Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Last night we had the big Christmas party for the office I am visiting here in the UK. It was quite fun. Of course there was beer, ale and gin for all. The food was okay but nothing to write home about. So I won’t waste any more space on that topic.

The group evening started at the Hampton Court Ice Rink for a round of Ice Skating. I was asked if I’d like to attend, but as I explained to my coworkers out here, being a native Floridian, I understand that ice is something you use to keep your Cuba Libra cold. If God had meant us to ice skate we’d have been born with much more padding… of course some of us were, I guess. The receptionist here suggested I could go Ass Skating like the rest would, no doubt. I demurred. I understand that the Russian in the group was the only one to actually fall at the rink. He claims, of course that he was demonstrating Ice Safety. Uh-huh!

The party was held across the street from the palace at the Carlton Mitre Hotel. It was a nice to-do. The opening game was a round of name the baby. People kept asking me to play but I cannot name eleven people in this office by walking into their offices, I certainly can’t do it from baby photos! At work I am really busy and have business only working with the four-or-five people I deal with on this floor. There are three-or-four floors here so I haven’t actually met everyone here.

There was plenty of fun to be had. My table got into a joke telling competition. Little did I know that the Santa for the evening was at my table and was chosen for his extensive range of jokes at hand. He easily won. He then went up and distributed the “Secret Santa” gifts. Everyone who came up to collect a present was greeted with some pun, jibe, joke or witticism. It was a riot. Of course, being only an American, some of the humor was lost on me because I did not make the connections that the rest of the people in the room had. Others I could simply not hear.

Once again, I was at the bar at closing. This is not, I suppose, as hard to do here in this country since all the bars close well before midnight. But when I left the hotel it was well after midnight and it was nearly one before I returned home to the hotel.

Tonight I am going to spend one last night at the King’s Arms and chat with my friends there before I head home on Sunday. I guess I am just trying to squeeze as much as I can into the last couple days I have of this trip. I cannot wait to get home to my dog and my home and my friends, but I also am looking forward to coming back here in the spring.

Well, that is all for this morning, I am going downstairs to have breakfast and then head into the office. One last day in the office here this trip and I have about three days’ work to do. Oh well…

Have a great day!

Don Bergquist – Thames Ditton, United Kingdom – 17, December, 2004