve done in a week since lockdown. 

As someone who has more than earned her ‘party girl’ stripes, as I’ve matured I’ve discovered the joy that is daytime partying. I’ve always preferred lunching to dining, but I’ve ramped this up a notch, and actively avoid going out in the evenings. It has to be a big deal for me to leave my nest. 

I have an advantage in that my time is my own. But the absolute heaven of daytime socialising, drinking wine and eating food, seeing live music and being home in time for tea. To guzzle enough water to wake up fresh. To be in bed by 9pm and still have had a blinding time out and about. 

A few years ago I threw a Christmas party, which kicked off at 11am. I’d had in mind people coming for a few sherries and out 3pm. We literally had to kick the last bastards out at midnight. I think that’s the longest session I’ve done for years.

Long gone are the days I’d leave my house at 10pm on a Friday for a party and get home on Sunday night with a hazy brain and filthy shoes. A couple of hours of fun, home by 8pm, and I’m a very happy bunny.

Curtis’s comments went viral, and it seems she and I are not alone. People want to party in the daytime. Whether they’re older, sober, have young kids, whatever. She called for bands to play concerts in the daytime (Coldplay, looking at you). This is one of the reasons I like festivals – you get to see bands playing all through the day. I love the Sunday headline acts for the sheer pleasure of it being in the day.

Is this a post-lockdown thing? Have we all developed a desire to hunker down in the evenings and relax? I had thought I was just getting older and slowing down. That too is true – I don’t smash into my weekends now with a bottle of vodka and a pocket full of anything except poo bags these days. I’m 53 and the amount of drugs I’d need to get through a weekend bender would probably kill me these days. But the social media outpouring in support of Curtis’s remarks would suggest this is not just an age thing.

So let’s do this. Let’s have raves and lunches and parties and live music and let’s do it all in the afternoon! Who’s with me?