An unlikely group of us had been gathered together in the east London home of artists Gilbert and George. For many years I had made no secret of my loathing of their work yet now I found myself charmed by both of them – and their home. The eclectic collection of beautiful and amusing objects was exactly what I was trying to achieve in my own home.

Gilbert and George kept a pet pig who had once competed at Crufts disguised as a dog. The yellow winner’s rosette was displayed in the downstairs cloakroom.

Over the course of a long dinner our hosts kept gently moving guests and items on the dinner table until I glanced in the mirror and was astonished to see that they had used the dinner party guests to re-create a living tableau of The Last Supper. What an amazing, transitory, act of creative genius! And no-one else had spotted it. I jumped up and cheered enthusiastically. From now on, as far as I was concerned, Gilbert and George were the bee’s knees.