"They could have made the fucking dance floor bigger," a man chuckled taking a swig of cider as he swayed to chipper cello music.
A couple of hundred people gathered Windrush Square in Brixton on Monday evening to "celebrate" the death of Margaret Thatcher - somewhat ironically in the shadow of the Ritzy cinema and its Argentinean film festival.
There was braying anger from some, including from those carrying a "the bitch is dead" banner and a "ding dong Thatcher's dead" sign, but the overwhelming atmosphere was of a reunion rather than a outpouring of glee at the 87-year-old's passing.
Proudly sporting a poll tax protest badge and a miner's pin dug out specifically for the occasion, one middle-aged man sounded almost wistful when recalling his youthful opposition to Thatcher.
"I was an adult then, it was the first thing when I was an adult, it was the first big thing when I was politicised, same for a lot of my generation," he mulled as his daughter proudly displayed a mocked up newspaper front page declaring "Rejoice, Rejoice".
For others it was political the intrigue of the times that was the topic of conversation. "Do you remember Westland?" Lucy, 46, wanted to know of the huddle she had gathered with to drink and reminisce. The younger ones of the circle did not, much to her dismay. "It's like when I have to go home and explain Tory politics to the dog," she sighed.
For those in their 20s the party was more about Thatcher's enduring legacy, rather than reliving a past they did not know, their bedroom tax badges mixing with the poll tax badges sported by the older activists.
A 20-year-old swigging theatrically and deliberately from a bottle of milk, explained: "Cameron is just finishing off what Thatcher started."
"Thatcher ruined this country, she wrecked the unions, she destroyed the coal industry, she privatised our services," the young man said.
It did not matter he was born two years after Thatcher was forced out of office in 1990.
He neatly captured why despite not having any personal memory, the former prime minister's legacy lives on so toxically for so many.
"I remember my mum talking about how she hates Thatcher," he explained when asked why he was there.