Trooping the Colour

11 June 2011

Trooping the Colour is a celebration of the Queen's birthday. The troops march out buttons sparkling, uniforms perfect and horses spiffed up. Streets all around Buckingham Palace are closed for this parade. I'm not sure why the Queen would want to spend her birthday checking the troops. Maybe that is why she has two birthdays (her day she was born and the "official" birthday).

I was impressed with the band. In the states the band marches out. I thought it was hard enough to march and play, especially when the band starts dancing and doing routines. The English take it a step farther. The Royal bands come out on horseback. I was impressed.

The Queen's birthday is also attended by all of the Royal Family. Most of them ride in carriages from Buckingham Palace to the Parade grounds. In the picture below we have Queen Elizabeth and her husband Philip (Duke of Edinburgh). In the second carriage is Prince William, Prince Charles and Camilla, and Catherine (Duchess of Cambridge). What about the Duke of Cambridge (Prince William)?? He is on horse back with several other members of the family including Princess Ann (the Charles' sister). I didn't get a good picture of him.

One thing I was very impressed with was the loyalty of the English people to their Queen. Many of the people we talked to come out to this event every year. They do it to see their Queen and celebrate with her. Some come from far and wide to see her. The attachment the people have to their monarchy is so interesting. It sounds so odd to be so attached to a person or in many cases the whole family. The English talk of their royalty as if they were extended family they know personally and very well for that matter. Many outsiders don't really understand the bond. I'm not saying I do. But I think Americans can compare their own patriotism and love for the United States to the English love of their Royals. I also believe it is part of the tradition. They have almost always had royalty and it has served the people very well. Queen Elizabeth has also been through a lot with her people. She fought along side them during WWII. She is one of them in many respects.

After we watched the Royal Family ride from Buckingham Palace to the Parade Grounds and back we quickly found the gate which opened the street to the public. We weaseled our way right up behind the bobbies (who held us at bay). It was actually quiet fun to be in this huge crowd of people making their way to Buckingham Palace. The people on the sides were waving to us as if we were part of the parade. I'm not sure how we quite did it but we made it to the VERY front of Buckingham Palace. As you can see (by Kelli's face in the bottom left corner) we were plastered to the front of the gate. We could barely move but man the view was great!!

The Queen made one last check of the troops as they performed the changing of the guards. The whole Royal Family came out to see the public and the flybys. The jets with the colored tails are the Red Arrows. I also caught a picture of Catherine's royal sneeze. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were really very cute! I LOVED her outfit.

After the royals went back in it took us FOREVER to get out of Buckingham area. We kept getting cut off by the cops trying to direct traffic. We were starving and tired of standing but we did get to see Prince Harry drive by in his beautiful sports car. When we finally got out we went to dinner at Cote. Oh my goodness it was SO good. French food at its finest. Seriously, England has great places to eat. Expensive but SO GOOD!!!! Beats Olive Garden any day.

Ely Cathedral - LHS Graduation

I finally have time to catch up on my blog. I'm a month behind. Ekk!!

10 June 2011
We went to Ely Cathedral for Lakenheath High School Graduation. We knew some of the graduates and Kelli was in the choir. For those who forgot or who didn't read my past posts, I LOVE Ely Cathedral. It is so beautiful and HUGE.

I am so jealous that these kids get to graduate from here (I graduated from the Taco Bell Arena). The ceremony was so different compared to my graduation. Everything was so much more professional and just beautiful. There was such respect for the atmosphere and the graduates. My heart was touched by so many things. First, this is a Department of Defense Education school. Most kids have only been here for a few years if not months. Yet the unity that could be felt was awesome. Second, many of those graduates were missing a parent that night. A good chunk of their parents are currently deployed in the Middle East. Although the parents couldn't be there they would be able to see the graduation via live and replayed video of the ceremony.

More about Ely Cathedral.

Part of the King's Speech was filmed in Ely Cathedral. The scene inside Westminster (where the King is crowned, is not a good place for film crew and such) was filmed in Ely Cathedral. In my personal opinion, a good choice. The crews left behind the 'chair'. We saw the actual chair that is used in real crownings.... but that will be in a later post.

 

 

Veggies?

I went to the grocery store today and noticed something was missing...

All salad related veggies (especially lettuce, tomatos and cucumbers) have been taken off the market because of the recent E. Coli outbreak in Europe. 

I haven't been huge on eating salads lately but now that it is harder to get one... I want one.

Grimes Grave

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Erin and I went to the English Heritage site, Grimes Grave. Despite its name, it is not a grave, or burial place, but a flint mine worked between about 2200 and 2500 BC. Some of the shafts are sunk as deep as 30 feet below the surface - a remarkable accomplishment when you consider that the Neolithic miners used antlers for picks and animal shoulder-blades for shovels. English Heritage has opened one of the shafts for the public to descend. Erin and I made our way down the latter into the pit. It reminded me a lot of going down Kuna Caves in Idaho. 

Here is a tunnel.

Down in the mine. 

It looks like a grassy lunar landscape. The anglo-saxons in the middle ages thought there was no way this was man made, concluding that it was the work of the gods. 

Erin chasing after sheep... as usual. :)

A covered pit.

Memorial Day 2011 - WICKED

London's West End Show...

WICKED

We took a bus to the Apollo Theater, West End, London.

The lobby was completely green. We were IN the city of OZ. The stage was beautiful. The dragon at the top moved around at various parts of the show. AH! It was great. 

I had no idea what I was getting into. I heard the play was great and such. But seriously, the play was so awesome! The voices were so pure. The script was so clever and hilarious. I would LOVE to see it again!

Memorial Day 2011 - Madingley American Cemetery

Memorial Day is an American holiday that began in 1865 to honor the soldiers who died fighting for their country. Today the focus seems to be on the amazing sales and tasty barbecues rather than the many soldiers and civilians who fought and fell. I am grateful that my parents have put an emphasis on history and honoring those in the military. We spent the morning at Madlingley American Cemetery nearby.

The cemetery put on a beautiful ceremony. This ceremony was specific to those who die in WWII. There were many veterans from WWII. There were so many different uniforms present. It was great. Below is a picture of soldiers bringing out the wreaths that were donated from various regiments and squadrons. 

Afterwards we found a few WWII veterans and chatted with them for a while. These guys were so awesome. They loved to talk and were HUGE flirts. It was such an honor to be around them though. Even after all they've seen and done they were still happy and positive. 

One of my favorite moments was when a young enlisted guy came up to these two veterans wanting to thank them for their service. But before this enlisted guy could get a word out, these veterans thanked him for the service he is currently doing. A touching moment for sure.

A few of the wreaths to be laid on the wall covered in names.

After the 21 gun salute they had a flyby. 

And then the solemn trumpet playing Taps.

A humbling morning.

England: Week 27

Erin and I made it back to England!! Took us a whole day but it was a very smooth trip. I am grateful that I've traveled here before. I knew exactly what to expect and how to proceed. It was great! I wasn't nervous at all. I did notice though, that with my previous experience I was also not as excited about seeing all the very English things.

I am still very excited to be here. It is surreal to be home. In England. It just isn't as new and exciting.

A few things I noticed today. People are all so different and yet we are all so the same. We are each individuals and different in our physical, emotional and mental characteristics. Yet we are all children of God. We all have good in each of us. I had a lot of time to watch people at the airports. I loved it.

Immigration today is so much easier than it used to be (back in the early 1900s). Thank all that is good!

England is GREEN!!!! And warmer than Provo was (when I left it - now that I'm gone it is all warm).

Jet lag isn't as bad... yet. Though I haven't slept a whole lot in the past 3 days.

The light switch on the outside of the bathroom still throws me off. Why would anyone do that?

We are leaving for Spain tomorrow. Time in the sun. I'm excited. Pictures to come.

England: Week 26 Christmas

Christmas with the Queen!!!! 

Yes that is right.... we saw Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of England. AND the rest of the family!

We went to Sandringham House where the royal family spends their Christmas. (We went there back in October with Patty) On christmas day people can come and watch the royal family walk from the house to the local Parish. The Queen, of course, rides up in her Bentley (and makes her husband Philip walk... go figure).

The Queen in her car. She's in the back seat.

 The rest of the family walked. The group was apparently pretty small. A lot of them were out of town. William was away on military assignment and Kate spent her last Christmas as a non-married woman with her family. BUT HARRY was there!!! 

Harry and his grandpa Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip aka the Queen's husband)

 After they attend church (which is broadcasted over a loud speaker) the royal family comes out and the queen accepts flowers from the children in attendance while the rest of the family visits with the people there. YES that is right, I said... VISITS as in talks with us.

The Coleman's children in line to give the queen flowers.

The Royal family behind the Queen as she accepts the first flowers. First off the Queen looks FANTASTIC!! Ok and now I'll tell you who everyone is. The Queen is obviously in the front accepting the flowers. Behind her in the green is her husband Philip. Behind him from left to right is Camilla (Duchess of Cornwall and married to Charles) and Prince Charles (Prince of Wales) and the daughters of Prince Andrew (son of the queen), Behind them is someone I don't know and Prince Harry. Behind Harry is Prince Edward (son of the Queen and aka Earl of Wessex). Prince Andrew is here somewhere but just not in the picture.

Prince Charles was super close to us. He was very familiar with Lakenheath base which was AWESOME! The royal family was very kind and very good about making conversation. I was really impressed.

We chased Prince Harry down the walk so we could get close to him. He seemed to talk to everyone who had a dog. He spent a lot of time with these puppies that were dressed up.

Prince Harry was really nice and very good looking. He is a lot better looking that William. :)

Over all - a really great Christmas :D