...has been a bit difficult with a broken arm, so I have been doing only crucial reports, academic work, neccessary journalism etc. Hospital appt on Tuesday so things will be better after that.
Life v.v. busy - meetings re Ordinariate, also plans for Rome trip next week.
But there's also been a need to relax, so a happy day with young relatives in Surrey, and a lovely afternoon at the National Gallery w. a dear niece, where we decided to tackle the Impressionists so enjoyed Monet and Degas at length. Then Tea and talk as the London sky darkened beyond the Gallery windows. You get a rather dramatic view of Nelson's column from the cafe/restaurant basement as you look upwards. As we left, there were all sorts of activities arranged around Trafalgar Square to mark the Chinese New Year.
Some of the London pubs are beginning to put up listings for various celebrations for the Royal Wedding in April. But there is somehow a slightly wistful feel to the talk on this subject. Britain has such muddles about marriage and family life at the moment. Officialdom has for the past decade been urging that marriage should not be honoured above any other "relationship" and that the words "husband and wife" should be shunned in favour of "partner" etc etc etc... But we are now allowed to celebrate and honour the marriage of our future king. And with a Royal Wedding comes a hint of promise about the future: an assurance of continuity in Britain, of some sort of heritage that is not yet dead.
In the weird and bleak culture of today's West, our Monarchy holds out, wobbly but still present. Can it survive if the Christian culture of which it is a part is so much under attack?
1 comment:
Your wonderful description of Trafalgar Square brought back such happy memories for my sister and me. Our initial sight of Nelson's column was in July 1970 during our first trip to England. My sister was dating a young Englishman from Bath, who was proud that his ancestor had died while serving with Nelson's fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801. The young man's family told us about "a tribute to the captain somewhere in London" which they kept promising to investigate "someday." To their astonishment, AND OURS, we found their ancestor in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral! A kindly cathedral volunteer in his 80s steered us right to the captain. My amateur detective days are long gone, thanks to 66-year old arthritic knees, but the improbable episode from 1970 still makes me laugh. Thanks for the memory. Sheila A. Waters, Bronxville NY
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