The Japanese ambassador raved about the daffodils and the glorious spring sunshine. The Australian envoy joked about beating the "Poms" at their own game. A life-sized Paddington waved and clapped. On the steps of a centuries-old country house in northwest England, one of the nation's most eccentric cultural events -- the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards -- was in full swing. Inside, in an oak-paneled room lined with portraits of family ancestors, winning jars of the quintessentially British fruit preserve covered every surface.