Ravi had commandeered the whole of the restaurant from 2pm to accommodate his guests and it wasn’t long before the place was filling up. The Tramp and Trampette (nickname pending approval) were among the first to arrive, closely followed by Rumpole Of The Balti’s better half, who reported that the Curry Club’s in-house legal counsel would be slightly late due to him having his hair done (the resulting do was magnificent). Soon enough, everyone had arrived and it was on with the ordering … so what of the meal?

The Wee Curry Shop may well be diminutive in size but it punches above its weight when it comes to the cooking. Uncharacteristically, The Tramp opted to skip a starter but did manage to pinch some of that most Scottish of curry fusion dishes – Haggis Pakora – and mighty fine it was too, bringing back memories of (and a bit of reminiscing about) the sadly long-gone pakora paradise that was Murphy’s Pakora Bar. Although a few of our party ordered from the standard menu, most of the assembled squad opted for the Thali lunch.

After selecting from chicken, lamb, fish or vegetable curry, you are presented with your own personal Thali platter consisting of your chosen curry, the vegetarian dish of the day (a daal in our case), basmati rice, raita, lime pickle and a chapati. Mmmm. And all the while Ravi’s partner Fadge Mahal kept the fizz flowing – never were our glasses empty. The meal was rounded off with an amazing pedal steel-shaped birthday cake (just visible in the left-hand corner of the first photo) and then it was off to the pub to continue the celebrations long into the night.

All in all, it was a cracking day of curry and partying. So let's all raise a glass and also a cheer for Ravi Peshwari – happy birthday, sir, from the entire TATTGOC brotherhood!