The oddest social function of the trip so far has got to be the Queen’s birthday party we attended in Georgetown, Guyana.
We received hand delivered invitations on pristine white card. The High Commissioner and his wife requested the pleasure of our company at a party to celebrate the queen’s official birthday. Dress code: elegant. This was tricky because dirty, scruffy and pretty-much-see-through I can manage but elegant is definitely not a word that could be reliably applied to anything that comes out of our car. Luckily, we were staying with the lovely Darshana and Marcello and so Will and I borrowed elegant clothes from Darshana and Tim wore his missionary/teaching outfit.
The party was held at the High Commissioner’s residence in a swanky area of town. We were greeted at the door by the commissioner Fraser Wheeler and his wife Sarah and the words ‘oh you are those people’ to our rather hasty explanation of what we were doing in Guyana.
We were then whisked past a giant Union Jack cake to the Pimms. In a state of some confusion we found ourselves chatting to the terribly nice Prime Minister Sam Hinds. He told us anecdote after anecdote about his British curriculum schooling. Definitely the first time I have bonded with the leader of a country over the Corn Laws but I hope not the last. At one point I swear he winked at me.
Then it was time for some speeches. First up the High Commissioner who gave us a run through of the British achievements in Guyana over the last three years – a new breed of sheep and some super male Tilapia seemed to be the gist of it. He squeezed in a dig at the President for not adopting some security improvements.
Next was the President. For a good five minutes I thought the person introducing the President had got a bit carried away, as Jagdeo looks far to youthful to be a second term president.
After a round of national anthems and a toast to the good old queen we continued making the most of the free bar. That was until Marcello and Darshana dragged us away to watch a fantastic jazz group perform in town. We were given a piece of the Union Jack cake on the way out the door.
