Building on the Forbidden City of last year, the Committee offered revellers Scheherazade, that legendary Persian queen, storyteller, and now Ball theme.

The College became the Sultan’s Palace, complete with scarlet star lanterns, royal blue drapes and a gigantic, decadent, velvet bed (which the Daily Mail must not find out about). There was a wealth of food available to meet discriminating tastes, and bacon rolls later on for those past discrimination. The queues were less palatable, however, and as one guest in the queue for some North African food said, "I like Moroccan food as much as the next guy, but forty minutes is too long to wait."

Troubling rumours that attendees would be denied their customary complementary copy of the Financial Times were laid to one side when Faithless took to the stage in the Fellows’ Garden.

The Ball was a credit to the Committee’s imagination, hard work. After all, what better excuse for shisha?