From the Yellow House to ...the Palace?

As Dori mentioned in her blog post yesterday, I have now returned to work after our wonderful anniversary celebrations last week. I never find it easy getting back into the swing of work-life again – who does?! I have heard that going back to work is a little like suffering from jetlag – your body clock has gotten used to a different timetable for a week or two, and now has to readjust to the old routine. Whether that is true or not, I do know that the first day back always seems to last twice as long as any other normal day!

Well, that was yesterday. Today I was able to escape from the office as I had a client to see in Salisbury. It is by far the best part of my job – being able to escape the confines of the office to drive amongst the glorious Wiltshire countryside. :-) I also had to deliver a new printer to a colleague who lives in a small village near to Salisbury. He works from home and asked if I could drop the printer off (not literally!) when I was in the area. It was interesting to see how he had arranged his workspace separate from his living area. Dori and I hope to be working from home ourselves in the future, so I was keen to pick up some tips from somebody who is already treading that path. My colleague said that he didn’t miss the commute at all, and that he saved hundreds on fuel alone. Less time dealing with crazy traffic, and environmentally friendly to boot!

When I returned home, Dori greeted me excitedly with some great news. You may remember that I mentioned in my post on April 19th, that we sent off an item of post that I would elaborate on once we had received the reply. Well, today we did receive that reply – tickets for next month’s Trooping the Colour. For those that don’t know, Trooping the Colour is the Queen’s official birthday parade and takes place every year on one Saturday in June. Her Maj is one of the few people who get to celebrate two birthdays, her real one (in April) and an official one in June. Trooping the Colour is a military ceremony, performed by soldiers of the Household Division in their famous red and black uniforms and bearskin helmets. The troops are inspected by the Queen, and other members of the Royal Family either take part in the parade, or watch the ceremony along with other dignitaries and members of the public. And this year, those members of the public will include Dori & Brit Boy!!

You can watch the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade by turning up on the day and securing a position along The Mall. But, in order to be in the stands on Horse Guards Parade and to get to watch the ceremony itself, you must have tickets. We did some research a few months ago and found that these tickets are partly allocated by means of a public ballot, and so we gave it a go and were amazed when we got the letter to say we had been successful. There is a dress code for those of us that are in the stands, so I will have to root around in the wardrobe to see where I left my suit! Dori is also making plans for what she will wear. We are both very excited by this opportunity and I am sure that we will both be sharing many memories and pictures with you all after the event.

This year’s Trooping the Colour takes place on June 13th.

Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Happy St George’s Day everyone! Today is the national day of England, celebrating our patron saint – St George. It is usually a low-key celebration and, sadly, isn’t a public holiday, although there is a movement to try to make it one.

I was travelling around Wiltshire in connection with my work today and saw a number of cars and buildings flying the flag of St George, which is the national flag of England – the Union Jack being the flag of the United Kingdom. It wasn’t until the sixth or seventh flag that it dawned on me that today was indeed St George’s Day – you see, I told you that it was all low-key! There are a number of ways in which the day is marked around the country, each place celebrating in their own way. Here in Wiltshire, the city of Salisbury is one of the few places in the country to hold a major event for St George’s Day – it’s annual St George’s Pageant. This year’s pageant will be held on Sunday, to give as many people as possible the opportunity to attend (there’s another reason to make it a public holiday!).

Ask most people about St George and they will talk about the legend of St George and the Dragon. The legend talks about a lake-side community who lived in fear of a dragon who dwelt within the lake. The people of the town fed sheep to the dragon to keep him from attacking them. When they ran out of sheep they started to give up their children to the beast, drawn by lottery. One day the King’s daughter was the unlucky “winner” of this lottery and was led to the side of the lake. As she stood there waiting for her fate, St George happened to ride by. He attacked the dragon with his lance, and badly wounded the creature. Subdued, the dragon allowed itself to be led to the town by St George who vowed to slaughter the monster if the town converted to Christianity – which they dutifully did. George then slew the dragon with his sword.

St George is also the patron saint of a number of different countries and cities, including Portugal, Georgia and Moscow.

Today is also William Shakespeare’s birthday, as well as the day on which he died aged exactly 52 years old. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he was one of eight children and went on to be the world’s most famous playwright. A few years ago, Dori and I visited his birthplace, along with a coachload of French students as I recall!

This was a real thrill for both of us, and especially so for Dori who, as you all know, is a very talented writer :-)

By the way, the title of this post is taken from Shakespeare’s “Henry V” and is the closing line of the famous “once more unto the breach” speech.

Finally, today is also UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day which promotes reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright throughout the world. A very literary day indeed!

Raking the Moon

Dori and I dwell in the county of Wiltshire in the south of England. It is probably best known for being the home of Stonehenge – a World Heritage site. Built approximately 4500 years ago, it remains a mystery to this day exactly what its purpose was. The fact that a number of the very large stones there were transported from over hundreds of miles away just adds to its mystery and mystique. I quite often pass by Stonehenge whilst I am travelling for work in the area and we are hoping to experience the summer solstice celebration there sometime soon.

Stonehenge is not the only stone circle in Wiltshire though. In the north of the county an even older stone circle can be found at Avebury. The stone circles, and other prehistoric sites, at Avebury cover a wide area and are well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity. Avebury has been voted one of the top 5 most spiritual sites in the country and is also the home of Silbury Hill – the largest man-made mound in Europe.

Wiltshire is also famous for its White Horses, the oldest of which can be found just outside Westbury in the west of the county. It is thought that this particular figure may have been created to celebrate a battle victory for Alfred the Great. The White Horses are formed by carving the shape into the chalk hills that make up a great majority of the Wiltshire landscape.

Wiltshire is also home to the city of Salisbury and its famous Cathedral, which has the tallest spire in the UK, and is also home to Europe’s oldest working clock and to one of only four surviving original Magna Carta. Add to this the town of Swindon, which grew as a railway town and is home to the mighty Swindon Town FC (!); Lacock Abbey where the world’s first photograph was taken; Longleat – the site of Britain’s first safari park, and Stourhead – a beautiful house and gardens which holds special memories for me and Dori, and you have just a taste of the wonders of Wiltshire. If you get the chance then this county of mine is well worth a visit. :-)

Stourhead Gardens

People born in the county of Wiltshire are known as “Moonrakers” – and this has nothing to do with James Bond!! Legend has it that a group of local smugglers were transporting their ill-gotten gains (in the form of brandy caskets) through the county, pursued by excise men. Fearful that they would be caught with their contraband, the smugglers threw the caskets into a nearby pond and disappeared into the night. Returning to the pond when they believed it to be safe, the smugglers were trying to retrieve the caskets using some hay rakes when an excise man happened upon them. The taxman asked the men what they were up to. Seeing the reflection of the full moon on the water, the smugglers quickly responded that they were just trying to rake in the cheese that they could see in the pond. The excise man looked at the moon’s refection, smiled to himself at the foolishness of these simple country folk, and went on his way to tell all and sundry about how dim-witted these Wiltshire men were. The moral of the story, of course, is that although we may seem to be simple, slow or unworldly, Wiltshire folk are just as sharp-witted and worldly-wise as the next man. Never judge a book by its cover :-)