oooopies

Hey in regards to the last blog ... it was the Crown Prince's birthday on July 13th, but not to worry the King's birthday is next week Aug 1st and if it were not a saturday then it also would be a public holiday.... there are parties all week, and YES another parade!!!!
Of course the one party that is REALLY big, is the King's party at his "white house" by the sea in Nukualofa. ONLY royal guests will be attending. Maybe 250 or so.
The KING will need to feed his guests a meal fit for royalty, but "who" pays for this ...well it has been tasked to each ministry in government to provide enough tables of food fit for a KING ... lobster, oysters, clams, beef, chicken, and of course roasted PIG with all the standard Tongan root crops. My ministry is small we only have to provide for just one table of 15 people.... but that is enough .. Tongan's don't really make much money and they certainly seldom eat like a KING. So when at a staff meeting people were asked to cook or buy the food; we all opted to buy it. It's an expense few can or want to afford. Through out the meeting the room was basically silent and yet the funny thing was once it was settled about everyone paying a share the room was full of laughter and jokes ... that's what Tongans do and any stress is gone !!!
SOOOOO "let the parties begin"