Birthdays and So Much More

For Dori and me, this last weekend marks the start of a holiday season that goes all the way through to next spring.

It began with my birthday, which I celebrated by watching Team Europe squeak a victory in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales. As I foretold in my last post, the weather left a lot to be desired for much of the competition, only to end with a gloriously sunny day on Monday as the contest entered an extra day for the first time in its history. To say this year’s event was close would be a massive understatement, with every single match counting towards the final outcome. If just one individual match had gone from a Europe win to being halved, or from being halved to a US win then the American team would have been flying home with the Ryder Cup yesterday.

The tie ebbed and flowed considerably over the course of the 4 days, with Europe starting well only for the US to gain the upper hand, and then Europe fighting back with a stunning third session of games to take a commanding lead into the singles matches. But all was not done and dusted, and the Americans made a tremendous effort to claw their way back into the contest and level the scores with just one match left on the course. The pressure on those two final players must have been immense and it was US Open champion Graeme McDowell who managed to hold his nerve better and secure the win for Team Europe. Yet again the Ryder Cup produced sporting excellence and drama in equal measures and I am already looking forward to the next staging of the event, which will be at Medinah Country Club, Illinois in 2012.

Aside from the golf, we also went out for a meal together with my Mum, who celebrates her birthday on the same day as me. The food was delicious and we all had a very pleasant time. It was a good weekend.

But, as I was saying, this is the start of our holiday season. Being from two different places, as I have mentioned here before, means that we get to celebrate even more holidays than most people. Starting with my birthday, we then have Halloween, Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Dori’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day, Mothers Day, St George’s Day, Easter and our wedding anniversary – and no doubt I’ve forgotten one or two in there :-) And by the time we have gone through all of it will be time to start looking ahead to next summer! Time to get buying cards methinks!!

Shakespeare's Birthday n' all

Happy St George's Day!! A day to celebrate all things English.

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise,

This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war,

This happy breed of men, this little world,

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands,

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England

William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act 2

Have a great weekend, everyone.

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!