A Scene from Hampton Court Palace

Some days, I just feel so exposed, don't you?

Tradition Bows

Steps forward:

The Ministry of Defence will meet an animal rights group tomorrow to discuss ethical alternatives to the world famous bearskin hats worn by guards at Buckingham Palace.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) will suggest new designs for guardsmen's headgear, which could mean the end of the traditional 45.7cm (18-inch) tall fur hats.

The charity said the MoD was not happy with prototypes for a similar hat. Now it is proposing a new shape is adopted and has approached designers including Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and Marc Bouwer. Robbie LeBlanc, Peta's director for Europe, admitted suggesting a new shape was controversial but added that a new design could be "iconic" too.

He said Peta campaigners had spoken to people watching the guards at Buckingham Palace about the use of the skins of Canadian black bears to make their hats.

"Most people think it's fake fur and when they find out it's real and it takes one bear to make a hat, they are appalled."

LeBlanc said the MoD spent just over £320,000 on bearskin hats in the past five years. Other fur, like the leopardskin aprons worn by ceremonial drummers, has already been replaced with fake versions.

Should Charles become king, I would guess that the hats will go, given Charles work to make the royal household greener. Nobody will notice the new hats.

Queen's Garden Party: Tastes

People seem to be most curious about the menu. Not to disappoint anyone, but I actually didn't consume any of the tea -- it seemed too hot for Twinings, even with lots of milk in it. So I opted for iced coffee -- which was just the right side of sweet -- and lemon barley water. (Someone asked me how the champagne was, but no alcohol was served.)

I sampled one of each sandwich; don't worry, they were almost literally the size of a finger, with no crusts. I hadn't had a crustless lunch since that phase I went through at age 7. Cucumber and mint was nice but not enough mint for my taste. Gammon ham with mustard was the best, and then there was egg mayonnaise and cress. I think it's a law that all teas must serve egg mayonnaise and cress sandwiches. They are certainly in every sandwich shop in town, and while I enjoyed eating that one, it certainly wasn't a unique selection. But you're not really going for unique I suppose -- you're going for tradition!

And last but not least, the cakes: a rich chocolate and toffee with the crown on top (in chocolate, natch); a strawberry custard concoction; a similar one with raspberries; a type of cheescake; and an almond pastry filled with cream. I didn't sample all of these, just the first two and the last one. Finally, smiling servants walked through the throng with silver trays of Loseley ice cream. The choices were strawberries and cream or Madagascar vanilla. The vanilla was great -- the perfect way to end the day.

Queen's Garden Party: Smells

I stopped and smelled the Queen's roses:



She of course had a whole section of the grounds with various colors and types. My favorites were Polar Star and Pride of England. And when I was away from prying eyes, I snapped this one lazily nodding in the summer wind. It had the sweetest scent!

Queen's Garden Party: Sights

I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience yesterday: Through a lottery, I got a ticket to one of the Queen's three garden parties at Buckingham Palace.



Since there's so much to share, I'll do several posts, each focusing on a different sense. We'll begin with sights. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but that didn't stop some of the 8,000 guests (including yours truly). It was a gorgeous day, sunny, blue skies, about 75 degrees.



We were allowed to explore the gardens, which surrounded a pond complete with ducks.



Sadly, I don't have any photos of the Queen herself (as I was too afraid of having my iPhone confiscated). And while I didn't get to meet her, I was about 6 feet from her while she was talking to someone else. Got a nice view of her lovely pale blue flowered suit, matching hat with feathers, and her grandmotherly smile. Here's a list of other VIPs who was there.

Friday Catblogging

This charming fellow seemed to make his home in the gardens of Dublin Castle.

Welcome To Liechtenstein

The Werbenmanjensens are just back from a journey to Switzerland, with a side trip into Liechtenstein:

Where the prince of the principality lives, or so we think.


Pretty church.


The pedestrian walk in the Vaduz city center.


This elevator makes you decide which floor you're going to before you board.


*Yawn* Just another castle-like building.

A Strange Distance

I've just picked up a copy of the London Marathon's official magazine from the London Marathon Store and learned a bit about the history of the great race. Some of this I knew, but other parts I didn't know.

The "official" marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yards wasn't established until the 1908 London Olympics. Early versions of the race (the first-ever race called by the name "marathon" was the national selection race held by the Greeks for the 1896 Olympics) ran variable distances, but were roughly set around 24 miles, equal to the distance that the Greek warrior Pheidippides ran from the battleground at Marathon to Athens. Indeed, early versions of the Boston Marathon were run from Natick, closer to Boston's downtown than today's start line in Hopkinton. For the 1908 games, the start line was set at Windsor Castle, and the finish at the Olympic Stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, a distance of about 25 miles. Organizers planned the start at a grand entrance boulevard to Windsor, but the Princess of Wales (later Queen Mary, wife of George V) thought it would be a lovely idea for the royal children to be able to see the start of the race. So the start line was planned for the east lawn of the castle, extending the race to 26 miles. Then, Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII, decided she should have the best view of the finish, so an extra 385 yards was added on the track inside the stadium to a finish line beneath the royal box. Thus, a distance was born. As a walking guide said to Mrs. Werbenmanjensen, "In England, we do things once. If it goes well, we continue to do it, and it becomes a tradition." Likewise, Wikipedia tells us, an event called the London Polytechnic Marathon came to be at the 26 mile, 385 yard distance, and as a result of its prestige, the International Amateur Athletics Federation adopted it as the official distance in 1921.

Now about that 1908 Olympic marathon: An Italian runner named Dorando Pietri staggered into the stadium in first place. He fell five times in the 385 yards to the finish line, but each time rose to his feet to the cheers of the crowd, and crossed the line first. An American named Johnny Hayes, crossed the line in second without the Italiante drama, then protested because Pietri had been helped to his feet. Pietri was disqualified, and Hayes awarded the gold medal. Queen Alexandra, impressed by Pietri's bravery, gave Pietri a gold cup. Dorando is remembered in Shepherd's Bush ...

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... with a street named for him on the site of what used to be the Olympic Stadium, now a BBC broadcast center. And there is an athletics stadium nearby, named for British sprinter Linford Christie.

The Battle Of Jersey

No, it wasn't portrayed in "The Sopranos." Instead, the Battle of Jersey took place in 1781 while the British were bogged down fighting rebellious Americans and French in the New World. Since Jersey was so close by, the French thought they'd relieve Britain of another burden and invade the channel island. It ended badly for the French, along with a certain British major named Francis Peirson.

At Mont Orgueil Castle, re-enactors from that era demonstrated typical battle order from that time with replica Brown Bess muskets.




(Sorry about the headgear in the foreground.)

If you followed the link to the entry on the Brown Bess, you will see that particular firearm was in service for quite awhile, even into the middle of the 1800s in America. I asked the gent barking out orders in the video above why it was in service so long, and if it was so because the musket was particularly reliable. "No," he said, "it's because the British government is cheap!"