The British Embassy here just threw a party to
celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s (HMQ) official birthday. They call it, not
surprisingly, the Queen’s Birthday Party, or “QBP”.
Actually HMQ has two birthdays. The anniversary of her date
of birth is the obvious one; it’s easy for me to remember, April 21st,
because it’s also my granddaughter’s. And then there’s the “official” one
celebrated on the first, second or third Saturday in June. Edward VII was a
great party goer and loved events, but, being born in November, found his own
birthday celebrations frequently ruined by the infamous British weather: his
solution was to invent the Monarch’s official birthday, have it in June and
even then to have a plan A, B and C – the three Saturdays. Though extremely
simple, this was clearly a seriously good idea as, over a hundred years later,
it’s still going strong.
The celebrations are held in late May or June across all the
commonwealth countries and territories, (even though the Falklands might prefer Kind Edward’s
November) at more or less the same time and by all British embassies as well. It’s
an opportunity to say “thank you” to many, to wave the flag and to have a good
time.
Lebanese weddings, as noted elsewhere in this blog, can be
massive affairs. This has led to the creation of specialised locations at which
to hold them. This year’s chosen QBP location was one such, called Nuit blanche
(a French expression meaning “party all night”). It boasts a spectacular view
over Beirut and the Bay of Junieh. It’s about 60km West to the Mediterranean horizon
and with city pollution left far below, the sunset is of the multi-coloured,
many faceted variety that can only be seen from an Eastern Mediterranean
vantage point. The closest I've seen elsewhere is while standing on a hill-top
looking out from the Isle of Skye and standing on San Francisco’s Golden Gate
Bridge, but you don’t get the unique Mediterranean blue in those places. Then
the stars come out.
A fleet of London style taxi cabs ferried us back and forth
from the car park – nice touch. First stop the flag waving, with stalls
offering Scottish smoked salmon, a view of the new Range Rover and many others
of the British brands available here, including a plethora of Scotch whiskies.
Champagne, of course, was there for those who preferred it.
Down a walkway to the main mingle area with music, canapés
and more champagne enjoyed by the two thousand invitees. The only formalities
were the two national anthems, performed live by a baritone soloist and a short
speech from the British Ambassador, Tom Fletcher, during which he read a
message from Her Majesty.
The invitation said clearly “until 9:00 p.m.” but things were
still going strong at midnight. About the only thing missing was the lady being
celebrated parachuting in herself, but I suppose the embassy had to keep
something back for next year. Great party.
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