We don’t care, we’re not caught up in your love affair.
(The words of singer Lorde)
Spoiler Alert: This post has nothing to do with travel or food and pretty much nothing to do with homeschooling so if you’re out at this point, I’ll understand.
Well, I don’t know what happened but it’s been close to a month without a new blog post. Since coming back from the big road trip to the East Coast, I have been busy foraging and preserving. It is still peak season, but I am finally able to come up for air.
The apples I picked with a friend.
At one point, I had gathered so much free fruit that I was storing it on toboggans in my garage!
Concord grapes and Mirabelle plums on a crazy carpet
Also, we’re full swing into homeschooling activities. We thoroughly enjoyed the Annual Not Back To School Picnic which takes place on the beach on the first day of school. Hundreds of homeschoolers came together to enjoy swimming, laughter and cake.
Yes, I’ve been busy but being busy has never stopped me from blogging before. For once, I just didn’t have anything to say. I guess miracles do actually happen :-) Then this morning, I woke up and blop, a fully formed blog post was in my head. The topic is a bizarre one, I’ll grant you that but when the Sandman plants a complete essay in your head, you go with it:
No matter where your sit on the monarchy spectrum, there are things to admire about the modern-day Royals. Not about The Royle Family – a wildly popular and absolutely hysterical British TV series from 15 years ago. We don’t admire those Manchester cretins. I’m talking about the House of Windsor. Quite fitting, seeing that Queen Elizabeth II just became the longest reigning British monarch.
Trust and Faith: Members of the royal family have to have confidence in their staff. When they are on official business or travelling, they have to trust their staff with their lives. When I travel and my spidey senses tell me something is fishy, I remove myself from the situation pronto. But when that happens to Prince Charles, he just has to Keep Calm and Carry On.
View from top of Harlech Castle, Wales
Self-Confidence: Diana was the darling of the media and the public, until they turned on her and started publishing pictures of the cellulite on her thighs. How hard it must be to have millions of people actively working to bring your mood down. It’s only a matter of time before William and Kate will have to thicken their skins.
Grace: There are complicated etiquette rules to follow when meeting royals. However, many people never got the memo so royals may be faced with all kinds of behaviour they find startling or off-putting. They also may be given ridiculous gifts or foods they don’t care for. In these situations, they don’t make a stink, they graciously put everyone at ease.
Self-Restraint: The modern royals can eat and drink whatever they want and they don’t have to lift a finger if they don’t want to. But they don’t live that way. They keep themselves trim and fit and that must be difficult when you are so rich and powerful you could just sit around in your underwear eating blocks of cheese like George Costanza. The Queen is almost 90 and she is still riding horses for Pete’s sake. If we think it’s difficult to eat well and exercise, how much harder it must be for them.
Friendship: Will and Kate appear to have close friends and to cherish family. Will grew up royal so that must have always been an issue and Kate now lives a completely different life from the one she grew up with. I find it impressive that with all that, they still seem to be successful friends and family members.
In summary, we’ll never be royals – phew!
A Royal Flush (sign inside charity shop washroom, Grand Manan, New Brunswick)
