The Queen’s Visit to Ireland
It is being reported that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will visit Ireland in the near future.
It would seem that they are looking forward to the visit, as are most of the Irish people. The report in the Irish Independent contains this.
The Queen will be accompanied by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and it is reported that privately both are keenly looking forward to their visit.
It must seem strange to them that the organisation of such a visit has taken so long, but relations between the two countries can be ultra-sensitive with neither side wanting to put the other in an awkward position.
Now that the Queen has accepted an invitation from President McAleese, all the formalities have been completed and history can be made. Predictably, not everyone will welcome the Queen’s presence and this tiny minority will no doubt try to detract from the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere surrounding the event.
But most Irish people have already made up their mind — this visit is welcome and shows how the relationship between the two countries has matured and deepened in recent years, particularly since the end of the Northern troubles.
The visit also occurs at a difficult time economically for both countries and Britain was among a group of European countries that contributed funds towards Ireland’s €85bn rescue package agreed in November.
That act of generosity, while motivated in part by economic self- interest, bonded the countries closer together and showed that Britain regards Ireland as an old friend, rather than an old foe.
It is perhaps not strange, that the Queen has not visited Ireland before. But there are only two other significant countries she has not visited; Israel and Greece. Israel I can understand, but Greece!
What Does Her Majesty Think?
The King’s Speech has done well at the Oscars, winning four awards for best picture, best actor, best director and best screenplay.
The Queen has been known to have found the film moving.
We will probably never know what she feels officially, but these recently released pictures, show how close she was to her father.
The Day I Stood on the Queen
Putting up the story of the Queen’s Award Reception yesterday, reminds me of one of my other royal stories.
One Saturday, C and I were at a loose end, so we took the Cessna 340, Delta-Delta, and flew into Newbury racecourse. It had an airstrip in those days in the centre of the course.
I,m not sure if we had a runner, but it may have been the day that Vague Shot ran in the Newbury Spring Cup, with the great, Steve Cauthen, in the saddle. When they assess the history of British racing at the end of this century and they rate the great jockeys, it will not be Lester Piggott, Frankie Dettori or Fred Archer, who will be rated the greatest, but the quiet impeccable American from Kentucky, Steve Cauthen. On the track, few could ever match his skills and especially his judgement of pace. Vague Shot’s victory under top weight in the Royal Hunt Cup in very heavy going, could never have been achieved by any other jockey. It was just one of many where he was totally at one with the horse in an impossible situation. He did the same at Nottingham on a horse of ours called Golden Panda, that was named after a Chinese restaurant, which he coaxed home on the 8th of August 1988, which was a day the bookies regretted, as every Chinese restaurant in Suffolk helped themselves to odds of 12-1.
But it is Steve’s personality that made him the greatest. To him every owner and horse was a friend to be treated the same. If you were the local greengrocer with a horse in a selling plate, you got the same treatment as the Queen would have in a Group race. One of my memories of Steve was of him at Haydock Park, between rides, where he spent perhaps twenty minutes talking to a young man in a wheelchair by the entrance to the weighing room. How many sportsmen would do that?
But to return to that day at Newbury and the Queen. We were in the paddock with the trainer of Vague Shot, Clive Brittain, waiting to put the jockey up on one of his runners. A horse in front of us, decided to rear up and as one does, C and I took a few steps back. However, at the same time another horse spooked at something and did the same thing, with those in between taking avoiding action.
I ended up stepping on the Queen. When I realised what I had done, I apologised profusely.
She just gave a knowing smile, put a finger to her mouth and walked to a safer place.
The Day I Met the Queen
Turning out and weeding the files is mainly a depressing occupation. But then occasionally, you come across a little gem. I thought I’d lost this card, which was the invitation from the Palace to attend a Queen’s Award Reception.
Invitation to a Reception
Let’s say it was one of the best parties, I’ve ever been to!
The setting was msgnificent, the staff were attentive and welcoming and all in all you couldn’t have wanted for anything.
Three of us went, myself, Richard and John.
We met the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and actually talked for quite a time with the Duke of Kent. It was also one of the first receptions, that Diana Spencer attended and most of the guests seemed to spend their time trying to talk to her. It wasn’t the most edifying of spectacles and we just enjoyed the setting, the food and the wine. But not too much, as would you believe some captains of industry, did over indulge on the hospitality.
Metier won two Queen’s Awards, but you won’t find them on the Internet. If I have one secret ambition it would be to win one for technology, but I’m a bit long in the tooth and too much of a wreck now!
But then everybody who has had a stroke should look to Louis Pasteur, who did some of his best work many years after he had had several.
Queen’s Message to Murray
Trust good old Liz to do the right thing.
And she used a proper letter too! But we all know that she does text too!
The Anonymous Widower 