Friday, December 05, 2008
Party Time
This being this time of year, I ask: what is the correct arrival time protocol? I am inclined to turn up at parties early, but, in this, I am regarded as irredeemably gauche. Turning up late and appearing, therefore, busy and hard to get is the preferred style of the socially adept. Indeed, at some, as it were, professional parties, it is the done thing to turn up five minutes before the end, grab whatever freebies are on offer, sign the guest book to satisfy the public relations people and rush home to curl up in front of Men in Black. But I still regard turning up anything more than half an hour after the start time as, somehow, wrong, against nature, if you will. Am I alone in this?
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
If you turned up early at a party at my house, I'd put you to work assembling hors d'ouevres & cocktails. That's the punishment. The reward is getting to talk to the hostess before she's completely occupied with a gaggle of guests.
ReplyDeleteOh don't be so self-deprecating, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI hate being late for anything except work, but my wife insists on party tardiness and can time it to a fraction of a second.
i don't get invited to parties. Not since that time i did that terrible thing in front of all those people.
ReplyDeleteWe once turned up for a party seven days late, the host & hostess being good natured German souls started an impromptu one for us. It took twelve months of abject groveling to return to the Frau's team.
ReplyDeleteBest not to turn up at all unless you really want to, I find. Despite my impressive height and various distinguishing features, nobody ever notices my absence - or presence, come to that.
ReplyDelete