We went to a party at the British Consulate last night which was their State of the Nation address for their community. It was a black tie affair which was kind of fun to get dressed up and be almost like it is at home even for a brief 4 hours. The party was held outside and it was 85 degrees, so it was a bit warmer than I normally like to see it for nighttime The grounds are kind of uneven so they lay Persian rugs on top of the ground to sort of even out the terrain. When you are in 4 inch heels, I'll tell you, all the rugs in the world don't help. They did lay down an actual dance floor so that part of the evening was not a safety hazard, unless you call dancing at very close quarters with people who have had one too many a hazard.
We learned more than we ever wanted to know about Great Britain however. Apparently there is a big schism between those who have a Celtic background and those with a Saxon background. We happened to be seated at a table with a Scots couple and they did not toast to the Queen nor listen to the ambassador when he spoke. We thought it was a tad bizarre so of course, we asked why. We then proceeded to get a lengthy talk about the difference between the Celts and the English and how we should never confuse the two even though they are all Brits. So apparently the Irish, the Welsh and the Scots are the Celtic people. Toward the end of the night there seemed to be a division around the music with Celtic and non- Celtic . Wow, of all the things to worry about when you are in an armed compound with people with machine guns on the roof and armored vehicles around the perimeter at an unadvertised party for security reasons, that point completely escaped me. It's funny, you just don't see the security anymore when you live here. It's just part of the background. I literally don't even process it on a conscious level. And yet, I feel totally safe here. I feel safer on a street here than I did back in the states. Anyway, some pictures of the event are at the top.
