Skip to main content

Singles, Invitations and Entertaining…not always simple


I was chatting with some friends the other day, one of whom is recently separated, and she was asking how I manage to entertain so frequently and apparently effortlessly – with smoke and mirrors most of the time! – often without my partner. And the other question she asked is whether I received less invitations when I am in my single status. The answer is a resounding “yes”!

I’m not sure if it’s a particularly Australian thing, but when it comes to dinner parties, for example, people seem to be more comfortable with even numbers of boys and girls. It’s tiresome. Even my long standing friends feel the need to invite someone to “make up numbers” if I’m invited to a meal with them. And when I ask my gay friends about this they say the same thing applies to them – safety in equal numbers.

As for me, I don’t care if the numbers of my guests are not “even” when we sit down at the table. As long as my friends enjoy my food and each other’s company I am content.

So, how do I provide a meal, and look after drinks simultaneously? I don’t. I ask the husband/partner of a friend to “do the honours” in the drinks department for me. I invite them a little earlier than the other guests and explain what wines I have provided to complement the meal. It always works effortlessly and I find people are always more than willing to help me if needed.

As for the invitations,  I don’t mind. If people are “so last century” that they feel a need for traditional compliance to outdated etiquette then so be it. Their loss most of the time!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Phivos NicolaidesSeptember 18, 2010 at 8:46 AM

    Beautiful, entertaining and informative! Kind regards, Philip Travelling

    ReplyDelete
  2. LouiseSeptember 18, 2010 at 12:05 PM

    Thanks Philip. How nice of you to post a comment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ladybirdSeptember 27, 2010 at 10:51 PM

    Hi Louise, This is not a strictly Australian thing, believe me! I'm single too, and although I have a friend I can call on in case of a 'social emergency' I'm often on my own. Although people nolonger tend to 'fix me up with someone' as the know that it won't work, they can be very tiresome about it. As for entertaining, I now invite people over for drinks and nibbles and then I take them to a nearby restaurant. Most of them insist on going Dutch, even when I insist on the fact that I want to invite them. Martine

    ReplyDelete
  4. LouiseSeptember 28, 2010 at 10:15 AM

    Thanks for commenting Martine...it's such a great idea to entertain at home followed by a restaurant. I also find many friends prefer to "go Dutch" but I also have found that some people make the division of the bill really difficult...they don't drink wine, they didn't have coffee, dessert, whatever! Ccourtesy and consideration for others though usually wins the day.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Villefranche-sur-Mer...a ville and its food....

Villefranche...the restaurant strip beside the water (Photo LP 2013) After four weeks in Villefranche-sur-Mer,France, I have settled in and feel a little like a local.  My regular contact with the people in the little boulangerie, the nearby small supermarket, the butcher,  the Tabac and the small shops I pass each day on my way to and from  Institut de Français  has resulted in a familiarity which I would not have expected.  The regular " bonjour, ça va?" as I pass, or when I visit the market each Saturday morning, has made me feel at home.  When I have mentioned  that I am a student at the Institut the local people immediately smile and encourage me to speak in French, which was awkward in the beginning but as I have improved my confidence and my ability to speak in their language, these "locals" have encouraged me with their compliments, week by week. I am going to miss each and every one of them when I leave. My first meal inVillefranche,scal
4 comments
Read more

Bali…Bogans, Tattoos and the Ugly Australian…

Balinese temple (photo LP 2010) I have returned in the past few days from a holiday in Bali, Indonesia, with my sister.  Unlike my trip in 2010 when I stayed more remotely in the north west at Pemuteran  and  the north east at Amed, this visit was to a five star resort in Legian. What a difference!  The streets of Legian were very busy, the locals almost outnumbered by the Australian tourists.  I heard very few languages other than “Aussie” spoken and it reminded me that when I travelled with my French boyfriend to the northern part of Bali, I was told by the Europeans I met that they tended to avoid the tourist hubs of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak because of the loud, rude and crude Australians…yes a generalisation about the Aussies, but unfortunately, as I was to learn, a correct one. A friendly local trying to sell us a toy (photo LP 2012) It is difficult to write this post without appearing a “snob”.  But having canvassed my ideas with friends, acquaintances, col
15 comments
Read more

Bare Breasts, Betel Nut, Weetbix... and Yapese Manners

(Artist: Tommy Tamangmed. http://www.yapeseart.com/) And so, yes, I have returned. The time came for me to leave the “remote” islands of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia and the tiny nation of Palau and return to western “civilisation”. It has taken a few weeks to readjust to the pace of “modern” life having experienced the tranquillity of living in a mobile phone/ television free environment. The concession of extremely slow and eventful internet connection seemed incongruous in these places of ancient yet vitally living culture. My spirit is uplifted and my sense of pride in the human ability to share kindness and show good manners has been restored. Arriving in Yap in the early hours of the morning was exhausting. A tiny airport, tired passengers, equally tired immigration officials but then the first of many Yapese warm and ready smiles in the arrival hall as I was given a beautiful lei by a young girl wearing only a lava lava and a wreath of flowers artfully draped a
2 comments
Read more