Royal Wedding, part 2

A wedding as important as Prince William and Kate Middleton's deserved a whole day of attention, which is perhaps why we were granted a one-time public holiday here in the Cayman Islands. After a delicious Royal Wedding Breakfast and Viewing Party, BFM and I took Little J over to R&C's place in South Sound. 

It was my first time at their condo, and I fell in love with their endless pool, tiki hut with hammocks, and green lawn!

Our hostess, RP, is British, and she has faint memories of being a little girl when Lady Diana married Prince Charles. RP recalled that royal weddings, not surprisingly, are like national holidays in the UK. People get dressed up and have traditional English tea party food and celebrate the event in a British fashion. She likened it to how Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Americans, WK tucked a Union Jack into his back pocket.
Hopefully that's not disrespectful. He meant no harm.

Like when I hosted Thanksgiving, RP designed a menu and we all volunteered to bring a dish of her choosing. Along with the scones that I made, her table included ham & coleman's mustard sandwiches, sausage rolls, potato salad, coronation chicken (my favorite), cucumber sandwiches, pork pies, "toad-in-the-hole", cheese & pineapple on sticks...

...we didn't starve.

Can't forget about the scones with strawberry preserves. And on the right we have Victoria Sponge Cake (which I kept calling Virginia Sponge - typical American.)

With plenty to eat and drink, we were all happy to mingle and attempt to keep cool on a typically hot Cayman afternoon.  

RP had her recorded version of the wedding coverage on in the background, keeping most of us girls busy chattering about our first impressions of the wedding details.

Meanwhile, this guy was stuck listening to us. He kept his eye on the boys outside.

Our host, CP, set up some traditional British lawn games. In the shots below, the boys are playing something similar to horse shoes (possibly called "Quoits".)

What I like about the collage below is that of the four boys playing, only one was British. The other three were from New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.S. This is a great representation of what goes on here in Grand Cayman. We maintain and celebrate our native traditions while accepting (and celebrating) those of our overseas friends. I probably got as excited for the Royal Wedding parties as I did for our Thanksgiving feast.

And while I'll never lose my American pride, it doesn't hurt to wave the Union Jack on the right occasion.