The Royal Wedding

Prince William and Princess Catherine have been married for over 24 hours now and the 2 billion people around the globe who watched the wedding on TV can now return to their normal lives.  Why are we so fascinated with the British royal family?  This family, which is anachronistic in a modern western democratic country, has no real governmental authority, but is showered with riches by the British people, and is the continual focus of the British press.  Yet the British love them for they are the living symbol of their country’s history and culture.  And what a rich, old culture it is as Queen Elizabeth can trace her lineage back to the year 757 AD!  A TV commentator said the other day that the royal family is a bargain since they cost each British citizen only a pound a year.  Maybe he was right.  Having the power to attract the attention of 2 billion people is no small feat.

Recent royal marriages have not turned out well. The broken unions of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson and Prince Charles/Princess Diana are the most prominent examples.  However William and Kate look like two nice, well adjusted young people and in contrast with her late mother-in-law, Kate, who has “dated” William for six years should know what she is getting herself into.  William also seems better grounded than his father.  It is commendable that he currently serves his country as a Royal Air Force search and rescue helicopter pilot.  Poor Charles, forever in the on deck circle, has waited longer to become a monarch than anyone else in history.  From the looks of his mother, he’s got a lot longer to wait.  Did you see the 85 year old queen hop up those steps at Buckingham Palace?  Her mother lived to be 101 and I wouldn’t be surprised if Elizabeth is on the throne for another two decades. 

There has been speculation in America that the queen may appoint William as the heir apparent instead of her son.  This theory is appealing because William is so much more popular than his father and the picture of King William and Queen Catherine is so much more attractive than that of King Charles and Queen Camilla!  I posed this question to our bus driver and tour guide two weeks ago while on a day trip to southeastern England out of London.  Their strong opinion was that Charles would be the next king despite the popularity of the young couple.  Traditions do not break easily in England and there is nothing more traditional than the royal family.

I admit to being one of the 2 billion who watched part of the royal wedding yesterday.  Having been in London recently and having seen the primary locations up close (pictures of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey are shown), made the event even more enjoyable.  We Americans live in a very young country and we go to places like England to experience cultures that are much older and steeped in history than our own.  The British monarchy is the embodiment of that ancient culture, and with the wedding of the future king and queen, it looks to be on solid footing.

Across the Pond

The blog has been silent for a few weeks because I just spent 12 great days vacationing in Scotland and England.  My son's decision to spend a semester studying at the University of Glasgow was the reason that my wife and I traveled "across the pond" to visit.  Our daughter also joined us and having the four of us together again on a family vacation was truly special.  We've got two grown children who actually seem to enjoy being with us so I consider that a blessing.

Four days in London were sandwiched between stays in Glasgow and the differences between Scotland and England were very apparent.  Neither country is known for its food, but London, with its many immigrants from all over the globe, has a distinct advantage.  A lamb dinner at a Lebanese restaurant near our London hotel was easily the best meal of the trip.  The Scots actually have a diet that seems to be higher in fat and contain more fried items than the American diet.  The relative lack of immigrants in Scotland also means that food choice is more limited.

But we didn't go to the UK to eat, and what Scotland lacks in cuisine, it makes up for in beautiful scenery and an interesting culture.  Edinburgh and Stirling castles are well kept artifacts of Scotland's violent past and we could picture William Wallace leading a charge on the plain below Stirling.  Loch Lomond's waters made me keep humming "You take the high road and I'll take the low road.....", and of course, we visited a whisky distillery for a "wee taste".  But the culmination of the trip occurred on the last day when my wife and I made the pilgrimmage to St. Andrews and got to walk on the hallowed fairways of the Old Course.  As a golfer, the only thing better would have been teeing it up, but that will have to wait and will be my reason to return.

London is abuzz with the royal wedding.  It was the primary news story two weeks ago and now, with the wedding three days away, things must be at a fever pitch.  More on "Wills and Kate" in a later blog. 

It was great to see my son who has embraced the Scottish culture and taken maximum advantage of his time in Europe with travel to several countries.  He's a more mature kid now than when he left in January and I really enjoyed letting him lead us around and share his experiences.  It's also a blessing to be back home in the USA and back to work and blogging.

Cherry Blossoms in Bloom

I was joined by about a million of my closest friends this weekend viewing the annual Washington DC spring ritual known as the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Every year in late March/early April, white and pink flowers come alive on thousands of cherry trees located throughout downtown.  The most famous and beautiful location is around the Tidal Basin where cherry trees ring the water and their branches form a canopy over the walkway around the perimeter. Traffic was horrendous, but riding my bicycle downtown allowed me to move quicker than the cars and to see the cherry trees along the shores of East Potomac Park as well as the famous ones at the Tidal Basin.

The original trees were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912.  Many of the tourists at the festival were Japanese, and yes, they took lots of pictures.  Walking amongst the trees this year and thinking about their history brought thoughts of the people of Japan and their struggles to contain the nuclear power plant radiation while recovering from last month’s earthquake and tsunami. 

Thomas Jefferson presides over the festival each year from his pedestal in his Monticello styled monument. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s monument, a short walk from Jefferson’s, received many more visitors than normal this weekend.  The major memorials in DC (Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt, WWII, and Vietnam) are best visited during quieter times.  They all tell a powerful story and respectful quiet is appropriate.  That was of course impossible this weekend with the throngs of visitors.  So if in the future you come to DC to see the cherry blossoms, come back another time to properly experience the memorials. 

Friday was the peak day for the blooms and they will be mostly gone by next weekend. Cold, nasty weather shortened the peak blooming period this year and we had to wait until Sunday for a sunny day with temperatures above 50 deg F.  The show was worth waiting for though and my words cannot properly describe the sight, so enjoy these pictures that I took.