Watching

Tags

Ceremonial, Parliament, Queen, UK

Today I was watching the State Opening of Parliament at Westminster. The ceremonial is interesting and it is about a multitude of details and how it is very different from the way we, in Canada, open Parliament in Ottawa with the Governor General or even with the Queen.

The parade from Buckingham Palace which is undergoing major renovations at this time, saw a first maroon coloured Rolls Royce with the Imperial State Crown with its 3000 precious stones and large diamonds on a cushion on display with a senior military officer being driven down to Parliament. The second maroon coloured Rolls Royce had 2 senior Officers one carrying the Cap of Maintenance and the other the Great Sword of State of 1685 which represent the authority of the Sovereign. The Cap of Maintenance is a strange hat a gift of the Pope , it was first gifted to both Henry VII and Henry VIII during their respective reigns.

The Kings were so pleased to have received this special privilege from The Vatican, they paraded the Cap on a stick around the City of London to solidify the monarch’s authority.

The third Rolls Royce carries 2 Royal Mace which are so large that the windows are open and they stick out. The Procession continues with a fourth Rolls Royce, today carrying HRH Prince William and finally the last car carried HRH The Prince of Wales and his wise the Duchess of Cornwall. As they past down Great George Street the honour guard will give the Royal Salute to each passing car.

This year the HRH Prince Charles entered the House of Peers (Lords) by the door on the Left of the Throne and exited the same way, though he is the Heir, he still represented the Sovereign, usually the Queen enters by the right door to the Throne and exits by the left door this for practical reasons as she explained once, wearing the long Ermine cape it is so heavy that it is not possible to walk backwards.

HRH Prince William accompanied by Lord Chomondoley (pronouced Chumley) who is Lord Great Chamberlain of England who walks in front of the Sovereign with the white staff.

The order in which members of the Royal Family arrive anywhere is prescribed order by rank of seniority, the junior first and the senior last. In this case Prince William arrived before his father Prince Charles.

Today the seating in the House of Peers (Lords) was re-arranged to show rank on the dais.

Prince William is below the Throne on the left of the photo next to Baroness Evans of Bowes. Prince Charles sits on the Throne reserved for the Heir on the right, the Imperial State Crown is next to him in the post where usually the Throne of the Queen would be. Next Camilla Duchess of Cornwall.

Unlike Canada, the Prime Minister and other MPs are at the back of the room by the door. In Canada the Prime Minister sits next to the Throne, while MPs are gathered at the back of the Senate Chamber. In Canada if the Queen opens Parliament, there is no Crown, but she will wear a tiara, usually the Queen Alexandra Kokoshnik Tiara of 1888.

The pomp today in Parliament was somewhat restrained given the Queen was not present and honours for the Heir to the Throne cannot be similar. Also I found that Prince Charles and Prince William were subdued in their demeanor. No doubt they know more about the Queen’s state of health than we do. The opening parliament is one of the Queen’s most important constitutional duties, and she can’t just ask someone else to do it for her. She had to issue Letters Patent that enabled two of her Counsellors of State—the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge—to perform the duty in her place. The Prince of Wales was deputized to read the speech on his mother’s behalf.

Prince Charles wore the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, the same one that was worn by his father for years for the same event. You’ll note that the orders worn with the uniform include the collar and star of the Order of the Garter, the dark green sash and star of the Order of the Thistle, and the neck badge of the Order of the Bath.

It was in a way a look at how it will be when Prince Charles becomes King and Camilla is Queen Consort. Prince William will then be the Heir.

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!!!

Gertrude Bell

Tags

France, Gertrude Bell, Iraq, Jordan, Middle East, Syria, UK

When I arrived in Jordan in 1994, I was interested in learning more about the political history of the region, a complex history of a cosmopolitan and multicultural world. This world had known stability under Ottoman-Turk rule but the First World War would change all that forever and give us the region we know today. For 500 years the Ottoman-Turks ruled a vast Empire from Istanbul the Sultan was the shadow of God on Earth, this empire covered parts of Europe, extended over what is called the Middle-East up to the border with Persia/Iran and extended to Egypt, the Sudan, Libya and Tunisia. This was truly a multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire. By the end of the 19th century many weaknesses had started to appear in its governance and European powers were out to exploit these weaknesses to their own advantage. Britain, France, Germany and Russia until 1917 had agendas on how to reshape the region. The Sultan made the fatal mistake of supporting the German Empire against France and Britain in the First World War. The British and the French use the chaos in the region created by the war to undermine Ottoman rule and promise to the Arab populations and their Princes that large spoils would come their way if they revolted against their Turkish masters. British and French imperial policies were not devised for the benefit of local populations and events in the 20th century in Iraq, Syria and Jordan has shown us that Europe created a mess in this region with consequence we still live with today.  Gertrude Bell in her recommendations thought this was the best course to follow and could not see what was going to happen once the Arabs wanted their independence from British rule. The borders of those countries, the design of their flags, the imposition of Monarchies, the framework for their governing bodies and the appointment of officials to posts, the marginalization of the Kurdish people and the division of their ancestral land between the new countries of Iraq, Syria and Jordan, the divide and conquer between Shia majority and Sunni minority in Iraq, all these recommendations made by Bell and endorsed by the British government led to serious problems in the years that would follow and Gertrude Bell bears the weight of those decisions.

She was heavily influenced by her upper class titled background, coming from a wealthy family, involved in the steel industry, educated at Oxford, schooled into world politics from an early age by her politician grandfather in the age of imperial expansion. Like many people of her time and class she did not see the Arab people as capable of governing themselves and needing the guidance of European rulers.

Gertrude Bell was the woman who would as an agent of the British government have enormous influence in the creation of new countries namely, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. Later France would through a secret treaty with Britain create Lebanon under the pretext of protecting Maronite Christians.

I was able to find the books written by Gertrude Bell during her time in the region and these books were widely read and very popular in shaping perceptions of the Arab people and the Bedouin tribes. I found them instructive and fascinating in understanding the unfolding of events. The world she visited and travelled through has changed a great deal in 120 years and it is sad to realize that it was a much gentler world. The European powers were there for mercantile reasons and  oil monopolies also played into the equation.

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (1868-1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her knowledge and contacts, built up through extensive travels in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Along with Colonel T.E.Lawrence, Bell helped support the Hashemite dynasties in what is today Jordan as well as in Iraq until its overthrow.

She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq, using her unique perspective from her travels and relations with tribal leaders throughout the Middle East. During her lifetime she was highly esteemed and trusted by British officials and exerted an immense amount of power. She has been described as “one of the few representatives of His Majesty King George V Government remembered by the Arabs with anything resembling affection” I would say with a certain generation of Arabs prior to 1970. In today’s world she has entered the world of mythical figures of a long gone era.

If you are interested her books and books on her life can be found easily on Amazon. Gertrude Bell committed suicide in 1926 by overdose of sleeping pills and is buried in the Anglican Cemetery in Baghdad.

 

 

 

David Roberts, R.A.

Tags

culture, Egypt, history, Jordan, paintings, Roberts, UK

Back in 1989 in Cairo, Egypt, I started to collect David Roberts work. At the time I did not know much about Roberts and I liked what I saw because it was an historical recollection of what Egypt was like as an old Kingdom then under Ottoman rule and as seen by tourists on the Grand Tour.

David Roberts was a Scottish painter, born in Stockbridge which is part of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1796 and died in London in 1864.  Stockbridge is an elegant neighbourhood filled with Georgian and Victorian terraced houses.

Roberts is especially known for The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia, a prolific series of detailed lithograph prints of Egypt and the Near East that he produced from sketches he made during long sojourn in the region.

Roberts was a member of the Royal Academy.

Apprenticed for seven years to be a house painter and decorator. During this time he studied art in the evenings. After his apprenticeship was complete, Roberts’s first paid job came in the summer of 1815, when he moved to Perth to serve as foreman for the redecoration of Scone Palace, where Scottish Kings were crowned until 1296.

His next job was to paint scenery for James Bannister’s circus on North College Street. This was the beginning of his career as a painter and designer of stage scenery.

In 1822 the Coburg Theatre, now the Old Vic in London, offered Roberts a job as a scenic designer and stage painter. He sailed from Leith with his wife Margaret and their six-month-old daughter Christine and settled in London. After working for a while at the Coburg Theatre, Roberts moved to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to create dioramas and panoramas.

While he built his reputation as a fine artist, Roberts’s stage work had also been commercially successful. Commissions from Covent garden for opera stage sets came regularly.

The painter J.M. William Turner persuaded Roberts to abandon scene painting and devote himself to becoming a full-time artist. Roberts set sail for Egypt on 31 August 1838. His intent was to produce drawings that he could later use as the basis for the paintings and lithographs to sell to the public. Egypt was much in vogue at this time, and travellers, collectors and lovers of antiquities were keen to buy works inspired by the East or depicting the great monuments of ancient Egypt.

Roberts made a long tour in Egypt, Nubia, the Sinai, the Holy Land, Jordan and Lebanon. Throughout, he produced a vast collection of drawings and watercolour sketches.

Muhammad Ali Pasha received Roberts in Alexandria on 16 May 1839, shortly before his return to the UK.

The scenery and monuments of Egypt and Holy Land were fashionable but had hitherto been hardly touched by British artists, and so Roberts quickly accumulated 400 subscription commitments, with Queen Victoria being subscriber No. 1. Her complete set is still in the Royal Collection. The timing of publication just before photographs of the sites became available proved fortuitous.

I bought my first Roberts in an old shop just off Tahrir Square in Cairo and near J. Groppi pastry shop on Talat Harb Sq.. The first one, Plate 238 entitled Cairo from the Gate of the Citizenib, looking towards the desert of Suez. Published in London 1 Dec 1856 by Day & Son, 17 Gate Street, London. I did learn that Roberts did give some fancy names to sites when he was not sure what the actual name was as in this case it is the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque and gate. Also because he belonged to the Orientalist school of painters, romanticize views to make them more attractive to his European viewers and clients. Many of his paintings and lithographs were made as advertisement to promote the Grand Tour to wealthy people who could travel in style for 3 months to a year. The London Illustrated News used a lot of his work to promote areas of the British Empire one could safely visit.

When I was posted to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan I started to look for lithographs of the Holy Land to add to my collection. One is entitled Jerusalem, from the Mount of Olives. By today’s standard it would be difficult to see this view given that old Jerusalem is surrounded not by modern suburbs.

From Jordan, I have views of Petra and of the roman city of Jerash. In all 10 lithographs. It is interesting to see them and examine them, so you get a view of the world some 180 years ago and how it appeared to people like Roberts.

Happy Birthday!

Tags

Birthday, Canada., Denmark, Germany, Greece, Prince Philip, Royal Family, UK

June 10, 2020.

Today HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh celebrates his 99 Birthday.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in the villa Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, itself a branch of the House of Oldenburg, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from King George I of Greece and King Christian IX of Denmark and he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones;  Philip’s four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised in the Greek Orthodox rite at St George’s Church in Corfu.

The Greek-Turkish War 1919-1922 went badly for Greece, and the Turks made large gains. On 22 September 1922, Philip’s uncle, King Constantine I, was forced to abdicate and the new Greek military government arrested Prince Andrew, along with others. His family were banished from Greece, the British naval vessel HMS Calypso evacuated Prince Andrew’s family, with Philip carried to safety in a cot made from a fruit box. Philip’s family went to France.

Because Philip left Greece as a baby, he does not speak Greek. In 1992, he said that he “could understand a certain amount”. Philip has stated that he thought of himself as Danish, and his family spoke English, French, and German.

In 1928, he was sent to the United Kingdom to attend school living with his maternal grandmother, Victoria Mountbatten, Dowager Marchioness of Milford-Haven, at Kensington Palace. In the next three years, his four sisters married German princes and moved to Germany, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed in an asylum, and his father took up residence in Monte Carlo with his new mistress. Philip had little contact with his mother for the remainder of his childhood. It was his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten who became his tutor. In March 1947, Philip had abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, had adopted the surname Mountbatten and became a British subject.

The day before the wedding, King George VI bestowed the style of Royal Highness on Philip and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Consequently, being already a Knight of the Garter, between 19 and 20 November 1947. He married Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and on her accession to the Throne in 1952 the now Queen Elizabeth announced that the Duke was to have “place, pre-eminence and precedence” next to her “on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament”.

Philip was not crowned in the Coronation service, but knelt before Elizabeth, with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her “liege man of life and limb”. On 22 February 1957, she granted her husband the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom, and it was gazetted that he was to be known as “His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh”. Philip was appointed to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada on 14 October 1957, taking his Oath of Allegiance before the Queen in person at her Canadian residence, Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

HRH Prince Philip,  his Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment

Official 99th Birthday portrait taken this week at Windsor Castle.

Coat of Arms of HRH Prince Philip

Un po’ di musica

Tags

Arts, composer, culture, Germany, Prussia, UK

When things look dark, I look to the age of the Baroque (1600-1750) and I think of Georg Frideric Handel (1685- 1759) born in Halle, Brandenburg. He worked for the Prince Elector of Hanover who would later become George I of England. In England he worked for the Duke of Chandos and Queen Anne. On the accession of  George I, his old patron re-hired him. His career as Court composer continued with George II & Queen Caroline. He lived at the same time as Frederic II the Great (1712-1786) in the Age of Enlightenment. It was a golden age for the Arts, Music, decorative and architectural style, an age of Princes who promoted their Court by encouraging artists and musicians. Handel was one of many popular, talented and well known musician of the time, Princes invited him to come and work for them.

Artist: Jan Peerce, tenor (with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Hans Schwieger) Title: “Love Sounds the Alarm” from Handel’s “Acis and Galatea” (HWV 49) Album: “Jan Peerce sings Handel Arias” Label: Westminster Cat No: WTC 163 Release Year: 1962

Today Sunshine

Tags

Barbican, Eastend, London, Museum of London, Spitalfield, UK

Well yes today we had glorious sunshine at 6C but it was brilliant and despite the wind, very nice. I went for a walk along mostly deserted streets and if I encounter someone, we both were good about keeping a wide distance as required by Health PEI. The snow and ice is mostly gone now, it’s Spring but with no one around to enjoy it.

Listened to the Queen’s message today to the people of Canada, the UK and the Commonwealth. Four minutes long, calm and reassuring, asking that we all practice self-discipline, good fellowship and show resolve. Good days will return, she said. Observe the guidance given to you by the Health Authorities. Here in PEI we have been very lucky with 22 cases and 6 now recovered and no deaths. I really believe our Provincial Government has done a lot immediately and our Premier is following to the letter recommendations of our Chief Medical Officer.  Our Prime Minister and the Government of Canada is doing their utmost to offer economic support to Canadians.

Talking of observing the guidance of our Health Authorities I was just reading an article on the Mausoleum of the Museum of London at the Barbican. If you have ever been to the Barbican you will see this big rotunda from the outside but it is not clear what it is and for most people it draws a blank. I follow a blog which is devoted to London’s East end and Spitalfield. The author is a wealth of knowledge on the area and all the intricacies of one of the oldest neighbourhoods of London going back to Roman times.

Many years ago one of the largest cemeteries in London was Spitalfield, the word Hospital was deformed to Spital, there was St-Mary’s Spital in the area and also a large market. It is or was I should say, a poor area of the city and full of immigrants from Eastern Europe and elsewhere. It was also a beehive of commercial activities, in the last 40 years as the markets moved the area has become gentrified and changed a lot.  The cemetery of Spitalfield was in use since the 11th century, so when it was moved for re-development all the dead moved to the Barbican and the remains were turned over to archeologists, medical forensic experts and historians. Thousands of remains are neatly classified and documented in boxes in the rotunda (mausoleum) of the Museum of London at the Barbican.

What was discovered was that humans use to be a lot tougher to kill than we are today. If you survived the first 5 years of life you had it made. Many children in the Middle-Ages had tuberculosis but most survived, people suffered horrible injuries and survived, life was brutal and short but the lack of hygiene toughened people up with all kinds of immunities. You just made due and got on with life, the tolerance to pain was also much higher than it is today. It looks like our manic cleanliness habit has made us vulnerable. It is said that people today whose ancestors survived the plague centuries ago have developed in their genetic profile more resistance to some form of cancers and HIV infections. This part of the Museum of London is not open to the public only researchers have access to the dead who now rest there. Strangely enough, the curator confided that from time to time workmen come into the area to do repair or maintenance and many are unnerved to be surrounded by thousands of dead people. If you are interested in this blog, I highly recommend it, a part of London we do not think about when visiting.

LINK:  https://spitalfieldslife.com

 

 

 

 

A reply from JP

Tags

Guido, JP, LGBT, life, London, Southwark, UK

Yesterday I wrote that JP’s blog had disappeared and was wondering what had happened. I am not the only one who was wondering. Tonight after dinner I looked at my blog and saw of all things, a comment from JP. Very kind of him to have left a comment and much appreciated. Here it is for all of you to read.

itsmyhusbandandme

2 hoursitsmyhusbandandme.wordpress.com

Dear Larry

I also saw Steven on Blogger posted a blog about my blog’s “demise”. I really do hope you’ll direct him, and those other people on other blog platforms who left such lovely comments, over here to your blog. I tried to leave a message on his site but couldn’t. I don’t think WordPress and blogger will cross over in that way.

Let me explain.

I started my blog in 2015. I haven’t written about this before but at the time I started blogging, my husband Guido had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. I wrote as a weird form of creative escape. Not from my husband, but the circumstances we found ourselves in. It made me SO angry! But it also gave me a lot of energy. I read a lot. I wrote a lot. And, I discovered all these amazing people writing such terrific blogs. Yours, the lovely Will, and many more over the years.

On my blog I opened the door to our lives so that everyone could read about love, chaos, gay life, recipes, and our own type of madness. I wanted others to come to a blog where nothing horrible happened. It would be fun, a laugh – an escape, just as it had been for me writing it.

5 years on? Guido is stable. Not cured, but stable. My interior design business has taken off. We have 2 restaurants. Busy awkward and difficult lives. And rather than blog numbers going up – they went down. But… As a result of my blog I’ve started writing for a magazine. We move on. As we all do. Who knows what will happen in the future.

A few days ago I tried to archive my blog but accidentally hit the delete button! Thankfully I still have my writing as a personal record but it’s gone from on line. I’m sorry about that. But, perhaps it was meant to be? In a clogged up blogshere it makes a space for others to write about their lives.

Steven said that reading my blog gave him hope that he too might one day meet a wonderful man and fall in love. Goodness. What a wonderful epitaph Itsmyhusbandandme.wordpress.com will be when that happens. Not if but when!

I give a special shout out to Anne Marie. My online sister. I love your passion.

Larry – good luck and love to you and Will. Keep blogging.

JP x

 

City changes

Tags

humanity, life, London, photos, Travel, UK, urban

This photo taken in London just recently shows how the city is changing in terms of its architecture and urban design. The photo shows a cluster of tall modern towers next to the ancient Tower of London, it is utterly strange to me and not an image shown in tourism promotion. If those modern towers had been built across the river I would have said ok there is distance and perspective but in this case, no I do not like it at all.