A dinner party with the Brits
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Fri 25 Apr 2008 20:16
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15:49.606S 145:07.120W
When we arrived in the Kauehi Island lagoon after
the trip from the Marquesas, it didn't take us long to decide that it would be a
good idea to invite the crews from Lady Kay (Michael, Steve and Deb) and Cleone
(James, Chris and Will) over for dinner to celebrate our successful voyage from
the Marquesas to the Tuamotus. The plan was not for a regular dinner
party, but a boat dinner party. Because resources are short on all boats,
and particularly short at the moment because we are nearly at the end of two
months of cruising without having encountered a 'real' grocery store since
Ecuador, boat dinner parties require that guests bring a variety of items.
For example, our dinner party involved things like BYOM (Bring Your Own
Meat) and BYOP (Bring Your Own Plates) and BYOT (Bring Your Own
Tomatoes). The party started at sunset and
lasted most of the evening. Below is a description of the night,
and in an attempt to make it more authentic, Britishspeak is used as much as
possible.
The Lady Kay crew arrived just before sunset
bearing bread, tomatoes, wine, plates and meat for grilling. Shortly thereafter,
the Cleone crew arrived with wine, plates and meat. James, the captain, a
very proper Englishman recently retired from the military, was accompanied by a
long time friend of his, Chris North, and a family friend, young Will.
Chris is more commonly known as Norfy, and as he explained to me later that
night, it is common for those that spend time with him to occasionally become
'Norfy'd'. To be Norfy'd is to meet Norfy in the local pub at around 4
o'clock, intending have only a pint or two. If suddenly you find
yourself quite pissed after eight or ten pints and the time is ten o'clock, then
you've been properly Norfy'd. His local pub at home, The Rose and
Crown, has shirts embroidered with 'I've been Norfy'd at the Rose and
Crown'. So if you ever go there, beware of the tall man in his
sixties with bright white hair, black bushy eyebrows, a jolly laugh and no
chest hair (he showed me, and indeed, he has none).
Don and James got into a grand discussion about all
things technical (James is also an engineer) while Michael helped me in the
kitchen chopping aubergine and onion to go with the tomatoes. Later,
Michael did all the grilling since Don and James were still discussing rigging
size and anchor chains. Michael did a fine job, but kept asking for a
torch, and when he found that the batteries were dead in the one we gave him, he
then demanded (in a nice way) a head torch. Once he received one, he
happily finished grilling and after peeling Don and James off of the foredeck,
we all squeezed into the cockpit for a lovely dinner. After more tales
from Norfy, the occasional cow and cheese trivia from young Will (his family
owns a large dairy farm in Dorsett - in fact, did you know that a cow's milk
production peaks about 150 days after it calves?), and about six bottles of
wine, we were all a bit squiffy, heading toward downright tiddly, when we
decided it would be a good idea to get out some liqueur. There were
more tales from Norfy, talk of his sprogs, whom his misses terribly, and a
discussion of dusky maidens found in French Polynesia. Later, after the
liqueur was finished, Michael (a liberal) and James (not so much) almost got
into a row over the Falkland War and whether or not Great Britain should have
snatched the territory back from Argentina. At that point, Deb suggested
it might be a good time to call it a night.
As the Lady Kay and Cleone crews scrambled back
into their dinghies, kisses on both cheeks and calls of 'Many thanks indeed!'
filled the night air as they motored back to their boats. The next day, we
were assured that everyone thought the dinner was brilliant and all had a
fantastic time.
Cheers -
Anne
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