1. I was at a university meeting that was to be followed by dinner. Only I hadn’t been told. So there I was in my blue jeans, Toronto Maple Leafs t-shirt and pin-striped jacket wondering why everyone was dressed so nicely, when the then-Master of the college, Lord ______ entered. Turned out I was to be seated right beside him… the only person not in black tie in the Hall.
2. At another university dinner, this time in an official capacity (so I was dressed formally), I had no idea that I was talking to a local MP. Only even after I was told, I got her mixed up with her Welsh Assembly counterpart (of a different party), and in the hope of being complimentary, ended up insulting her. At least I think she did, because she immediately walked away without so much as a handshake.
And that’s just the beginning. Thinking about it, I have made a right fool of myself at times.
Anyone else?