SCOTS in SHANGHAI

Saturday night saw us "amongst oor ain folk". We were attending an evening hosted by a young couple who have fairly recently arrived in Shanghai. The get together was to bring Scots they had met together, to eat, drink and be merry, which as Scots we can do very well. An evening like this was bound to be a success.

I have to say we were not all Scots, an Irish couple had slipped through the net! I think they qualified as fellow Celts, and the host himself was only there because of his Scottish connection, his fiance, so we really had to accept him, and a couple of English ladies, with Scottish husbands, into the fold. Everyone warmly welcomed only criteria, have fun. And we all did.

Our hosts had done a wonderful job of pulling it all together, not just the assembled company, but also the delicious Scottish fare on offer. People had brought along various Scottish dishes and the hostess had worked really hard to produce some delicious food. I had taken along Scotch eggs, always a favourite, and some tablet  http://thecelticcook.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=tablet click on this for recipe.
However I was not alone in producing tablet, but there is never such a thing a too much, so I'm sure as the week went on the supply grew smaller. There was soup, a good wholesome broth, shepherds pie, stovies, an Irish stew, and a bowl of turnips, Shanghai style. Not a bad thing, they were delicious. It is just that some things are not so easy to track down here and sometimes you have to be prepared to compromise. But as far as I could tell it was a turnip dish, okay maybe a few varieties but pulled together tasted good. An attempt had been made to recreate the famous "square sausage" I did not get around to tasting it, but as people were tucking into rolls filled with it there didn't seem to be much wrong with it. There were even tattie scones and skirlie on offer.

The table groaned with a good old Scottish "Bill of Fayre" and everyone got stuck in. Desserts were also on offer, apple crumble, pancakes and jam to name but a few. I'm full thinking about it. "Fu tae burstin' " as a Scot might say, or as we are in China perhaps we should be saying, "wo chi bao le" A truly international blog today folks! 

Anyway, wine, food and conversation flowed. New aquaintances were forged and business cards exchanged. I am sure we will be spending more time with some of these people as our paths cross during our time in Shanghai. There is a comfort in chatting with people who know how you think, know where you come from, and are accepting of new cultures, not only of accepting but embracing them. We shared with these people the experience of living far from home,  the fun and challenges that go hand in hand with it. Until you have done this it is difficult to understand, and for a few hours on a Saturday night in Shanghai we were all able to share tales of here and of home. 

So a big thank you to our hosts. To organise this after such a short time here tells me that they will fit in. You have to put yourself out there and make the best of your time here and this was a great way of doing that. I'm sure many invites will come their way.

I had only one slight regret about the evening. 

And that was I had decided to wear my tartan shoes in celebration of the Scottish night.

6" heels + 4 hours standing = "sair feet" 

"Hell mend you" I can hear my mother say.  Fellow Scots will I'm sure know this phrase.

So a big thank you to our kind hosts. Here's to many more nights like this.