Chapter 3

Every weekend now, from Friday afternoon, to early Monday morning, prior to autumn’s commencement, a continuous gala went on at Pathan’s apartment building. So many people attended that, down in the street doorman were needed, although it seemed these – teams of doormen – were not there to stop people from attending. On the contrary, almost all were welcome provided they were willing to allow the recording of their personal out-of-body experiences, dressed smartly, smiled – and spoke courteously to doormen. The rooms became crowded, gorgeous couples, groups of elegant people, often sat and lounged in the hallways, waiting, on chairs and stools the staff brought them.

As news of Pathan’s project took hold people arrived from all over Germany. and Pathan installed further lifts in the courtyard, to accommodate the weak, infirm – or the simply fatigued. I heard the code of conduct later, simply: no alcohol, behave sociably, be recorded – and to dress. For the weekend events big band orchestras, or jazz quartets, or string, arrived and set up. During these soirees, teams of caterers produced gallons of non-alcoholic drinks and freshly-squeezed juices. Spotless wait staff continuously offered of bite-sized delicacies, brought from every part of the globe, it seemed.

Now into this safe and luxurious environment returned the more adventurous strangers, those Pathan had entertained first, in the days and nights after we were six attending his purpose. Cars with foreign number plates began to park in the surrounding suburban streets as they brought their friends.

Yet in Pathan’s rooms, still always lavished with candles and flowers, and full of music, laughter and easy chatter, most still came with the firm intention to enjoy themselves, and it seemed they did. They sounded so delightful down in the street that I would often watch passers-by stop in their tracks, wistfully look up to the fourth floor, to the balconies overflowing with beautiful people, mixed in with the darker others. Those in the street would stand for a few minutes and watch more of the gorgeous retinue arrive.

Occasionally I also would dress, and cross the hall, and wander through groups of visitors, listening to an amusing anecdote here, a happy laugh there, enjoying the always-superb music. Like many others there, I sought Pathan, his generous happiness, his warm laughter, and his inimitable spirit, which pervaded his place; but there, for now, Pathan was never to be found.

Amber and Rose, familiar with Pathan’s habits, both  knew how fond I had grown of Pathan lately and how sorely I then missed him. By now these two were permanent fixtures in my life and had introduced me to the divine Amen, fashion advisor to the stars. All that summer, since that day by the Isar, Pathan had provided his convertible for my use, and one warm and memorable day, at Amen’s instruction, we four drove to the extraordinary Lembach House, now the home of the Munich Stadtische Galerie. There silently we stood in front of Max Slevogt’s painting “Danae”. That experience, and my subsequent reading about the group Slevogt was sometimes-part of, provided me with a much different perspective.

Ancient Gods, it seemed, were calling to me, and to the three girls too. That same day, after we visited Amen’s salon – to be styled, of course – we lunched with the wicked Chinese restauranteur nearby (name?) and there all got softly drunk on Chinese wine. Then these three girls took me home with them. Then this became something that happened often and so I found myself in heaven and asked myself what more could a man want in a life. Nothing.

Now I truly loved Munich. The extraordinary weight of its history, its astonishing reconstructions and renewals; the city astounded me daily. I began to perceive a little about its strength and power, and that of its own, independent people plus the new and unique mixture of gifted individuals who now decided Munich was where they would live and work – much as had occurred in the artistic pinnacle reached around the turn of the previous century.  As the summer turned towards autumn our new-found patron asked us to structure the work environment of a marvellous young creature called Perpetua Evedown,