Every year Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh invite over 30,000 people to Buckingham Palace and Holyrood House in a series of four garden parties. These invitees comprise a selection of the great and the good who are making a special contribution to the people and communities of the United Kingdom.

The first anyone knows about the impending honour is when an envelope from the Lord Chamberlain arrives on the doormat declaring that Her Majesty has commanded him to invite Mr, Miss or Mrs Recipient to a Garden Party. The date and time are set, no alternatives. All you are expected to do is clear your diary, send back an RSVP laden with humble gratitude, and turn up at the appointed hour decked out in your Sunday best.

In addition to the souvenir invitation which you can proudly display on your mantelpiece, the envelope also contains the official invitation that you hand in to a traditional London Bobby at the Palace gates. You also receive a pile of paperwork telling you what you can and cannot do on the day. Much of this close printed instruction covers the rudimentary security that asks you to provide some form of picture ID - usually a passport in the UK - and a utility bill to prove that you really do live at 14 Louisville Avenue, Scotland

While I was in Scotland I received an invitation to attend the Queens Garden Party at Holyrood Palace. The invitation was for Mr and Mrs Charles Paterson. The British always have trouble with how to spell Patterson. If you are from Scotland they usually use only one T. Yvonne did feel up to going to the party so I took Cassandra. I think she really enjoyed the party. We drove over to Edingburg and stayed at the Sheraton Edingburg. The traffic was horrible going down Prince Street. The Queens Party is a big event that attracks a lot of visitors. We met Alan and Ann Higgins, another Chevron employee, at the Sheraton.