It's been a fascinating week in many ways. Several very interesting things have been brought to my attention about colleagues, both past and present. I have recovered from last weekend's exertions very slowly. Hazel and I went to our first, and very probably only, new citizen ceremony and we had a spectacular meal cooked for us by said new citizen. On Tuesday, we went, with Zemi, to see her take the oath and become a UK citizen. All very organised and, I thought, very friendly ceremony in the Lord Mayors parlour beside the civic centre. The Deputy Lord Mayor was presiding this week and, as he and his wife are Sikhs, they attended in their own robes plus their respective chains of office. And very good they looked too. They are also very chatty and pleasant to talk to. Anyway, Zemi received her certificate and had her photo taken with the Deputy Lord Mayor and we had tea and bickies and went back to work. Yesterday evening, Zemi cooked us a meal loosely based on both Indian and Chinese cuisine but bearing a very strong relationship to African food ideals. I can honestly say it was wonderful! It was deceptively simple in appearance but incredibly tasty without being too spicy. She even managed to provide two different rice dishes, one not in the slightest bit hot, for me, and a somewhat hotter version for Hazel and her. I still don't know exactly how she managed to cook the chicken to such a perfect quality but I intend to find out. After the meal, we just sat there for four hours and chatted. The time just melted away. I finally took her back to her flat at about 12.30. Slept like a log and even managed to get to work on time this morning.
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