What followed was a full island welcome ceremony, as the traditional dolphin was clubbed and later barbecued on the beach. Even the buddhist hermit came down from his cave to share in the excitement.
As the ukulele orchestra played, the most moving moment for me came when I was presented, in recognition of my achievement at the Sydney conference, with a specially designed template for this blog, incorporating some indigenous islander design work as you can see at the top right.
As the speeches and generous tributes continued into the night, I hadn't the heart to explain what had really happened in Sydney.
What really happened in Sydney was that, due to an oversight, my paper had been omitted from the conference timetable!
Displaying the ingenuity for which we islanders are famous, I arranged an 'ad hoc' (as we academics say) presentation in an empty lecture theatre during the lunch break. Using an empty room worked out well, and without the inconvenience of audience questions there was still time to catch a bite of lunch into the bargain.
