The Confusing Nature of Genealogy

We have a family birthday thing tonight. Not my family - Philippa's. I've been with her for many years now and I still can't get my head around the family tree. She seems to have more cousins than blood cells. Comparing my family to hers is like comparing an isolated village in the Amazon to Tokyo. She has a LOT of relatives. And most of them are based in the local area, and most of them will be there tonight, because it's a 50th birthday, so it's a big one. Why it's on a Friday, I don't know, but I believe the birthday boy (I think it's a male, it might be Aunty Penelope now I think about it...) is being taken off on holiday tomorrow, and that's a Saturday to Saturday affair. So poor old Rory has to schlep up to North Norfolk after a busy day at work.
I'm sure it'll be fun, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I'm there, but I do always find myself a bit apprehensive before these things. Family dynamics are always so difficult to keep up with, and I normally manage to ask about the one cousin who is currently out of favour, or mention something to someone that it turns out I was never supposed to have knowledge of in the first place.
So tonight my plan may be to keep my mouth shut as much as possible, unless I'm answering a direct question or ordering a drink.
And I really hope everyone wears name tags, and that I'm given a detailed diagram highlighting who is whom and how they relate to everyone else.

RC 17-4-26