Which Bread Plate is Mine?

Table Setting (image from http://www.four-h.purdue.edu)

Often I am at events where this question is in mind, if not actually spoken. For most of us, our home table setting consists of plate, knife, fork, napkin and glass placed in no particular order. Eating out at a restaurant or a social or business event presents us with more options. I have been at events where if you are seated at a round table and someone selects the wrong bread plate, everyone else can simply also choose the wrong bread plate. However, recently I was at a restaurant at a square table and one person selecting the wrong bread plate left the person sitting next to them with no bread plate.

A recent article in the Washington Post Arts section (June 16, 2013) talked about one visitor’s account of dining at Hillwood, the Washington, DC, estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post. The visitor stated that if you “reached for the wrong utensil, a footman’s ‘white glove would magically appear and direct you to the right one.'” Since most of us aren’t going to have the diagram above in our pocket or a footman to help us, here is a simple trick to help you remember. Make a circle with your index finger and thumb with the other fingers pointing up. You will note that the circled fingers on your left hand form a “b”; the bread plate is on your left. The circled fingers on your right hand form a “d”; the drink glass is on your right. Hopefully, this will help so that no one is left without a bread plate.

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Welcome!

For over 16 years I have owned a company, Caitlin Enterprises, L.L.C., that has provided computing support to small businesses.  Several years ago one of my clients was asked to set up online registration for a government conference she was managing.  Her statement to me was: “Online — that means computers; computers means Chiquita.”  I had not previously set up any online registration systems but she had confidence that I could do it — and I did.  One of my other clients heard about it and asked if I could also provide that type of service for her clients.  Setting up the online registration systems led to generating badges (mail merge is second nature to me) and actually helping out with the onsite registration process.  I realized that I liked doing this type of work and wanted to learn more about the whole event management process.  I have always enjoyed classroom learning and when I discovered that Montgomery College offered a  Certificate Program in Event Management I signed up.  After completing the certificate program I decided that I wanted to do more in the events field and felt as if that part of my business needed a different identity.  Thus the spin-off of Alexandra Anthony Event Services as a division of Caitlin Enterprises.  Working in the event management field has made me understand that I need to do more in the social media arena.  For Alexandra Anthony Event Services, I have a Facebook page, a Pinterest page and this blog.    My goal for this blog is to let you know some of the things that I learned about in the events field that are of interest to me and that I hope will be of interest to you.