Tuesday, May 30, 2006
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Party favo(u)rs
On Saturday we had our long-awaited "Becoming British" party to celebrate our naturalisation as British citizens. The British theme was provided by some British flag bunting, and a boot-load of tasty real ale from the Milton Brewery. Much to our suprise, many of the guests arrived with gifts in the British theme, welcoming us into the fold with traditional offerings of all kinds. Including:

drinks: numerous bottled real ales; gin & tonic; a bottle of Pimm's; and one of Babycham. Not to mention quite a few lagers "brewed under license in the UK".
foods: salt & vinegar crisps; Marmite; a truly dire-looking tin of Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie (you can order one for a knockdown price of $19.97 here, or maybe a little cheaper here, although in either case I doubt the tin will be as dusty as ours was). Perhaps most appropriately a tin of SPAM, a product originating in the U!!S!!A!! but which has been enthusiastically adopted by the British (just like us new citizens).
cloth goods: a high quality necktie depicting a stylized version of St. George's Cross; a bow tie depicting same; a one-size-(almost)-fits-all Union Jack t-shirt; a lovely tea towel honoring the Queen on her 80th birthday. All of which I ended up wearing at some point in the evening.
How can I leave out the miscellany? A packet of British-themed beer mats which may or may not be for real products or establishments; a small US-English/English-US dictionary; a small hand-held "England fan" which is a battery powered fan, in the shape of an England fan (as in football supporter) with the fan blade where his face should be. And I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other things I haven't thought of at the moment.

We set up the beer dispensing station just outside the back door, and various nibbles around the lounge, dining room and kitchen. The density of partygoers per room seemed very well matched with the ease of floor cleaning: a critical mass in the kitchen (stone floor tiles), significant numbers outdoors (pavement slabs) and in the dining room (wood), with the living room totally unused for the duration. The Milton beers went down a treat; it seemed like my preference ("Sparta") was slightly preferred over Mrs. Dunce's ("Nero") but this might also reflect the generally higher popularity of golden ales over (stronger) stouts. And the party continued into the wee hours.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 1:52:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [2]  |  Tracked by:
mr right [Trackback]
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 2:21:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
You forgot the salt and pepper shakers shaped like Royal Mail post boxes.
Opal Dunce
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 11:52:06 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Oh Dear!! And Have I committed this month's faux pas by not sending a gift on a gift-giving occasion????? So sorry! Glad your bash was a success even without us.
Big Mama
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