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Modern life is a whirl of complications, making one long for the old joy of social spontaneity – yet another relic of the non-digital age

We may mourn the death of spontaneity, but if we don’t plan for the Christmas parties, we might find ourselves sitting at home on our own Pic: Getty

Is there any fun in the world to be had these days, other than of the strictly organised variety? A whirl of Christmas parties is already approaching us with the menace of Storm Ophelia – and pretty much everyone I know has the same complaint: they’re too busy, they don’t have the time. They’re already all booked up – and no one knows quite how it happened, even those people without kids and ...