6pm Lemma said. So we arrived fashionably late at 6:15pm. By then there was us (Chris, Clare and me), Lemma's family (minus Hana of course as she was newly wed 3 days ago), Lemma's elderly mum swathed in traditional clothes and another similarly decked out Ethiopian lady who will remain a mystery. Clare has been here a long time so she should have known better - Ethiopian timekeeping is unfathomable and despite everything we were very early. We were welcomed in as honoured guests and sat in Lemma's lounge wondering what might happen. As far as we knew we were here for a meal. Well we were, but it wasn't quite like any meal we'd had before. We sat; we waited. Over the couch opposite Lemma's youngest began sticking roses with sticky tape arranged in a heart shape beneath a banner saying"Happy wedding". Then the lights went out. Total darkness. (We have a lot of power cuts here). A small torch was located but my Samsung Galaxy S3's "Flashlight" app came into it's own - it can illuminate a lounge brightly enough to allow the continued sticking of roses to a wall. I love technology. More people turn up. Camera men with video lights arrive. The power comes back. Outside the window lights go on, a car arrives, singing starts, a sheep is spotted out in the yard. The previous weekend's bridesmaids and their respective groomsmen arrive, dressed in tiny gold dresses (not the men of course). Then the bride and groom arrive outside amidst much rejoicing. Slowly slowly they make their way into the house through the throng. There was an incident in the hall involving a video light, a lightswitch getting unscrewed from the wall and screwdrivers being poked in that I don't have time to expand on, except to say that nobody died. By now there are probably 100 people around, and outside injera and wat appear under cover of a tent. We are ushered out after the bridal party to get our food. By now the sheep is nowhere in sight. We go back in and sit and eat - Clare studiously avoids the raw meat and stuff made out of intestines that she accidentally ate at the wedding. We are seriously close to the action. We are in a smallish lounge no bigger than our lounge at 20 Gibbons Close with probably 50 people with more outside, in the bedrooms, lining the hall and in the kitchen. Music is played, singing happens, a short sermon occurs, and just around the time dessert should appear we reacquaint with the sheep - at least bits of it, cooked, in large dishes passed around for us enjoy. It looks and tastes like lamb, and some of it is really good, whilst some of it is chewy beyond description. I look at Chris - she opens her little back pack, gets out a tissue and as surreptitiously as is possible in such crowded surroundings pops the unchewable bits into it, beckoning Clare and me to do likewise. A satisfactory outcome, except for the bits that need dental floss. Then a game starts that I narrowly avoid getting sucked into that involved a loaf of traditional Ethiopian bread with money hidden inside that you try to poke out with an unbent paperclip. If you miss you drop money into a basket. We eventually leave amidst much hugging and kissing at around 10pm.

There is an Ethiopian tradition that we have just experienced that involves the husband getting a sheep and baking a huge loaf of bread for his new wife. I’m hazy on the details but I have to say it was an enormous honour to be so closely involved in something so special for Lemma’s family.

The saga may not be quite over. Yesterday at the Gibsha Lemma invited Chris, Clare and me to Hana’s home for a meal later this week. Again we have no idea what to expect but I can guarantee it will be interesting!