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| courtesy Mail online We are told we are in a double dip recession, our friends in Europe are having a Euro crisis, and what do we Brits do, why? we spend millions and millions on the Olympics, and just for good measure a few more millions celebrating the Queen's 60th Jubilee, this all adds up to many billions. You could be forgiven for thinking that we British are a little crazy. I can say this, being British born and bred; although I do admit to some Huguenot blood in my veins from my maternal grandmother, whose surname was Jacques. The Queen's Jubilee Water Parade on the Thames will be a recreation of Canaletto's famous painting of the Lord Mayor's Parade in 1746. The Thames is half the width it was then and runs twice as fast, but there will still be over 1000 boats and flotillas in the parade. |
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Detail of Canaletto's painting showing St. Paul's Cathedral courtesy Mail online Before we start our Jubilee celebrations, however, there is just the little matter of the Olympic flame having now arrived on our shores from Athens. |
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via wikipedia |
It is steadily making it's way all around the country, and arrived with us today. People are joyously linning the roads, waving their flags and cheering the flame on it's journey.
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| The Town Crier |
The flame from Mount Olympus
I should not be so cynical - it was a really happy, jolly atmosphere, the sun was very hot, and you could see that it was a magic occasion for the children. They are really what it is all about.
As a postscript, I learn that Fred Goodwin, the shamed former Royal Bank of Scotland boss, is one of the names in a list of 60 individuals judged to have had most impact in Britain over the past 60 years. The criteria for selection stated that it should be made up of 'men and women, whose actions in the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on the life of these islands and/or given the age its character - for better or worse'. Worse being the operative word in his case. What an indictment, he lost his job and his knighthood, but he can now add this new accolade to his CV.
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