Spoiled by the Ambassador

Mo bholg hasn't been so distended since arriving in China and I owe it all to the Irish exchequer.
Last night, Lady Liz and I attended the Irish Ambassador's Christmas party where we ate, drank and were merry. Turkey, ham, salmon, lamb, stuffing and all sorts of weird but wonderful salad stuff were on offer. I accepted gladly.
I was surprised, nay disappointed, not to find a large keg of Guinness and a pyramid tower of Ferrero Rocher but I restrained my complaints.
They really spoiled us by unveiling a trad band who whipped up a seisiun, complete with a bit of dancing and a dose of sean nos.
At one point some young one in an emerald guna wheeled out a harp and attempted to induce tears from the homesick crowd.
Not sure I've been here long enough to complain about missing the island. And anyway, you only get that sort of diddly-aye in Temple Bar.
The expat scene is a bit of a clique and we are relative newbies. It's a bit like arriving to a Spanish resort on a Tuesday when everybody else has been settled since Saturday. The all seem to know everyone and everything, even though they're only off the plane.
Tonight, we're heading into town to meet His Ambassadorness once more. This time, the man himself is formally opening Beijing's newest Irish bar - Paddy O'Shea's.
We took the time to sample this bar a few weeks ago with Martin, ChengCheng and Walker, and can confirm that it has a snug, plays Thin Lizzy albums and boasts a bevy of Chinese waitresses - it's like a lot of Dublin pubs.
Tough life being a diplomat. I can't complain though given my willingness to join the Foreign Affairs bandwagon two nights running.
It struck me last night that it must cost a fortune to have so many embassies entertaining eejits like us across the globe. There's never any mention of it in the budget. 'And to think the poor kids in Adamstown have no chalk,' I thought to myself as the roast lamb melted in my mouth last night.
But as Martin pointed out, investment in international diplomacy is decent value. 'Sure we haven't had a war in years...'
I'll drink to that.