The jubilee weekend was an amazing experience and I am so happy I was in London to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II and her Diamond Jubilee. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Elizabeth II is the fourtieth monarch since William the Conqueror. She is also the first monarch to visit Australia and New Zealand.I cannot speak of my time in Britain and after the jubilee and not comment on the question of republicanism and where Australia and even the monarchy sit in this modern era. The patriotism and jubilation that I witnessed this afternoon is something i have only seen in Australia when the Pope arrived in Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008. I can draw parallels from only from what I have seen myself, and have witnessed similar celebration at the Australia Day One Dayer match at Adelaide Oval. I have seen Brit and Aussie alike celebrating what it is to live in such amazing countries. I saw on the news that there were many protesters scattered along the Thames, however with the amount of white, blue and red desperate to catch of glimpse of the Queen, Catherine or even Philip, I am not sure that they would have had any success. It does however beg the question that many have asked and argued about over many, many years; What does Australia Day mean to Australians? And what does Australia Day mean to Indigenous Australians? Furthermore this weekend has made me think alot of Australia as part of the British Empire and what that means. I am not the first and google will lead you to many articles arguing many ways celebrating the monarchy and parliament and also what it means if Australia was to become a republic. As this blog is not the Herald Sun or The Advertiser, I do not intend to be controversial however I have been fascinated with the entire situation. All I can say is that this weekend has been a spectacular celebration of Royal Britain and I am happy to have witnessed such a weekend. A pageant along the Thames of the like has not been seen in 350 years and really was a once in a lifetime experience. The romanticism of a Royal Family, the history, the castles, the wonder is something that definitely has lured me in, however I feel like it always has.
From a very young age I wanted to go to Britain. I grew up on Enid Blyton and even collect to this day. The oldest thing I have is an original record of Noddy actually narrated by Enid Blyton herself which I have read is quite rare to find today. I dreamed of sixth form and boarding school in the English countryside, parents visiting at half term and getting 25p pocket money once a week. The books were usually all set in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s and although not a time I would have liked to live in but painted a picture of quintessential England and how magical it was to find fairies at the bottom of your garden, or a magical faraway tree in the middle of an enchanted wood. I often dreamt about the different lands I would find as I passed moonface and Silkie on my way up to the top of the tree. I can still hear my mums voice reading me the Magical Wishing Tree and one story in particular where they painted the Wishing Chairs wings back on to escape an awful land they had stumbled upon. My most favourite Enid Blyton story is the Naughtiest Girl in the School series and I loved that eventually she became prefect and head girl. Then along came Harry Potter, again a magical world of castles, the bustle of the amazing London and of course Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which reflects the great schools of London that still exist in phenomenal architecture and mystery. Perhaps these books were also the reason that I have become a teacher. The themes are clear however, England is a place I need to visit. Even when I met Adam at such a young age, I still imagined a time when I could go off and live in England. I am so lucky to have foundd someone who understands my dreams and let me run off and live them.
Britain has surpassed my expectations. I do go on about the Tower of London, Hampton Court, Epping forest, and if you ask any of my friends here it is now a running joke (and they indulge me) that I give them a random British fact before the day starts. I have been reading books by Christopher Winn and he writes a series called 'I never knew that about....' and the titles cary from London, Britain the English, Ireland etc. and the new one I am reading now is Royal Britain. With a combination of visiting the Tower of London, Whitehall, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace as well as reading and reading and reading and googling and googling and googling and now know quite alot and am getting quite obsessed. I am hoping to use this newfound information and channel it and perhaps studying Tudor History or even Norman History and using it in someway....Everywhere I look there is something amazingly interesting about a place or thing that I had no idea about. Only yesterday I discovered that George IV (1820) very much disliked his wife and Queen, Caroline of Brunswick and would not allow her to be present at his coronation. She banged on the door of the abbey begging and screaming to be let in and was dragged away in disgust. That day she fell ill and died three weeks later in Brandenburgh House in Hammersmith. George later commanded the building be razed to the ground. I live in that house now in London. I mean how amazing is that!?
I could dazzle you all with a million facts however I am full of them, so next time you see me ask me for one before the day starts. I do like to link them to the occasion or day it is....ok one more. Today June 4th is King George III birthday and he was a huge advocate of Eton College. So every year they have a huge party and celebration on the Thames. Amazing. I am going to Winsdor on the 16th of June to kayak on the Thames and intend to spend the rest of the day at Windsor Castle and seeing Eton College, the school of 19 British Prime Ministers. Ok I'll stop the facts now officially....Well Cheerio Old Chaps!!!
