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Long live the king

May 6, 2023 in Life as we know it | Permalink

For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings;
How some have been deposed; some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
Some poison’d by their wives: some sleeping kill’d;
All murder’d: for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear’d and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable, and humour’d thus
Comes at the last and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!

William Shakespeare – Richard II

Out here on the far distant west coast of Canada it feels a long way away from today’s events in London. I was not of a mind to get up in the middle of the night to watch the Coronation events unfold, though I will no doubt catch up with the news coverage later.

I am a staunch believer in the monarchy, although this is as much for fear of there being something far, far worse in its place should the republican adherents ever get their way. They protest loudly that as a nation Great Britain should be able to choose an elected and accountable head of state; and that somehow not to do so infantilises us. I’m afraid to say that, over this last decade, we have done ourselves no favours at all through our wildly negligent choices and find ourselves as a result sadly diminished as a nation. Not exactly a good precedent.

I wish Charles the very best fortune in his long anticipated role. I can’t say that he looks exactly comfortable with it but I do believe that he still has some power to do good.

Back in October last – when writing about my Canadian Citizenship Ceremony – I wrote of the strangeness of being obliged to swear allegiance to the monarch – something I had never done as a Brit. Interesting to see that, as an optional element in the Coronation rituals, the population of the United Kingdom have now been invited to do the same.

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Her Majesty – The Queen

September 8, 2022 in Life as we know it | 1 comment

Queen Elizabeth II
1926 – 2022
RIP

Sebastiandoe5 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Jack_Half-mast.jpg), „Union Jack Half-mast“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode
It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II – the longest serving monarch in British history. Our sincere and deepest condolences to the members of the Royal Family.

This is truly the end of an era. Her Majesty was crowned a matter of months before I was born and has been a constant presence serving the nation throughout my life – as she was for all those of us who hail from similar generations. In a world that has seen so many tempestuous changes hers was a stable and calming existence that brought some degree of certainty to the most uncertain of times. That the nation – and the world in general – is yet in such dire need of positive influences only makes this news all the more sad.

Requiescat In Pace.

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Bath

September 4, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

We were lucky enough – on our recent visit to ‘abroad’ – to spend a couple of days in Bath, a city that long-time followers of these amusements will know has always been a particular favourite of ours. A quick search for ‘Bath’ in the archives of this journal will reveal plenty of photographs taken on previous such visits, but that need not (and indeed will not) stop me posting a bunch more from this most recent sojourn.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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In Arcadia

August 22, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

On our first visit to the old country in three years (and not knowing when we might be back) there were certain things that we wanted to be sure to do and to see. One such was to visit an English stately home. These properties – many now in the hands of the National Trust or English Heritage (and thus preserved for the nation) – are not only somehow quintessentially English but also play an important role in the cultural life of the nation.

After some consideration we agreed to spend a morning at Hatchlands Park in Surrey, the which we had not previously visited in spite of its relative proximity to places that we know well. Wikipedia can, as ever, provide useful information about the estate.

Herewith some photographs from our sojourn there:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid
I am not sure why it should be so, but there is something about an old fashioned beech wood that just whispers ‘England! to me:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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Looking at the trees

August 17, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

“Where did I learn to understand sculpture? In the woods by looking at the trees, along roads by observing the formation of clouds, in the studio by studying the model, everywhere except in the schools.”

Auguste Rodin

The second splendid day out on our recent expedition to the heat-scorched shores of our former home was again courtesy of those with whom we were visiting – and an inspired choice it was. I did not know that such things as ‘sculpture gardens’ existed, nor that there was a splendid one in Churt- in Surrey. A most magical and bonkers-ly (is that a word…? it is now!) inspirational collection of all different shades of the sculptors art – displayed (and indeed for sale) in a beautiful and peaceful garden.

Best – frankly – if I just let the pictures tell the story:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

 

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Two birds

August 12, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

Looking back at our recent trip across the Atlantic the thing that strikes us more than anything was just how much we were able to pack in to a relatively brief visit. The reason that we were able so to do is because all of those good and dear folk that we were able to see went out of their way to ensure that we were not only able to catch up with them (worth the price of admission in its own right) but also to visit – or indeed re-visit – places that we miss through living on a distant continent. We thank these folk most gratefully for going out of their way to facilitate this.

These next few posts will contain images from our first few busy days; the first visit being to the motor and air museum at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey.

Hmmm! Nice blower Bentley there if I am not mistaken!

Now, if you know nothing at all about Brooklands (the world’s first purpose-built banked motor racing circuit and later home to Britain’s largest aircraft manufacturing facility and the Wellington bomber) you might care to let Wikipedia enlighten you a little. My ‘connection’ with the old circuit comes from growing up about a mile away. As young teenagers we would on occasion play on the concrete struts of the bridge that carried the old circuit (which had closed before the second world war) over the river Wey – in spite of the notices informing us that such activity was strictly verboten, not to mention dangerous.

Much of the circuit had been swept away by then, to be replaced by the British Aerospace factory at which Vickers VC10s were built. The runway at Brooklands was famously too short for the VC10 to take off fully fitted, so the aircraft were flown out with no seats aboard to nearby Wisley aerodrome, where they could be finished off.

On many summer weekend afternoons we would hear all too clearly the VC10 engines being tested. Later my oldest friend’s father – who worked for BA – arranged a visit to the works for the scout troop of which I was a member – and we were able to admire the parts of the prototype Concorde on which they were then working.

Now, here is the potential next F1 world champion receiving some team orders before heading out onto the circuit for some ‘hot’ laps. In spite of nearly mowing down a steward, bouncing off the paddock wall and turning the wrong way onto the members’ banking she still came within an ace of setting a new lap record!!

The girl may be dangerous but she’s got some talent…!

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Out and about

August 2, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

My last post – written in the shadow of the frustrating discovery that we had not, after all, contrived to visit parts of the world in which COVID appears now to be endemic and is yet, ‘irregardless’, largely ignored by the local inhabitants – we had not contrived by our diligence and native cunning to avoid succumbing to the same! In short – we got caught!

Now – the wording of that post might perhaps have given the impression that this regrettable lapse had inevitably taken the shine off the trip. Not so! Not so! We had a wonderful time and – could we but turn the clock back – we would do very little differently.

To any sensitive readers with whom we met in the UK and who might perhaps be fearful that they may inadvertently have played a part (so to speak) in our infection, we say: “Unlikely, chum!“. We suspect that a two hour delay in the Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras – where we were reluctantly obliged to share the space for an extended period with the teeming mask-less hoards who comprised the passenger compliments of four (or more) different trains – may have proved the straw that landed the camel with a hefty physiotherapy bill.

Over the next few posts I am going to share some images and impressions of our joyous travels, but first I just want to say a little about the nature of the expedition itself, because – for all sorts of reasons – this trip was very different to that upon which we ventured back in 2019. For a start regular readers will be well aware that we were extremely nervous of traveling abroad at all, in the light of the events of the last few years. That we were eventually persuaded so to do was in part because we had had encouraging conversations with those who had already done so, but also because of the invitation that we received to a celebration of good friends that we did not want to miss. The nature of our trip was inevitably defined by both of these considerations.

We rapidly abandoned initial thoughts to tour extensively because, at the time that we would have needed to make the necessary bookings, so much was yet up in the air and we would have created too many hostages to fortune. As a result the trip that we eventually planned was good deal shorter than one that we first had in mind. The celebration itself was to take place a considerable distance away from the capital – the which would inevitably skew our physical presence throughout our stay.

As a result we had sadly to accept that we would not get to see all of the good friends that we would have liked to have seen. We are most grateful to those with whom we were able to spend a little time; to those with whom we could not – our humble apologies and we hope that you understand.

Anyway – enough with the words… Next time – photos!

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Missing in Action

July 24, 2022 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

Regular visitors to these pages – and indeed those who are subscribed to this long-running assemblage of trivia – may have detected something of a stony silence around these parts of late. There has been – it cannot be denied – an absence of posts.

The explanation for this phenomenon is simple. For the first time in around two and a half years the Imperceptible Immigrant and The Girl are off and away… travelling!

On previous such jaunts I have endeavoured to keep the blog up to date as we went; the which was not always easy, particularly when it came to the editing and uploading of photographs.

This time I decided upon a different approach; I would collect images, impressions and experiences as we journeyed, but I would not upload or write anything until we returned.

Well – our sojourn is almost over. In a couple of days we head back to the west coast of Canada. Once there I will again commit to electronic media all manner of impressions of the places to which we have been and of the things that we have been doing.

See you there!

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My first… earthquake!

December 17, 2021 in Life in BC | Permalink

One of the dubious ‘pleasures’ of ‘getting on a bit’ – and in particular if one takes a diuretic (for hypertension or suchlike) – is that it is much harder to sleep through the night. The call of nature is loud, clear and impossible to ignore.

Thus it was that I was up at 4:00am this morning, availing myself of the facilities!

I had just got back to bed and was drifting off into much appreciated slumber when – all of a sudden – I heard through the quiet of the night a rapidly growing bass rumble. I felt the bed move under me as the crescendo ended in a loud-ish thump and all manner of things on walls and in cupboards rattled vigorously. Then all was at once quiet again.

In my sleep be-fuddled state two thoughts made it though to my consciousness. The first was that a truck had hit the front of the house; unlikely because it was the middle of the night and we live in a place where trucks are not wont to go. The second thought was that there had been an earthquake!

Now – one’s first response to such an eventuality is meant to be to leap from one’s bed and to take shelter underneath some well-reinforced structure. My first thought was to grab my iThing and to look up ‘earthquake‘ on Google. There it was – within 30 seconds of the thing occurring – an entry much like that at the top of this jotting.

“Goodness me…” – thought I – “that’s jolly efficient!”

I guess I really should do some more work on my priorities.

It has been more than six years now since we moved to the part of the Pacific Rim that forms the North Cascadian subduction zone – one of the well-known hot-spots for tremors that make up this part of the ‘Ring of Fire’. I figured that at some point I would experience a quake – even if it were a small one like this (for those who wish to know the details this one registered 3.6 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre some 10 miles beneath Galliano Island – about 15 miles north-west of us here. To The Girl – who is, naturally, an old hand at such things – it was hardly worth waking up for. To me it was an experience…

…which – having had – I wouldn’t mind not having again!

By a strange co-incidence this quake occurred on the same night that a very different (metaphorical!) quake shook the folks back in good old Blighty! I am referring, of course, to the Liberals defeating the Tory candidate in the North Shropshire by-election… which seat had been held by the Tories for more than two hundred years! As a judgement on the performance, record, behaviour and character of Prime Minister Johnson I find it hugely encouraging that the electorate has finally spoken with such eloquence and clarity.

Let us have much more of the same, say I…

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HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

April 9, 2021 in Life as we know it | Permalink

HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

1921 – 2021

RIP

There have already been many tributes paid to Prince Philip, who died today at the age of 99. There will be many more such in days to come. Our thoughts are with The Queen; she and the Duke had been married for seventy three years.

On such occasions it seems inevitable that all and sundry will trot out their anecdotes concerning the prince. For what it is worth – here is mine:

I was only once in the same space as the Duke – way back in the mists of time before the turn of century. I was invited to attend a Gala Dinner somewhere in the midlands of the UK in support of a charitable foundation that I can no longer can recall. Philip was doubtless the patron of said charity and was the guest of honour at the gala.

Now – it happened that on the night in question a very important (if such a thing there could be!) football match was taking place. I believe that it was the semi-final of some footie contest between England and Germany (or West Germany – depending exactly when this took place). There was much grumbling amongst the attendees of the dinner – many of whom would have preferred to be at home watching the game.

For a while the Master of Ceremonies – who was in any case making regular announcements – kept the assembled throng up to date with the score from the match, which England were at that point leading. Then all of a sudden the announcements dried up. Word went around the room that Germany had equalised and that Philip had decreed that no further updates should be given.

Several courses later I chanced to look around the room – which seemed less crowded than it had before. I was slightly surprised to observe that the Duke and I were amongst only a very few men left in the room, all others being of the fairer sex. Again, word went around that there was a large screen TV in the kitchens, the which had been thoughtfully provided so that the chefs could keep an eye on the game. Now – I have no interest in such matters and the Duke clearly could not slip out to have a look… so thus we remained.

Yet another while later and there was a muffled groan from somewhere offstage and all of a sudden a hoard of be-tuxed chaps wearing disconsolate expressions filed back into the room. It seemed that England had once again (as was/is their habit) lost on penalties.

I like to think that the Duke had been wise enough to have privately predicted the potential outcome and had thus made a smart choice.

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