Lucy Gao, a Citibank intern working in real estate equity research, celebrated her 21st birthday last Friday at the Ritz in London, followed by Pangaea in Mayfair.

No, Mudlark wasn't invited either but Gao's e-mailed party invitation has now done the rounds within the bank and more widely in the City. Perhaps it was the glimpse of a particular brand of jeunesse dorée and Gao's way with words that sent her colleagues into a flutter.