Gala Part II

For some reason, I feel that I did not do justice to the entire gala experience. There were two stories that were so funny I simply cannot leave them out. The first story is Christine’s shoes. To begin with, you may recall how I have mentioned that the Oxford grass is sacred and not to be touched under any circumstances. Well, I was wrong. In the event of a gala dinner, you actually are allowed to stand daintily on the Oxford grass, sip champagne, and discuss the differences between Spenser and Milton. Well, we were doing just that—standing on the grass, sipping champagne, talking about Spenser and Milton—when I noticed dime-sized holes poked throughout the lawn. At first, I thought it was some sort of yard ventilation. However, I soon realized that wherever Christine went, these little holes seemed to follow. And the longer Christine stood in one location, the deeper the holes seemed to become. Sure enough, it was Christine’s high-heels that had been puncturing the lawn! After trying desperately to “patch” the grass, we couldn’t help laughing about the whole situation. No wonder they don’t want Americans traipsing through the yard!
The second story occurred after dinner as we (well, some of us) were sipping port and munching on smelly British cheeses. It so happened that Dr. Connor had invited a special guest named Stuart Lee to dinner that night. Mr. Lee is originally from Scotland and is a good friend of Dr. Connor and the rest of the professors. Well, as we were all laughing, joking, and having a good time, a giant mouse (we hope it was a mouse) scampered out from behind the fireplace. Before anyone could really react, Dr. Connor jubilantly announced, “Well, I told you all I was inviting Stuart to dinner, but I didn’t realize Stuart Little was coming!” This, of course, brought about even more laughter. Meanwhile, the poor mouse didn’t know how to escape the room and was running around in mouse-sized circles. Thankfully, Dr. Lamb had the courtesy to open the door and let him outside to which Dr. Connor informed the rest of the room, “It seems Stuart Little is late to another dinner party.” We all couldn’t stop laughing.