[sound the trumpets!] The Guildhall [and sound them again!]

Doo-do-de-loo-de-doo! Doo-do-do-do-de-le-doo!
[Those would be trumpets sounding].

This past Monday I got to venture into the many hidden places of the Guildhall such as (in particular - ie chronological - order):
(1) The foyer (which I have come to realise the English pronounce 'foy-rrr').
(2) The security checkpoint where the pull-up banner proceeded to get stuck in the x-ray machine - seriously, I was just kidding when I giggled that it would be funny if we lost the banner en route.
(3) The Grand Room (I don't remember if it's actually called that, but I was certainly impressed)
(4) The crypt! Super cool!
(5) The ladies toilets
(6) The cloakroom
(7) The main gallery
(8) The Basinghall Suite

It was ultra-cool to see a fancy diplomatic-type dinner underway from set-up to take-down, and it was great fun to see lots of British traditions carried out in full regalia. And I do mean all the way to the extreme: the band that played had spurs on their shoes, there were footmen to welcome the state officials, and the entrance tune was Scipio which I found out you're not meant to applaud or clap to the beat of, but actually just do a long, drawn-out type clap. And if you don't know when to clap, that's what you watch the footmen in D'Artagnanesque dress for.

I missed out on seeing the fancypants stuff though as I was lucky enough to eat my fancy fish appetiser, quail and fruit dish (due to my nut allergy) in the crypt with the journalists and the one chap from the Chinese delegation who had to sit downstairs with me - the rest of my team was put on schmooze duty upstairs in the Grand Hall and had to eat dinner and chat with the guests. I'm not really sure why the one dude from the delegation had to sit downstairs, but we both preferred it to sitting upstairs. No need to be on best behaviour always, and we still got all the champagne and wine we wanted and the scrummy food. Mhmm.

A-rat-a-tat-tat! [That would be the drum]
Doo-do-de-loo-do-do-dooo! [And the trumpet].

And that is my little story of my Guildhall adventure!