Tuesday 5 June 2012

Long to reign over us....



A story of dedication, devotion and determination.

She deserves many diamonds for all of that!



And what a wonderful Diamond Jubilee!

Not only were we reminded of those words and the glory of our monarchy

but we were also treated to a few history lessons on the way.






How touching is this photo?

I think it speaks volumes ; no words or captions are needed.

It simply says it all.

I do hope that Prince Phillip soon recovers. 

The Queen must have been devastated to not have him by her side for

the remainder of the events.






And then there was the River Thames pageant,

weaving its way through our country's capital city, London.

What a show!






1000 vessels and their crews braved the 'not so wonderful weather' to be part of history!

Well done to them all!







I loved the 'then and now' comparison... or the 'Canaletto moment'

as it has been named!





Yes, ok, so the concert had its highs and lows but it made for

good entertainment...well in my house, at least, as I had the added

entertainment of some rather amusing commentary!! ;-)








And then, today, the wonderful Service of Thanksgiving, in St Paul's Cathedral.







So many wise words were spoken during the service...

words which certainly made ME stop and think!




And talking of words...




Words from an 'unknown' lady who was in the crowd 


with her family, this weekend :



''I want my boys to know the joyful, yet humbling sensation
 of being a tiny, atom-like part of an epic historical occasion.
 I would like them to recognise how fortunate they are to have
 a non-political head of state who reigns, but does not rule. 
I want them to know there’s nothing wrong with cheering
 and waving flags and indulging in occasional
 bouts of rousing patriotism.''




The finale of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations

was the icing on the cake!






Out came the carriages !














A truly fabulous and memorable Jubilee, which has taken place in a truly

GREAT place to live.








But, do you know, the final words have to be those of a very young

Princess Elizabeth, when she came to the throne, in 1952:


 "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, 
shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great 
imperial family to which we all belong."


Selfless devotion.

And to that I say, 'Long Live the Queen!








See you in 2022!'

;-)



Monday 4 June 2012

Happy and Glorious! ;-)



On Saturday we paid a visit to the

 ' Crikey Queenie, it's Vintage' Fair, at the Thistle Hotel, Exeter.

My favourite display had to be Jenny's, of Otto Retro.

Not only are her displays and her shop so lovely

but so is Jenny herself. Plus, she has a real talent

in how to show off her vintage wares !




Then I searched out Josie Mary, whose lovely stall

very much promoted the Jubilee theme.

There's nothing like a vivid splash

of red, white and blue to make one feel patriotic

 and Josie's stall won my prize for that!





This next stall caught my eye...this time, red and yellow being beautifully coordinated.




There were Union flags everywhere, naturally.





And a variety of vintage styles met my eye as I strolled around.





The lovely Dee was there, from 'Dee's Vintage Delights' blog.




And...

 Crikey it's a Queenie...!




Reminders of  past memorabilia were dotted around.

They are so different from today's offerings, aren't they?




And then, that done, being very greedy for vintage

 we made our way down Fore Street, to Ottos




...where the jubilee flavour continued.












And that's not all!




One has to make an effort and thus on Sunday

a jolly jubilee buffet was on the menu!























.....along with that fabulous River Pageant!

Oh my goodness what a show!

I loved it all!







Long Live the Queen!

And here's to the next Jubilee! ;-)