Friday morning rain.......!

Here we are, at the  beginning of the last day of the week, and we're looking forward to a family weekend.  We're meeing up for a get-together reunion for my son and daughter-in-law, back home  for a  family holiday visit to England from their home in Australia, and it's lovely to have them with us for a brief time.   We've been planning our  bbq  for the last few months,  hoping the weather would be kind to us, and looking forward to the occasion.

I've bought a new bbq;we have a lovely garden setting for our gathering, and the family are coming, all bringing a variety of delicious  contributions to our feast, and we will have a super time, one way or the other.

Today, of course, we're busy tidying up, hoovering the house and removing the cobwebbs, so the rain won't  be too much of a nuisance.  We're hoping today is the dress-rehearsal for our weekend, and  that  tomorrow, everything, including the weather, will be fine?

Let's hope so, for everybody?

Happy weekend everybody and enjoy whatever it is you are planning to do, no matter what weather befalls you!!!

Daisy

No new name for the "Big Ben"

No new namde for "Big Ben" or rather its clock tower, or even for St. James's Park, which was a suggestion made over the weekend.  These famous landmarks are household names, nationally and internationally known iconic features of London, and much loved by countryman and tourist alike.

It would be seemingly tantamount to changing the very name and nature of ourselves and our great British isles to indulge such proposals.  Apparently, such proposals are indeed being considered.

We should, of course, give name to a memorial to mark the 60-year reign of our Monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll.  It would be both fitting and right, to express our respect and admiration for Her Majesty, on Her Diamond Jubilee. 

The creation of a lasting and appropriate tribute to Her long reign would be a splendid act of thanks for Her continuing presence in the life of our nation, and the life of the peoples of The Commonwealth.

For such a memorial, surely no renaming of a present and established iconic landmark is of sufficient value to glorify the enduring and unwavering life of duty, Her Majesty, has given?

And is it not possible, even in these economically difficult times, to give Her Majesty a new token of our esteem and gratitude?

Daisy

Sunday recall...!

After the deluge, Daisy dried off the dogs and changed into a new set of clothing.  The family gathered for coffee and to  enjoy Daisy's filo pastry quiches and salad lunch, by which time she was much warmer.

The sun shone brilliantly for a garden tea time and by supper time Daisy was boiling hot from cooking supper and doing paperwork.

A busy family day for everybody which Daisy loved.

Daisy xxx

Walking the dogs.....

First quick dog walk of the day and caught out by sudden and ferocious deluge.  Dogs and me soaked to the skin...totally drenched!!

Rain ceased.

Clouds disappeared..sun shone brilliantly from a bright blue, albeit cloudy sky, and the dogs dashed about like mad things, exultant in the glory of being free.

Still dripping wet, walked home to towel dry the dogs and me...well, hot tea and toast and dry clothes.

Daisy

Daisy on Rubbish

"Why, oh why cannot people pick up their litter and take it  home with  them?" Daisy needs to know, please?

She is just home from walking the dogs and has to say she spent  about 15 minutes picking up the scattered remains of somebody's late evening picnic.

Now, don't we all just love to picnic,  on a late warm summer evening, under a heavenly starry sky above; so, why not take your rubbish home with you when you've finished eating, so your lovely chosen  area is ready for your next picnic??

There are always rubbish bins about somewhere, if you look, just in case you cannot bear to take the empty boxes, cartons and bottles back home, so what is the problem of clearing up after yourself???

We live in a beautiful world - let's keep it that way!

Best regards,

Daisy

Daisy calling...is any one out there???

Daisy made a typo in her last blog - oh the shame.  She sends her apologies to all readers.

Up to London for the weekend to welcome home son and daughter-in-law from Australia, for a family visit, and a little time to scan the newspapers for interesting articles to write about.  And something Daisy only saw this morning, was the article about the book tracing the USA's First Lady's ancestry back to the 1850's.  It's such a basic need to know about one's ancestry and to discover who your forebears were.  Then to take it further, adding flesh to the bones of basic date and place information, and hopefully tracing their progression through the following years.  It is just so compelling and utterly absorbing and time-consuming.  But what a gift to pass on to your children and give to them the riches of family knowledge and understanding.

Daisy just loves the thrills of discovery - the connections out there wanting to be made.

It's Royal Ascot's Opening Day today and fingers tightly crossed for good weather.  As she writes this blog, the morning sun is shining brightly thru' Daisy's window so perhaps the day's weather will be kind to race-goers today.  Daisy certainly hopes so.  It's many years since she last 'did' Royal Ascot and back then they certainly were not handing out alternative hats or fascinators at point  of entry gates, as apparently they are proposing to do this year.  Certainly Royal Ascot is a very special occasion and demanding of a particular formality;  definitely an outing to be remembered and noted.  Daisy was very pleased to read that Pashminas are to be given to those who arrive without the necessary shoulder coverage, and feels this will me much appreciated.  Of course, should the day become cold and windy, pashminas will be doubly welcome, for it can be a very chilly experience, promenading the turf and cheering on one's favourite runner.  But such fun, hey?

And our favourite Royal, after HM The Queen, of course, The Duchess of Cambridge, looking gorgeous in the countryside, on Sunday, at a charity polo match and after an official engagement campfire meeting with some lucky inner-city children.  Daisy very much appreciates the repeated use of wardrobe favourites by the Duchess, which is a most welcome feature for these present times.


Happy days ~ Daisy

Wow, that's a whole weeek gone!!

We're all very pleased to learn HRH Prince Philip has left hospital, yesterday, and today he celebrated his 91 birthday.

Happy Birthday wishes to the Duke of Edinburgh and welcome home, Sir.

Daisy regrets very much that she missed the home going but jolly glad it has come about. 

Well the papers are still full of pictures and details of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and I'm still keeping copies of same for my baby grandsons, along with the Jubilee mugs.

And the week has simply flown by for Daisy, who has been very much into her family research; she finds it's very easy to lose herself  within the data and details.

But it's just so tremendously exciting to track down a previously unknown  ancester, to find  out exactly where they lived and then read about what work they were engaged in.

Ooooh, I almost forgot to mention but.....did I hear that someone is going to receive an award for organising the Diamond Jubilee Concert?

Wasn't the technology amazing, turning the facade of Buckingham Palace into a look-a-like block of flats..  And Madness - they were just great!!

Happy days indeed

Daisy

Prince William at 30

Daisy has to say she thought this was a terrific presentation of a smashing young chap of whom we can be very proud.

What a super Prince!

Daisy has finished reading Mr. Andrew Marr's book - The Diamond Queen - which she has very much enjoyed.  It's a great read.  If you haven't already done so, do go out and buy it at your earliest possible convenience.  You too, will find it's a great read.

Daisy is going to read it again, very soon.

Daisy is keeping copies of favourite newspapers with coverage of the Diamond Jubilee  celebrations for
her your grandchildren, as momentoes of the occasion, plus Diamond Jubilee mugs.

"You just have to, don't you!" thinks Daisy.

Goodbye, for now,

Daisy.

Daisy would just like to say..............

Thank you Ma'am for your 60 year's of dedicated and selfless duty as our Queen and Monarch.  Your life has been a presence in my whole life and I should like to thank you personally for all you have done for your people, here in the United Kingdom, and for the peoples of the Commonwealth.

Daisy
7th June 2012

Did you see our Royal Jubilee Celebrations?

We watched the live broadcast of our National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral yesterday and very much enjoyed the occasion.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll, attended by the Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and other members of the Royal Family, took part in the service conducted by the Dean of St. Paul's, The Very Reverend Dr. David Ison.  Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the Thanksgiving Sermon.

Her Majesty's arrival at St. Paul's Cathedral was heralded by a glorious fanfare and the service was an emotionally charged combination of words and music of praise for the 60 year's reign of our Monarch Queen Elizabeth ll. 

We missed the presence of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh still at King Edward Vll Hospital with a bladder infection.  We wish him a speedy recovery.

Her Majesty attended a Reception at the Mansion House and then had lunch at Westminster Hall with 700 guests.

Her Majesty returned to Buckingham Palace in the 1902 State Landau with The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall for a balcony appearance  and to watch the RAF Flypast of historic planes and a display by The Red Arrows.

Joyful and cheering crowds greeted Her Majesty as she stepped onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the end of four days of Jubilee festivities.


It was, quite simply, a most wonderful 4-day Diamond Jubilee Weekend of celebrations for all of us.  We hope Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth  also enjoyed the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of her Accession to the throne.   Long may she reign as our Monarch and Queen .


Daisy
6th June 2012

HRH Duke of Edinburgh

Daisy must record her sad regret for the necessary admittance of HRH Prince Philip to the  King Edward V11 Hospital in London, today, because of a bladder infection, and so missing the remaining celebrations for HM Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.

Daisy wishes Prince Philip a very speedy and complete recovery.

And Daisy would like to say how much she and her family enjoyed the Daimond Jubilee Thames River  Pageant yesterday.  The flotilla of little ships was a truly amazing sight and the Pageant a most glorious occasion.

We have watched the Diamond Jubilee Concert tonight and the lighting of  beacons around the country and at Buckingham Palace, and are now looking forward to tomorrow's Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral.

We have enjoyed our own local celebrations and festivities very much indeed and particularly the lunch at our street party today.

And we had no rain today, despite the rather cloudy skies above our heads, which was very much appreciated by all of us.

Daisy

I've been meaning to say.....

At last Daisy has bought a copy of Mr. Andrew Marr's book The Diamond Queen and she thinks it is absolutely brilliant.

It is the paperback version and Daisy is somewhat regretful about waiting for this very inexpensive edition to be produced, but there are so many books she wanted to read, and well.......Daisy does try to keep about three books running at the same time so Mr. Marr's book simply had to wait its turn!

However, she is now simply whizzing through The Diamond Queen and absolutely loving it for it is extreemely informative, readable and very interesting.

Thank you very much for your book, Mr. Marr, and Daisy is utterly certain The Diamond Queen will be on the best seller's list for a very long time.

Daisy was out today taking photographs of some local Jubilee weekend events and hopefully some will appear soon on these pages.

Enjoy your Jubilee weekend - everywhere.

Daisy xxx

So..where were you when............?

Hi there, Daisy calling and do you remember that I asked all of you to remember just exactly where you were when HM The Queen was crowned on 2nd June 1952...so, I know what I was doing, but do you????

Ok! Well I was taking part in a pageant, and we were all dressed up as Kings and Queens and Princes or as a personality from a film etc.

I wore a huge straw hat decorated with red, white and blue ribbons and flowers, and wearing a flounced dress, and probably representing a flower or flower child.  Another little girl, of whom I think at first I told you it was me, well it wasn't; but some tiny little girl dressed in red feathers and a hula hula skirt.  She looked very good.

Then another girl, looking absolutely splendid in a most marvellous crown and gown, as a Queen, and another slim girl with the prettiest of white muffs.

And then there were clowns and pirates,  a monkey and Old Father Time.  Little Red Riding Hood, a Beefeater and three small soldier boys.  And  a Wizard and a Fairy.

I imagine we all had a marvellous time but I presume our mothers and grandmothers were pleased with their sewing and glad it was all done.

So do tell ...... where were you 60 years ago at the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth in 1952???

Pictures would be great and if not of you, of your parents or grandparents, their street parties and their bunting.