Folks:

Thanks for recognizing the Kuwaiti team! I already posted on another thread about our day -- we actually remembered ANZAC Day with a ... ball ... last Thursday (which out here is our "Metric" Saturday).
We kicked off with national anthems -- the Kiwi Liaison officer sang his, and another Kiwi compatriot (a chef by trade) insisted on doing the Haka.
The Aussie Liaison officer read "The Ode." Thanks for posting the words -- I was about to ask.
The Turkish Ambassador was invited to the event and graciously accepted; he also made a fine diplomatic speech. The British Ambassador was present too: in fact had I known that these guys were going to be sitting mere inches away, I'd have been a lot more nervous that evening.
Three of us, loosely defined as a folk group (well, we sing in the same folk circle), calling ourselves "Sing for your Tucker", offered up some traditional as well as more modern songs familiar to all in the Antipodes. Not one of us was born in OZ; 2 were born in the UK, I was born in the US but grew up in the UK; one had lived in Oz so he had the one authentic accent!
Nevertheless, the evening went well. The folk songs (everything from "And the Band Played...," "Click Go the Shears," to "I Still Call Australia Home") and guitar strumming got everyone through a buffet meal and then a local rock band got going.

ANZAC day for the ANZAKs (Australian New Zealand Assoc of Kuwait) was a big event and meant a lot to those who attended and gave them a slice of home they couldn't find elsewhere that night. Definitely THE DAY of the YEAR. IT was a privilege to have participated. And like my Aussie and Kiwi Liaison officer bretheren, it is also my privilege to serve alongside on a common cause once again ...

Cheers
Brian