The British Consulate throws one of its rare parties to its citizens in honor of the royal wedding of William and Kate. Now, I don’t like to be unkind (much) but one of the things the British Consulate is not famed for is parties, at least not those that aren’t to do with diplomats. So given any opportunity, the British community surged to be invited to the event. Interestingly this was not an open invite to all Brits residing in Istanbul but you had to put your name forward and have it picked out of a hat. So, the lucky 200 or so got to swagger around the ballroom, which was too brightly lit. OK they have huge chandeliers and OK it wouldn’t look good unless they were lit, but methinks a lower wattage bulb might have worked better given the glamour of the occasion.
Brits are not renowned minglers. They are uptight and unconfident in crowds of people they don’t know so there were a lot of tight groups even at the smokers’ section on the balcony. Smokers usually end up talking to other smokers, having a common evil bond. Addicts seek out addicts, as they say, not in this case.
However, the service was good. The canapés very tasty and the champagne (ok it was sparkling wine but who’s comparing) was good with that great British touch of diced strawberries thrown in with the wine. Two side rooms had been set up with huge plasma TV sets to show, in one room, the history of royal weddings and in the other the event that had taken place that afternoon. Sadly I have to say that both rooms were packed with Brits and their spouses watching TV rather than interacting with others and each other.
Some lovely outfits were on show, naturally I mean female attire. A lot had gone to a great deal of trouble to look great for the evening and indeed they did. Women sparkled and men looked stylish. Thankfully no one wore hats. There was already way too many at the ceremony but then I’m told the British don’t don hats as evening attire.
At around 10 p.m. the party wound down. A few stragglers hung back and were invited down to the British Consulate’s Clubhouse for drinks. What is the clubhouse? Apparently a place where the staff of the consulate and their friends can come to and unwind on a Friday evening. Drinks are tax-free and the bar is non-profit so it’s affordable. The 20 or so that went to the bar stayed till around 2 a.m. hitting back shots of something called Slippery Nipples. Don’t ask me what that is. I don’t know. I wasn’t there and don’t believe I would be partial to a slippery nipple. I am told nothing terribly exciting happened at the Clubhouse apart from everyone having a good time and even some interaction-taking place between the piss heads.
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