sightings of the queen!

We got word that the Queen would be in town yesterday to celebrate the 800th Anniversary of Cambridge University, and I really wanted to see her! I searched online and asked around and there was nearly no information to be had about what would be happening or when (I think by design). I just knew she was to have lunch at Kings College.

After knitting group and lunch I quickly made my way into town to see what was going on. There were fences set up along Kings Parade and I saw her car parked in front of Kings College - with a crowd in front of it. I hurried over and asked a Policeman what would be happening. He said she would be coming out in about an hour, walking to her car, and driving the block down to The Senate House where she would get out and give a speech to a private party. The crowd was already 5-7 people deep right in front of her car but I had a spot to the side RIGHT against the fence, so I decided it would be worth it to just wait it out. I called Brandon and Jill to let everyone know what was going on, and then I waited...and waited.

I was so glad I did because the crowd filled in quickly behind me, and a few people were pressing in and trying to steal my spot. Jill met up with me and we met a nice American girl from California and a woman from Spain, and also saw a few of our friends go by while we waited.

Then at about 2:45 out she came! I was kind of embarrassed about how excited I was. It was so cool to see the Queen of England in real life! She was so little and cute wearing her bright peach coat and hat with feathers! I snapped tons of pictures but also made sure to take in the action with my own eyes. She drove one block, stopped and got out again.

As we (Brandon and I, Peter and Jill) were standing there chattering with excitement about how we had just seen the Queen, Jill noticed that someone in a wheel chair was coming out of the door to Kings College and wondered if it was Stephen Hawking. The crowd had mostly dispersed and no one else was looking over at him so we thought it must not be. We mentioned that it didnt really look like him and not everyone in a wheel chair was Stephen Hawking. But then they crossed the street and went RIGHT past us on the sidewalk, and we saw that it definitely WAS him! We noticed one of the women we know from the Visiting Scholars group CHASING him down the street! That was our final confirmation.

As the guys headed to a used book shop, Jill and I decided to walk down and see if we could peek into the tents the Queen was now in. I remembered passing a gate in an alley that morning where I could see in from the back, so we went over. There was a policeman standing guard who was very nice and we talked to him for a bit. He said he didn't know if she would be passing that way again. A University Constable who was inside the gate wearing a top hat and black cape with gold clasps came over and talked to us. He talked a ton and told us about being a Constable, how the University works, and many other things. As we were chatting away Jills suddenly yelled "ANDREA ANDREA!!!" I looked over and there walking right by were the Queen and the Duke with his robes being carried behind him! They performed a ceremony where with some University Mail Service bikers, and then went into the tent. We continued to chat and try to see glimpses of the ceremony inside the tent for quite a while. Then the policeman told us she would be getting back into her car and leaving so we decided we might as well run around the front and see her off!

The crowd was enormous and we could barely see her, so after she got into her car we RAN down the sidewalk CHASING her slow-moving car and got in close again for some final photos and farewells. It was a very exciting day!

remember remember the fifth of november

November 5th was Guy Fawkes Night a national bonfire and fireworks celebration in England. It's a very strange holiday in which they celebrate something that didn't happen. Guy Fawkes and other Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the mostly Protestant House of Parliament to kill the Protestant King and Aristocracy (Protestant and Catholic) in 1605 by planting gunpowder in the cellars. The plot was discovered by an anonymous letter and they were all arrested. Guy Fawkes was hanged, drawn and quartered, and displayed in London.
They remember with this rhyme:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I see no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

The event is still celebrated to this day by burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes on the bonfire (creepy). These effigies were called "Guys" and that is where our word "guy" meaning "man" originated.

I don't understand why of all the things that occurred in Britain's history they choose to celebrate this non-event, but the fireworks were really good (they had a few new variations on the "sizzling" fireworks which are my favorite!) The bonfire was huge (over 20 feet?), and it was a good time.

a day at the sea.

Last weekend we took a trip to the sea! Prof. D'Andrea had business in Switzerland so we had a long weekend and Peter and Jill proposed a trip to the sea, while it was still warm enough to enjoy the fact that we live on an ISLAND! We decided to do a day trip to save money and so Brandon could still get his studies done. After a long search of good locations on the railway we decided to rent a car instead because it was cheaper and we could reach the quaint little villages where the train doesn't take you.

We headed up to Norfolk to the villages of Cromer, Sheringham and Weybourne on the North Sea. The drive was beautiful especially with all the changing autumn leaves. It was strange to be driving on the left side but we only had to remind Peter twice that we should be there and not on the right side. :) We arrived in Cromer and squeezed our way through the narrow streets until we found a parking place. We walked through town stopping at an old bookshop and at a bakery to get lunch. We took our sandwiches down to the beach and enjoyed them while admiring the view! It was just how I had thought it would be at the coast, but even a little chillier than I had imagined. After taking a nice long relaxing stroll along the sandy beach we headed back to the car to warm up and drive on to the next town.

As we drove we saw little white houses covering a distant hill and thought they looked like the buildings in Greece. When we got closer we realized that it was an enormous trailer park! I guess they have those here too, and these people have prime real estate. We passed through Sheringham and on to Weybourne where we found a secluded beach area with beautiful clay cliffs. This beach was made up of small smooth rocks like the north shore of Lake Superior. The waves made an amazing sound as they flowed through the rock (watch a video of it here). Many of the rocks on the beach were chalk, so I took some home to use on our chalk boards. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring and relaxing.

When it got dark we drove back to Sheringham and had dinner at a pub that had a really cheap meal deal (buy one meal get the second for a pound!) Peter really wanted to build a bonfire on the beach after dinner, but we had no firewood and didn't know where to / didn't want to buy it. We decided that if we could find some firewood just by driving around we would have the fire, otherwise we would just head home. So we drove around through the dark English countryside looking for wooded areas. We finally found an area of trees and Peter pulled over into a dark long windy driveway (as there were no shoulders on the roads there.) He used the tiny flashlight on his cell phone to search through the woods for sticks, ducking or pretending to be looking at a map when other cars would drive by. He accumulated enough wood fairly quickly, and we drove back and he built a fire on the beach! It was such a fun day!