Before heading off to dinner tonight, we had a drink with a colleague at a bar near to work.
“Despite everything, there’s an enduring fascination about royalty”, he observed when I mentioned Crown Prince Fredrik from Denmark was to be at the function we were attending.
Our table, which was located right next to his, afforded us an opportunity to observe at close range that fascination. In particular, the passing parade of women who wanted a photograph with Fredrik.
“This would never happen in Denmark”, a Danish man who was seated at our table observed. He wasn’t judging it as a good or bad thing, just as a cultural difference between Australians and Danes.
I guess for Australians, royalty is something we associate with the gossip pages, not something which is part of our cultural identity.
“The Queen’s a great person. And so is the Prince. And we love Joachim’s ex-wife too”, the Danish man at our table observed.
The dinner itself was associated with the World Master’s Games. The second “major function” I’ve attended, and which I loved.
In addition to WMG interest, I was also interested in checking out the venue, as I’m involved in another function at Doltone House in a few weeks time. To my delight, the room was great, the food was great, and there was a high level of service. “Yay”, I thought to myself.
And there was a really great energy in the room. On the way in, for example, we chatted for quite a while with another kayaker who took up the sport only months ago as part of her fitness regime and came away with a medal. She was lovely and spoke with such great enthusiasm.
And inside we were seated at a “great table”. You know how sometimes at this kind of function you can end up with some really boring, stuck up people? Well tonight, we ended up at a table with some really great people. By the time the night’s end came around, it was kinda sad to leave them.
“What a great night”, we both observed.