Oman: you shall go to the ball (again)

Despite hours of preparatory buffing and polishing, Mrs M admitted to Karen in the car on the way to the ball that she had forgotten to brush her teeth. We arrived at the Hyatt entrance to be greeted by pipers and horsemen on equally buffed and polished horses (their teeth were clean) and took refreshment and canapés with the three hundred other guests.Around 8pm, trumpeters signalled the commencement of battle and an orderly procession to the ballroom began. The food was quite superb; courses of tuna, mushroom consommé, lemon and ginger sorbet, chateaubriand and baked apple charlotte. I discovered the cheese trough towards the end of the evening.

The band played almost unnoticed for much of the evening, until the pipers and drummers arrived at the end of the meal. Although sporting civilian outfits (with shiny shoes under dishdashas) and lacking the individual flair of previous years, the band captivated their audience once again with a magnificent display.
Much jiggling of old bodies then began on the dance floor. A surge was noted during the opening bars of Abba's 'Dancing Queen'. This is something children should not see.