Beautiful day

Tags

Anniversary, Berlin, breakfast, café, Charlottetown, Leonhard's, Prussia, Russia

Finally today we are having sunshine and mild temp, in the next few days it will go up to 14C, however for the Easter Weekend looks like rain and 6C.

This morning we went to Leonhard’s for breakfast, owned by a swiss german fellow, this café has a very elegant european flair to it, not only in its relaxed and elegant decor but also in the food they serve. All of it is clearly inspired by European cuisine and not the usual North American fair.

I had an omelette with vegetables, it was very fluffy and seasoned just right, something you do not encounter usually in restaurants here. Tables are set with fresh flowers, tulips at this time of the year. You could say that the atmosphere is clean, crisp and relaxed. No background music which is nice. In the summer they have ample boxes of flowers and hanging green plants on the front sidewalk.

We have another German bakery which just opened also on Great George street but on the South side of the Provincial Legislature, again offering a very different fair from all the other restaurants/café in town. More geared towards the local crowd instead of the tourist crowd.

This morning one of the blogs I follow, entitled Berlin Companion featured the National Monument to the Wars of Liberation in Kreuzberg on its 200 Anniversary.

View from Kreuzberg by Johann Heinrich Hintze, 1829 (currently at the Alte Nationalgalerie). The winding road leading to Berlin is today’s Mehringdamm.

For people who have visited the Invalides in Paris, under the dome is the Tomb of Emperor Napoleon, you will probably have noticed the 12 columns in a circle around the tomb, they represent the 12 military campaigns of Napoleon all across Europe over 12 years, basically continuous wars during his reign. The Monument on the Kreuzberg in Berlin also refers to the 12 wars which are named wars of Liberation from French oppression. There are all over Germany, other monuments were built celebrating that liberation from this constant warfare waged by Napoleon in his effort to conquer Europe and appoint himself the new Charlemagne.

This is something very rarely mentioned in history books and certainly never mentioned by French authors who prefer to present Napoleon’s action as a romantic endeavour. However if you follow the historical tread you will see that those wars sowed the seeds for further wars in the 19th century between France and German States and Prussia and after 1870 a unified Germany. It is almost a seesaw effect of trying to correct wrongs. Think 1870 Franco-Prussian War, 1914-1918 and then 1939-1945, in all those conflicts the underlying narrative is revenge, either by Germany or France.

The National Monument on Kreuzberg (Cross Hill) leads down the avenue to Belle-Alliance Platz this alliance/Treaty between Great-Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia created and maintained an army of 600,000 men until such time as Napoleon was completely defeated and overthrown. This Belle-Alliance ultimately led to Waterloo. Since 1945 Belle-Alliance Platz has been renamed Mehring Platz and sadly completely modernized.

On March 30, 1821 – the seventh anniversary of the Prussian charge of Montmartre and of the conquest of Paris, which unavoidably triggered Napoleon’s demise in 1814 – King Friedrich Wilhelm III arrived on top of the Tempelhofer Berg (also known as the Weinberg, soon to be renamed Kreuzberg). The highest natural elevation in what is now central Berlin but back in the days was still part of a district outside the city limits.

Accompanied by an illustrious guest, Russian Tsar Alexander I – Friedrich Wilhelm’s brother-in-arms in the conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte – Prussian monarch came to witness the unveiling of a monument commemorating their victories in what came to be known as the Wars of Liberation, 1802-1814.

As Prussia’s military ally in the wars against Napoleon it was Alexander who prevented the king – as well as the Austrian emperor for he was wavering, too – from making what could have been the biggest mistake in the history of the Coalition: he convinced them to take Paris instead of withdrawing their troops. Now it was time to celebrate these good choices.

National Memorial for Wars of Liberation – a 200-tonne cast-iron tapering structure installed on an octagonal stone base – was the work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Johann Heinrich Strack (who was responsible for the stone base).

Schinkel, supported by several renown contemporary artists with Christian Daniel Rauch as the most prominent among them, created an artwork which truly had everything a memorial of this kind should possess: it was impressive, it was elegant, it was positively oozing with symbols which everybody understood and was happy to see included and, last but not least, it had twelve extremely good-looking statues with faces the crowds back then were often able to recognise.

The memorial’s leitmotiv was a cross: it was a direct reference to a new military decoration introduced by King Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1813 after the Battle of Leipzig: the legendary Eiserne Kreuz, the Iron Cross. The foot of the memorial itself is shaped liked one, too, and you will see the shape repeated from the memorial’s bottom to its very top.

The 200-year-old memorial in Viktoriapark inspired the name of the hill and the neighbourhood.

The Nationaldenkmal am Kreuzberg – truly worth the climb. (Photo by Beata Gontarczyk-Krampe, author of the Berlin Companion.

Vaccination day coming

Tags

Canada, covid, PEI, Vaccine

So the festivities of my Birthday have come to an end, it was great fun and the food and cakes were much appreciated by my guests. Will did a wonderful job of organizing it all.

Sunday night I went online to book my turn for the Covid Vaccine. We have a system here on PEI called SKIP THE LINE, this allows you to book a medical appointment online if your family medical doctor is not available and you need to see a doctor pronto. I think it is better than going to Emergency, no waiting and once you booked a time you go at the appointed hour. They even send you a text telling you that you should leave home and make your way to the clinic, your turn is coming up.

So I booked online by vaccination date, all I needed was to give my name, home address, DOB and my Health Card number, within a minute I was booked for 27 April.

Vaccinations are given at the hockey arena about 5 minutes from our house. Will is booked for earlier in the month. The Government here follows a system of decreasing age for vaccination. They started 2 months ago with anyone over the age of 85+ then proceeded with all front line medical staff, etc. then doctors and dentists, etc.

Recently they also offered the vaccine to anyone working in a kitchen, restaurant or bar between the ages of 18 to 29. So it is going pretty fast and by 1 July it is now estimated that 80% of the population will have been vaccinated. PEI is way ahead of the National average and we have had none of the gong show and incompetence of Ontario and Alberta where politicians are playing medical doctor.

Spring is definitely here, with lots of rain and sun and mixed in together, mild weather is very nice. Now everyone is talking about what to do this Summer.

Alfred Hollins’ A Trumpet Minuet.

1 Cake down 2 to go

Tags

Birthday, cake, Food, Friends, PEI

Last night we had a handful of friends come to the house for a glass of Cremant de Limoux, small bites prepared by our friend and Chef Pico and a cake by our friend Valerie.

The food was wonderful and so imaginative, Pico truly loves preparing food and has no end of ideas.

Valerie, also makes pretty nice cakes, she too has great ideas and she strives for perfection. The Sicilian Whole Orange Cake was rich and very good, the way a Birthday cake should be.

It was fun to have people over even if it is a small number due to Covid restriction.

Also last night around midnight Will was able to make his appointment for his jab, it was confirmed a few minutes after midnight and so he is scheduled. I will make my appointment next week when my age group is next. Will and I are happy that our turn is coming around and get this done. In fact people talk about getting the vaccine and having a date to do it, as if it was a much anticipated event like a holiday. I know so far of no one who described having a problem, at most it was feeling drowsy or a warm arm for a few hours.

This evening at the Club we are having cake # 2 a Black Forest Cake. Then Saturday night another small party with friends, food and cake # 3 a Expresso Moka Cake.

This is Cake #1 on 4 layers Sicilian Whole Orange cake, it was gone in minutes. I do not invite people on diets or who do not like sweets.

Poach pears, with walnuts and blue cheese on Endives.

Thai marinated beef with sesame seeds, small cherry tomates, cucumber.

Scallops on a bed of avocado with a shaving of mango and scallion flowers on a grissol cracker.

65, Happy Day

Tags

65, age, Birthday, Laurent

A number like any other but one which in our world is like a portal into seniority.

I remember my 20th another number imbued with significance, seems so far away now. I also remember other Birthdays in far away lands where I lived. My 30th in Mexico City, my 40th in Istanbul, my 50th in Beijing.

This one well I look at what I have, all my teeth, you know that Colgate smile, my health, a nice home close to beaches, a nice life, friends, my two old puppies Nicky and Nora and my life relationship with Will, 43 years this November.

I cannot complain, Fate and life have been good. So this Birthday is one of Thanksgiving for all the good in my life.

The old Consular road, Via Porta Latina, Rome 2009.

And one of my favourite photos of the two of us, January 2011 top of the staircase of the Capitoline Hill, Rome.

Portrait on charcoal, 2020.

Itsmyhusbandandme

Tags

London, JP, Guido, itsmyhusbandandme, CANCER

Yesterday I received a comment from JP, the author in Southwark, London of Itsmyhusbandandme. Loved that blog and all the funny posts, it was like a novel with regular new chapters about JP’s and Guido’s life in London. JP’s message was a sad one, he informed me that Guido had died of cancer last month. In his last post on his blog some months ago, JP had revealed that Guido was ill with cancer and it was a difficult fight. So sad to read this news.

I often thought of them since the end of his blog. Wishing Guido Peace and JP courage.

It’s Here!!!!

Tags

65, Birthday, cake, Moka, Orange, party

Well Spring arrived on time and suddenly the temperature shoots up and it’s sunny, snow is melting very quickly, the little there is and people are happy.

But what is really here is my Birthday, on Wednesday I turn 65 Officially, no trooping of the colours for me but 2 cakes for 2 separate parties with two groups of friends. One more cake for Friday at the Club during Happy Hour. The Weather this week, sunny all week with average temp of 12 C. The cakes are made to order by a pastry chef who makes any type of cake to order. I have ordered from her and everyone raves about them.

Sicilian Whole Orange Cake with (not shown on this photo) a Grand Marnier Cream Icing.

The other cake will be an Espresso Moka Cake. As for the third cake at the Club I have not decided yet.

But these parties are a surprise for me, well how can that be if I know who is coming and I ordered the cakes. Well there is also food, a good friend of ours is a Chef and he will prepared great stuff but I do not know what it is. His food is always spectacular anyway, always out of the ordinary, so no worries.

Talking of the Club, I prepared the Newsletter each week with all the activities etc going on. It has been a great success, I present a brand new format each week with lots of news to keep it interesting and lively. However this week, I had a problem, someone sent me a PDF file with 3 links to 3 different websites to advertise an event. I use Mailchimp and gmail and what was sent is not compatible and there is no way to transfer this to the newsletter format. So I asked Will what should I do? I had no idea what to do or how to make it work and the person who sent me the material was a little nasty about it. Will did some research and spoke with Mailchimp people and he was able to work something out.

Anyway my sweet Baboo found a solution and a work around. He is the best and I am so happy. He has a far better understanding of computers etc than I ever will.

Tomorrow we go to Kensington which is a small town West of Charlottetown on HWY 2. to get the puppies groomed, being Wire hair Dachshunds, their coat has to be stripped. They have 2 coats and to ensure a good clean look this is needed. We use to have a great groomer in Rome who loved Nicky, he always came out looking like the show dog that he is. So both he and Nora will look great for the Festivities.

Festival Joyeux, Gaston LaTouche 1906

mein hund beisst jede hübsche frau ins bein

Day of Mourning

Tags

Canada, Covid 19, mourning, Remembrance

Today 11 March is the National Day of Mourning for all the Canadian victims of the Pandemic, some 22,000 Canadians died from Covid 19 in one year. Half of those victims lived in the province of Quebec, something I still do not understand.

All flags were at half-mast and Radio-Canada had a lovely music program this evening in memory of our dead. We remain very fortunate in PEI with no hospitalizations and no deaths.

Parliament Peace Tower, Ottawa.

Renovations

Tags

Buckingham Palace, London, Queen

Renovations to Buckingham Palace have been planned for some years and in the last 24 months they have been moving along. Some 385 million Sterling Pounds are being spent to upgrade the wiring and plumbing and do many more infrastructure repairs. Not much has been done since the 1950’s and given the age of the building it was time before an accident happened.

What I did not know was how much the building changed over the course of the last 260 years. Originally Buckingham House was a country house on the outskirts of London and did not have the look nor the shape we see today. It was also not used as a Residence for the Sovereign until Victoria became Queen in 1837 and moved in.

George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a comfortable family home close to St James’s Palace, where many court functions were held. Buckingham House became known as the Queen’s House, and 14 of George III’s 15 children were born there. 

George IV, on his accession in 1820, decided to reconstruct the house into a pied-à-terre, using it for the same purpose as his father George III. 

As work progressed, and as late as the end of 1826, The King had a change of heart. With the assistance of his architect, John Nash, he set about transforming the house into a palace. Parliament agreed to a budget of £150,000, but the King pressed for £450,000 as a more realistic figure.Nash retained the main block but doubled its size by adding a new suite of rooms on the garden side facing west. Faced with mellow Bath stone, the external style reflected the French neo-classical influence favoured by George IV. 

The remodelled rooms are the State and semi-State Rooms, which remain virtually unchanged since Nash’s time.

The north and south wings of Buckingham House were demolished and rebuilt on a larger scale with a triumphal arch – the Marble Arch – as the centrepiece of an enlarged courtyard, to commemorate the British victories at Trafalgar and Waterloo.

By 1829 the costs had escalated to nearly half a million pounds. Nash’s extravagance cost him his job, and on the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother William IV took on Edward Blore to finish the work. The King never moved into the Palace. Indeed, when the Houses of Parliament were destroyed by fire in 1834, the King offered the Palace as a new home for Parliament, but the offer was declined.

Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837 and in June 1838 she was the first British sovereign to leave from Buckingham Palace for a Coronation. Her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 soon showed up the Palace’s shortcomings. 

A serious problem for the newly married couple was the absence of any nurseries and too few bedrooms for visitors. The only solution was to move the Marble Arch – it now stands at the north-east corner of Hyde Park – and build a fourth wing, thereby creating a quadrangle. The cost of the new wing was largely covered by the sale of George IV’s Royal Pavilion at Brighton. 

Blore added an attic floor to the main block of the Palace and decorated it externally with marble friezes originally intended for Nash’s Marble Arch. The work was completed in 1847. By the turn of the century the soft French stone used in Blore’s East Front was showing signs of deterioration, largely due to London’s notorious soot, and required replacing. 

In 1913 the decision was taken to reface the façade. Sir Aston Webb, with a number of large public buildings to his credit, was commissioned to create a new design. Webb chose Portland Stone, which took 12 months to prepare before building work could begin. When work did start it took 13 weeks to complete the refacing, a process that included removing the old stonework.

The present forecourt of the Palace, where Changing the Guard takes place, was formed in 1911, as part of the Victoria Memorial scheme.

The gates and railings were also completed in 1911; the North-Centre Gate is now the everyday entrance to the Palace, whilst the Central Gate is used for State occasions and the departure of the guard after Changing the Guard. The work was completed just before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Here are some images of the Palace as it evolved to today’s look.

Buckingham House in 1760

Buckingham Palace with Marble Arch standing in front as the main gate to the U shaped palace, C. 1840.

Buckingham Palace under Queen Victoria with the new front facade closing the courtyard and Marble arch has been moved to its current location down the avenue. Around 1850.

Buckingham Palace today with the gates built with the refacing of the new stone in 1913 at the same period the Victoria Memorial Monument in front of the Palace was also built. The money was collected by public subscription.

Today the palace is the central administrative centre of the Monarchy and is used for State functions but rarely used as a residence. The offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their immediate family, such as the Private Secretary’s Office and the Privy Purse and Treasurer’s Office are located at Buckingham Palace. The Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

During the renovation period, the rooms have to be emptied of their furniture, carpets, paintings and all objects. This requires a lot of attention given how rare and unique the furnishings and works of art are. The electrical work cannot be intrusive given the age of the building and original decorations and plaster work.

Duty

Tags

Canada, duty, meghan, Sovereign, UK

No I do not mean the duty you pay at Custom but Duty in the classic sense, a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility and a task or action that someone is required to perform. It seems that today many people have forgotten the meaning of duty and put self first.

After the infamous and controversial interview of Meghan and Prince Harry with Oprah, it brought back memories of what duty is like when you serve in the Foreign Service has I did for 34 years and what it actually meant.

I know that for many who do not know the world of service to the Crown, it is very difficult to understand and often the mistake is to think that you can ignore the rules governing your life during your period of service. There are a lot of rules and some require that you put your personal opinions or beliefs on the back seat. All that you do is governed by protocol, precedents, well established rules, duty and nothing else matters.

This is why when people talk about Harry and Meghan pursuing their personal happiness and leaving a toxic environment, I think that some really do not understand what comes first and foremost in the service of the Crown. Harry was born into the royal family and into traditions 1000 years old. That does not change overnight or because fashion dictates it, it’s a progressive process, often taking decades to change somewhat, if at all. Unfortunately Meghan, an outsider and a foreigner, who married into this institution did not appear to understand that by doing so she married into everything that is the Crown. That is what is truly tragic and unfortunate, I blame Harry for not explaining and being truthful with her about the numerous constraints. I blame her for not understanding a system where rank matters a lot, she thought she could ignore long established convention and precedent. She was going to change things, so she believed.

When I joined the Foreign Service, it was made clear to me that I would have to follow the rules and back then during the Cold War and all that it entailed, there were a lot of constraints. Then there was also rules about life on posting and how it would be, not how I wanted it to be. I was given a clear option to walk out the door, before signing legal papers and taking my Oath of Office to the Crown and start my career.

There were rules around security in general and how to handle Secret Documents. How to write and prepare them, if you did not follow the pattern established, you simply had to start over until you got it right. We had to learn how to prepare a diplomatic pouch and how to make knots and how to register them, no mistakes aloud and constantly watched by a supervisor. We had to learn how to write notes and papers and then they would go through vetting by often 6 people up the chain and anyone of them could send it back to you, with notes in red ink, to correct or change what you had done. It could take days to get it right, every word, every coma mattered.

Then the briefings would start before going on posting, on what to wear or not to wear. You were told that you were always on duty 24/7 no matter what. Informal never meant without tie or jacket, even when you travelled on long journeys, looking good was always important. Even if you travelled with small children, arrangements had to be made so to not let personal matters slip into the Official, again you are on duty 24/7 do not forget it.

Before going on posting, we had to have a full medical evaluation, then shots for all manner of foreign or exotic diseases, carry a vaccination booklet with us to show that we had been vaccinated for X, Y, Z. The nurse at Post would call you in for re-vaccination when needed, no you could not refuse a vaccine. If you did, your posting would be cancelled, it also blocked your career progress. There was no discussion possible on this topic.

You were also expected to blend into the culture of the country you served in to a certain degree. Never criticize, never say anything that might be seen as hostile or critical of the country in which you served. Always remember the Official position of the government and stick to it no matter what.

In terms of food, there was no such thing as declaring yourself vegetarian or whatever. You ate everything presented and thanked your host for the dish. Keep the conversation neutral, never criticize or comment negatively the host government or the head of State even if he is a bloody dictator. If your government wishes to send a message, the Ambassador will have a letter to deliver and present, even if it is fairly unpleasant. I remember travelling to a country and having to make a request, only to be screamed at in the most vile way by my host and having to sit there and simply keep silent, recording for my report what was being said. Making a polite exit afterwards. Do nothing, say nothing, that is what is expected by your superiors back home.

Yes Official functions are boring and some are boring to death, but you are there for a purpose and a reason, never forget that. I had to go to lots and lots of Official functions and smile and say polite words. Deliver a message from my government, etc. I did it and live to tell the tale. Sometimes you met nice people, sometimes not. The food was always the same and followed a pattern. Some time is was good other times it was so so.

There were also all manner of rules on when you could go on vacation, following ranking order from most senior to junior. You were assigned a living quarter based on your family configuration and rank at the Embassy. No one asked what you would like, you were assigned a living space and paid rent to your employer who is also your landlord.

You might have to travel during civil unrest or war condition in the country where you lived and worked. It’s your job, no one said it was going to be fun. I remember colleagues going to war zone, or countries in the grip of civil war. You hear gun fire and explosions, in the morning you pass by dead corpses on the streets, picked over by dogs or vultures. Well it comes with the territory, you do your job, trusting that someone back home is looking after your well being.

I could go on writing about all the rules and all the many things we had to do which were part of the job, we accepted. So this is why I have NO sympathies for Meghan and her complaints. I would say to her, look honey, it’s not about you. This is what you signed up for, get it. Please do not drag poor Diana into this story, she died 25 years ago and it is frankly irrelevant now and you are not her re-incarnation. The only thing that really matters in this business, is the Sovereign and service to the Crown, your duty.

Yes, there was loneliness, boredom and sometimes the colleagues with whom you were at post in a foreign country were jerks. So you simply used your imagination and invented some other ways to amuse yourself and this in an age before home computers or the internet.

Finally I would say that other members of the Royal Family had a difficult time of it. Princess Alice, the mother of Prince Philip, her life was very difficult and dangerous. Prince Philip from birth, having to meet numerous difficulties and shunted here and there and then after marrying the future Queen Elizabeth was often ignored and marginalized, he had to wait 10 years or until 1957 before he was made a Prince of Great Britain by his wife. Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, etc… all had to face challenges. Even Kate Middleton now Duchess of Cambridge and future Queen. It is not an easy life but it is a choice. So as Bertolt Brecht use to say, in life you make your bed and you lie in it.

This life

Tags

garbage, harry, LA, meghan, Oprah, UK

For some months now I have been getting notices, almost daily from new followers, I have no idea who these people are, mostly commercial sites, never comment. I just find this odd, I wonder if anyone else has this happening to them on their blog.

I did not watch the Meghan show on Oprah last night, we were having friends for dinner and a lovely dinner it was. I have heard a lot of misinformed and uninformed comments about this pity party of an interview. What I take of it, Harry is really dumb, immature and easily manipulated. Meghan is a good actress and manipulative, if she did not realize or understand what she was getting into after being with Harry for one year, she was also very dumb or unaware. However the reality is different, Meghan wanted more based on her misconception of what life in the Royal Family is really like, forgetting that it is all about rank, tradition, protocol and duty, it’s not Netflix.

An example, Meghan said that Archie would not be a Prince, forgetting to mention that in October 1917, King George V set the rules on who can have the style and dignity of Prince of Great Britain. Archie can be an Earl but not a Prince. As for the security for Archie, in Britain they lived in at Kensington Palace or at Windsor on palace grounds and security is present 24/7. Nothing would be allowed to happen to him. What she really meant by security, was make the press shut up or only report nice things. In fact she has received while in Britain a lot of security and support from the Palace staff who did all they could to stifle stories of her and Harry’s behaviour at private parties.

Luckily for Meghan she had the good sense not to attack or defame the Sovereign or Prince Philip, that would have been a terrible mistake and would have prevented her from ever returning to Britain. They will have to return for family occasions like the 70 year Jubilee of the Queen in June 2022. Or if there is a death in the family for the State Funeral or the Coronation of Charles in due course. However Harry made clear that he is in open conflict with his father, the future King, Harry may live to regret this move. Obviously his brother William was right, Harry was going to fast with that girl.

The Monarchy and the Royal Family will survive Meghan, she is nothing more than a storm in a small glass of water. Even Oprah realizes how dangerous this interview in its aftermath may be for her and others like Meghan, no one attacks the Crown with impunity. Oh and they will be having a child this Summer, well guess what, they will probably name her Diana. LOL!!!