AFTER a seemingly never-ending 'age of austerity', The Crazy Bear Summer Garden Party provided the perfect antidote – serving decadence aplenty.

This was a night of no-holds barred indulgence - with A list performers, endless supplies of premium Thai food and champagne, as well as a healthy dose of risque burlesque dancing.

The fun went on all day, but it seemed to officially kick-off with the appearance of Lemar, who showed why he has two Brits and three Mobo Awards to his name.

He delivered a flawless vocal, including Celo Green’s Forget You, Dance with You and If there’s any Justice in the World.

The guy - and his equally talented backing singers and guitarist - oozes cool confidence, and you knew the performance was in safe hands.

His professionalism even extended to his handling of a small army of wanton women intent on hurling themselves - as well as provocative plastic implements - at him during the set.

The classy performance left everyone wondering just why Lemar isn’t a bigger star.

If only he had had tracks like Forget You, perhaps he would be...

The next higlight came in the form of Boy George, who brought to the stage bucket-loads of charisma, a command of the DJ turntables and obviously, his trademark hat.

This was party time and he played what everyone wanted - tunes that cut across generations including remixes of Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics.

Next up was Rose Royce, who gave the stellar performance you would expect from a band with more than 30 years' experience of getting people up and dancing.

I feared that the classics like Carwash could fall into the 'overplayed classic' category, but needn't have worried.

Gwen Dickey performed it in such a classy way, the crowd got to enjoy it afresh again. And this epic disco tune cut across the generations perfectly.

Other tunes, such as Is It Love You're After (or just a good time?) were spine tingling.

The 80-acre setting in Stadhampton still feels like a well-kept secret, and after 11 years of staging garden parties, Crazy Bear owner Jason Hunt has nailed it. There are enough marquees to provide comfort and shelter during an all-day party and the plethora of food stalls are well planned out so that guests never needed to queue.

The bar service was also top notch, though what would you expect at a place like the Crazy Bear?!

The abundance of food and champagne means the Summer Garden Party is not the place to come if you’re trying to save money or lose weight. But it is the venue of choice if you want a great time and amazing people-watching.

Roll on next year!