Q. What's Black and White and Red all over?

A. - The keynote speaker at last nights Black and White ball, celebrating black history month, after making mention of the (and I quote) "Black marks on our history in terms of race relations". I guess he didn't practice in front of his wife. Or maybe she was laughing too hard at so blatant a pun that she couldn't tell him.

It was a lovely night. The tent was beautiful, the speakers wonderful, and the food palatable, which is a compliment unto itself. With things like ham hocks and 'grilled river fish' (I did not hazard which river.) and ' melt in your mouth sweet potatoes' it was certainly a fried green tomatos kinda dinner.

Everyone looked really lovely, my outfit came together nicely, and Bryan looked very sauve in his tux. Everyone pretty much adhered to the sensical "black and white" dress code, of course saving the Indian guests; who sported everything from red to aqua sequins. Ah, and our dear German DJ who wore khakis and looked like a little aryan soldier - solidified by the fact he kept asking us to take a "journey through black music" with him. I have to say, though I attempted to act as though this was a very plebian affair - I did have a very lovely time, dancing and drinking and smoking cigars in a huge white tent. It was so colloquial, so lux and vice to be on a baseball field-cum-ballroom-cum-time machine, listening to Dinah Washington and bemoaning the need for Joan Rivers to teach a few people about fashion. (ie - a bustle is not appropriate if you can already hide a family of 5 behind you.)

So today was primarily spent recouperating, cat napping, reading. My mother and sister returned rejuevenated from London, happy to be home, unsure if they were happy to be home in India. Took our dog, the neighbours jack terrier (we're dog sitting) and Bryan's dogs to the "doggie play day" at the American Embassy. As usual, the Canadian dogs spent time either completely oblivious, or trying to look a lot bigger than they were. All the half lame American dogs had Napolean complexes, and let me to believe wholeheartedly in pet psychology - and poison darts. My embarassing beagle spent the majority of time with her nose to the ground following everyone by scent instead of looking up and finding them that way - needless to say, between the dogs being concerned over her considerable girth, and the fact that she just liked to sniff butts - She was about as well recieved as a leper. That's my doggie.

Not too much on the go this week. Bryan is away at some "Jungle Warfare" thing - seriously. They've eaten snakes and pigeons and stuff. So I won't have any friends here this week. (That's right, you haven't miscounted. One friend, minus one friend... leaves me with no friends. ) I'm going to try and attend a lot of the galleries I've been putting off, and maybe stay at Bryan's while he's gone to look after the puppies. Hope everyone is starting their week with a bang, I miss you all. Will try to post a little more..and a little less erratically. Talk to you soon. Love always!!