I recently attended a party the 82nd Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of England at UK Ambassador Beckingham’s house in Forbes Park with my best friend and boyfriend last April 24.

I was supposed to go with John and/or Mike but they refused to attend the QBP (Queen’s Birthday Party). One of the reasons why they don’t want to go was the prescribed attire for the event. The guests were required to wear lounge suits on a hot summer night! Mike Wootton, a well-known guy who used to Chair the British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines is used to going to diplomatic events and has been attending the QBP at the UK Ambassador’s house for a long time. Try to imagine the comfort it will give to a British person who is used to the nice cold weather in the UK. So he gave me a note of warning telling me that if ever I decide to go, I should expect all possible discomfort imaginable: the heat of the summer night and standing for hours on the grass with my stilettos sinking in the neatly-manicured lawn of the Ambassador’s garden.

I was at first having second thoughts after hearing that from Mike and also because I have nothing decent to wear. However, with Mike and John incessantly persuading me to go, I had no choice and ended up worrying about what to wear and how to convince my boyfriend to be my escort for the night in 24 hours notice.

I went there to represent the Philippine Youth Business Foundation (just a plug in… PYBF is the local programme of the Youth Business International under the International Business Leaders Forum, a charity foundation and project established by HRH Princes of Wales himself – thought I might need to explain this because my best friend failed to or cared not to explain this in her blog entry which I reposted below). I had no choice but to go there since the people who were supposed to be there (Mike, the Chair of the Foundation and John Baybay, the Executive Director) had no intention of coming. The person next in position who was required to be there was me.

Anyway, so I went there and brought along with me my best friend and boyfriend (details as to how Mnel got suddenly invited is also explained below).

When we got to Forbes, there was a long line of diplomatic cars along the Ambassador’s driveway: BMW’s, Jaguar’s… all luxury cars in the world were there! Still with full confidence that my best friend’s dirty Jazz won’t look out of place amidst the pool of cars all wearing the “1000″ plate with flaglets representing each diplomat’s country, we queued up and found a parking spot, away from where everyone could notice the little dirty Jazz that my best friend was driving.

Upon reaching the security, Mnel and Jopaw suddenly felt uneasy and felt like backing out. The place was filled with Ambassadors, diplomats and all important personalities in politics and the upper bracket of society. I told them to just feel important and think that you are an important person. So we did!

When we reached the UK Ambassador’s front door, there were three women and two men welcoming the guests as they go in. Jopaw, Mnel and I had no idea who the UK Ambassador and his wife were. All we knew was one the three women was Mrs. Jill Beckingham and one of the two men was Ambassador Peter, it’s an either-or guessing game.

We went in and let the “welcome party” accommodate us to their lovely diplomatic home. The Queen wasn’t there of course. She was in England with the rest of the Royal Family. The Queen was only represented through Ambassador Peter Beckingham and her lovely picture posted on one of the walls of the diplomatic house.

After shaking hands with the “welcome party”, which at that time we still could not point out who the diplomatic couple was, Jopaw immediately escorted me and Mnel to the little exhibit where several photos were on display. We looked at the pictures and tried to figure who Ambassador Beckingham was, luckily we were able to.

The party was not what we expected. It was quite boring as there was little chance to interact with the other guests. People were minding their own business and they just go with their own circle. Some were gatecrashers (including my bestfriend and boyfriend, well that’s what they believe they were) and were just hanging around for the free food and booze. It wasn’t really something you would really look forward to if you’re the real party animal.

That is why I have nothing else much to say. I just wanted to repost my best friend’s blog entry (with her kind permission of course) that listed the details of what she realized after attending the QBP.

I just want to add some few points to her list (I start with 11 because she ended with 10 – just read the first ten on the list after reading the eleventh or you could read her list first before reading my addition).

*****

11. If you do not know the people at a diplomatic event or in this case, party, pretend that you know everybody, especially the diplomats at the occasion. Looking at the exhibit or at the pictures (if there is) is the best way to figure out who the Ambassador is especially if the event is held at the host’s house. This is very important to remember especially if your mission is not to really socialize at the event but to meet the Ambassador and talk to him about something really important.

12. Never wear stilettos even if you are not so sure whether the party will be set up outdoor or in an indoor venue. Stilettos are the worst enemies when attending cocktail events as well. A pair of neat high-heeled shoes that does not go more than an inch is enough to get you through the night.

13. If you are anticipating a situation where you will have to suddenly leave your companion (i.e. boyfriend) to talk to someone (and you have no idea how and when to cut the conversation), bring an extra friend (i.e. bestfriend) who knows your other companion. Make sure they know each other and they are comfortable together. The extra person is the best ally of the other person in such situation and a good way to provide them a bonding experience (especially if they decided to explore all possible ways of creating a crepe dessert in a party that serves a “do-it-yourself crepe”).

14. If you are driving a small dirty car, pretend it’s not small and dirty. After all the only difference is diplomatic cars are cleaner because they are well-maintained and get carwash almost everyday and you are just lazy to bring yours to get cleaned. If you feel intimidated with the little flags on their hood, then put one on yours too. You may even put another at the trunk and a couple more at the windows if you like as there is no limit to doing that. You could also park your car blocks or miles away from the party venue so that no one could see your little piece of metal. Never worry because diplomatic cars have their lifetime and eventually end up in junk gathering rust and dust after a couple of years, similar to a 19-or-so forgotten year old car.

So I think this is enough to add to my best friend’s list, unless of course Jopaw suddenly decided to create his own blog as well and add his personal horrible experience at the QBP.

*****

(The blog entry below was posted with permission from my bestfriend)

View Mnel’s site?

I just came home from gatecrashing a party for a queen. No. This is not some party of a socialite-wannabe or a gathering for a queen-for-a-day. It is indeed for the queen herself – Queen Elizabeth II – in celebration of her 82nd birthday.

My bff caught me online this morning. What started as a friendly “how are you” chat ended with an unexpected invitation to a party she was to attend this evening. You see, my best friend, the cause-oriented, diplomat-wannabe is currently involved in some organization. Now, don’t dare ask me further ‘coz all I know is that it involves: Foundation, Youth and the Prince of Wales (just connect the dots). She wanted me to gatecrash ‘coz she didn’t know anyone else in that party.

Her boyfriend, who would also be gatecrashing the event, also prodded me to come with them. I planned to attend the jazz dance class this evening at 8 pm and I had to rewire my brain a little bit so that I wouldn’t feel guilty of having skipped dance again for tonight’s event. Clad in the best attire I could come up with at the last minute, off I went to the British ambassador’s home in Forbes Park, ready to be kicked out for not having been properly invited at all.

After spending almost three hours being a wallflower (hooray for me I wasn’t booted out of the party!), here are ten things that I came to realize:

1. Bring your car to the carwash when you feel the uncanny urge to. As much as possible, DON’T DELAY TO THE LAST MINUTE. Else, you’d have to parade your dirt-ridden Jazz amongst BMWs with funny plates and little flags flapping on the hood.

2. Make sure your hands are clean and dry so that you’d always be ready to shake hands with ambassadors and diplomats from all over the world. Who knows? You might be shaking the hands of the ambassador from Timbuktu.

3. Get a drink from one of the waiters/waitresses lining the entrance door. They were there for a purpose. It doesn’t matter if it’s wine, beer or orange juice you’re holding. Just hold anything! It makes you look and feel less awkward in the midst of a crowd.

4. A smile and a nod are your best allies in a party filled with people you won’t get to brush elbows with on an ordinary day. You don’t have to know everything they’re saying. Just pretend that you do.

5. A $6 dress is as good as the $1,000 Vera Wang cocktail dress – trust me – they won’t notice the difference.

6. In a venue filled with people from all races, you won’t be able to pinpoint a gatecrasher from an invited guest. Everyone thinks everyone in the party must be someone important – except of course, the gatecrashers who are in fact, a bunch of nobodys.

7. If you think someone looks familiar, chances are you do know him/her, it’s just that you don’t remember. Try to recall where you first encountered that person. If you can’t, YOU HAVE TO!

8. Bring two gatecrashers along with you to the party. At least if you get caught in a conversation, the gatecrashers can just get themselves busy tasting EVERYTHING on the buffet table.

9. Don’t act like a giddy kid on the crepe bar. Peaches, raisins and white chocolate bits don’t taste good together. Adding vanilla ice cream with candy sprinkles on top, does, however, make the crepe more palatable.

10. And lastly, don’t even think twice when asked to gatecrash come to a party for the Queen of England. Deep inside, you know you want to! You may not really get to meet Queen Elizabeth II or bump into Prince William himself but his lookalikes are as hot and as yummy as the original.

Hehe. That’s it. Enough of daydreaming. Back to the real world!

XS: Taste Turkey with Cranberry Sauce last! Tasting it first would shoot up your expectations of the next food on the plate – which sadly, rarely happens since you’ve already tasted the best in the menu.