Royal wedding: my viewing point

Thanks for all the emails and cards I received from friends outside of the UK inquiring on my plans for attending the Royal Wedding.  You are a clever lot, and I have heard it all more than a few times (wink-wink):

*  My invitation to the wedding must have been lost in the mail; hence why the Budman and I watched the ceremony live on TV with 2 billion other global guests...happily ensconced from the sunny and warm haven of Provence.

*  Yes, my wedding hat must be gorgeous; in fact, I did not need a hat for the royal wedding (see bullet above).  I am happy report that my stash of hats has multiplied dramatically for other events since living in London.

*  No, I am not planning on camping out overnight on the Mall to stake my claim for a slab of concrete so I can view the wedding couple's carriage return from the Abbey.

*  Yes, I thought the "Duchess of Canterbury's" dress was lovely. 

*  Yes, I loved the John Rutter choral piece that was sung: my choral friends were particularly interested in knowing my reaction this since Rutter is personal favorite of mine.

*  No, not planning on serving tea, scones, or finger sandwiches while I am watching the royal wedding on TV. 

*  And finally, NO, I was not planning on buying any Royal Wedding souvenir paraphernalia, but then I spied a spoof t-shirt in Aix-en-Provence on the wedding day, and say, "sure, what the heck!"

Before you think I am a bit cold-hearted about the royal wedding fever in London, rest assured, I scrambled (from France) to set the Sky recorder via my IPhone minutes before coverage of the ceremony began.  Monday afternoon, I ensconced myself on the sofa for the full replay.

the whole Bin Laden thing

Watching the images of the Bin Laden event unfold this week, I must second the quote of another (and shared with me by Cyn).

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pretty much sums it up for me. Chapter closed.

A Week in Provence

It has been a place I have wanted to visit for years, especially after reading Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, but for some reason, the timing was never right (those 6 years in Asia kinda got in the way, too).  Finally, we are here in this divine place.

And can I say for the record, that this is in fact, the first vacation place I have visited that I could actually retire to?  I already hear the groans in "The Hachie" as I admit to this in writing.  Honestly, I think any concerns are unfounded at this juncture but one can dream. 

So, what have our first few days of glorious French Provencal vacationing been like?  Well,  still a little too much discipline to the work emails and the marathon training,  but a marked improvement to this time last week, I am happy to report.  To quote Jim K., "more play, less work".  Amen, brother!

Pictures and stories of the charming places we visited will follow, but let me be your senses for just a moment a provide a sampling of the first few morning runs I have experienced in Provence:

*  the rustle of tree leaves in the wind on a cool spring morning
*  big puffy white clouds in a sky of baby blue, with the early morning rays of peaches and golden yellows peaking through the clouds
*  gurgling brooks that meander through farmlands...yes, brooks in fact do gurgle
*  the tinkle of bells around the necks of sheep being led by herders from one pasture to the next, and the occasional herding dogs barking their commands to wayward sheep
*  the smell of antique rose buses, wild wisteria, and acres and acres of blooming peonies...fragrant mornings beyond compare
*  and while we are on the subject of fragrant mornings beyond compare, the sweet little light brown donkeys (and their fragrant byproducts) who meander over to the fence as I run buy...those big brown eyes following me intently as I run up and down the farm road.  Somehow, I don't mind the smell....
*  the beautiful white Camarque horses that dot the landscape of every other farm, manes flowing in the wind
*  the mist on the the fields after a hard night's rain that rises gently skyward as the morning dawns  
* and my personal favorite....wild red poppies....bobbing their heads in the wind everywhere I turn, as if they know that red is my favorite color and they are personally greeting me to this corner of the world

I could go on and on but you'd just accuse me of making this up.  As I said in an earlier facebook post, I am living a Monet painting this week.

Dubai bound...

Work beckons...UAE calling.  Just as I was getting that seat assignment confirmed for the UAE flight, this came into my inbox:  UK man beaten in Dubai for swearing.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1376649/British-tourist-Lee-Bradley-Brown-beaten-death-Dubai-police-cell.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
 
Not that I intend to be a troublemaker  (after all, "troublemaker" has never been my middle name), but if there was any doubt, I will just watch my "p's and q's".
 
Thank you very much.

A Day Without Shoes

Please join millions of global citizens who will be participating in One Day Without Shoes - an opportunity to raise the awareness of others that are less fortunate both here and abroad. Thank you Blake Mycoskie/Tom's Shoes for spearheading the event.

http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/learn-more

I am actually doing this in London....It is so HARD!

the first of two comments on UK inefficiency....

Effective yesterday, the cost of a first class stamp in the UK rose 5 pence to £0.46, the single largest price increase ever on record. For you yanks, that is the equivalent of $0.74 for a single first class US stamp. 

Rationale for the price hike according to a Royal Mail Spokesperson: " With the sharp declines in mail volume - a 20% fall in five years - our revenues are falling. That means if we don't generate more income, we will simply not be able to keep funding our six-days-a-week collection, sorting, transport and delivery operation to the UK's 28 million homes and businesses. Royal Mail lost £16.3 million on stamped mail in the last financial year. This is equivalent to a 6.4p loss on average on every stamped item, which the price hikes should go towards covering."

Now a comment from the peanut gallery:  I have painfully witnessed first hand the inner workings of the Royal Mail operation - too many free standing post offices, lack of technology modernization (who hand peels stamps off a sheet and gives to customers - why am I even "licking stamps"), bureaucracy in the pick-up of mail and parcels (akin to the Abbott and Costello gag, "Who's on First" - no one ever seems to want to own up as to where I can pick up a package). 

I could go on, but I won't.  Suffice to say, I only foresee mail volumes continuing to drop with the increase use of online ecards and other technology.  Sure, there will always be a need for "snail mail", but as volumes decrease (as they inevitable will), will price hikes be the best way to address that. Doubt it...shouldn't Royal Mail be getting to the root problem?

Sorry, this change consultant just can't help herself sometimes.

Is it a sign I am too old?

One of the things that has always been on my bucket list is to attend an Olympics...somewhere...summer or winter....does not matter.  Now, for the first time in my life, the Summer 2012 Olympic Games are being held in London, right in my own backyard.

I should be thrilled right...to cross that milestone off the list?  All I can think of, however, is the onslaught of tourists, the tube congestion, and the exploding population over those 4-6 weeks period.  Is this a sign I am getting stodgy and set in my ways?  Shouldn't I be thrilled to partake in the spirit and camaraderie of the Olympics?

As the email notifications hit this week that it is time to state your preferences for tickets, I am vacillating on whether to even submit an entry because I don't the hassle factor x 10...I know, that is just plain sad.

Normally, I am a "glass half full" kinda of gal....

1000 post mark

Not sure I even considered that I would ever hit the 1000 posts on the Travels of a Texas Glas blog milestone...but I did.

Thanks for following.

Sic 'Em Bears

Those Baylor ladies are on a roll - next game is Tuesday evening, 8 pm CDT in Dallas against Texas A&M.  Can this NCAA number 2 ranked ladies basketball team reign victorious?  Hope so but the bigger question is whether I can find the game broadcast in London, which will be at approximately 2 AM London time...I am on the case, though.

March against cuts?

About 250,000 UK citizens decided to march in London last Saturday in protest against the cuts proposed by the UK government.  Organized by the TUC, a UK union,the event entitled "March for the Alternative" was billed as a family event whereby people could peacefully state their objections to a whole range of nationwide cuts that are only now starting to be felt across the country. 



The main point of view by protesters, as they peacefully marched through Westminster, past the Houses of Parliament and along Embankment, was intended to show ministers that many people no longer believe that budget cuts to education, jobs, pensions, health care, social programs, etc.are the cure for the UK's economic ills.

Now while I am all for the "power of the people" to demonstrate and raise their collective voices, there are inevitably the small minority of ruffians, hooligans, miscreants...you pick the term, that have to take the opportunity to create havoc for the sake of creating havoc.  Which is precisely what happened around Trafalgar Square for most of Saturday afternoon and evening.  Businesses were damaged, windows destroyed, fires lit, bottles thrown against police and general passers-by caught  in the wrong place at the wrong time....for no real apparent reason, except that "they could".



Nope...I was happy to pass and stay put west London.  Thank you very much.

Thought I'd missed it

Not that the world would come to an end, but for some reason I woke up with a start this morning thinking I had missed that "fabulous" event known as Eurovision.Whew....the dates are actually May 10-14th as opposed to last weekend (which I thought had been the case).  Who'd ever suspected this Texas gal would be an annual follower?

Sure, I'll be a homer this year and root for my host country, the UK.  Pretty safe bet, as they could finish no worse than they did last year....dead last out of 43 countries.

Earth Hour Blackout 2011

Not heard of it?  Listen up!

From London to Sydney, New York and Singapore, people across the world will be joining together on March 26th to switch off their lights for one hour. The initiative, which began in 2007 in Sydney and is sponsored by WWF, encourages homes, businesses and landmarks in more than 130 participating countries to switch off their lights at 8.30pm on Saturday.



It’s a reminder to us all that we only have one planet Earth and it’s an urgent message that we want to reduce the impact our energy system has on that planet. So, for all my friends and family members living around the globe, let me encourage you to pull out some candles on Saturday and switch off your lights, have a candlelight dinner party, or just eat out under the stars ....

For more information and to register as a participant in the event,

http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/about_earth_hour/aboutearthhour/

Happy Red Nose Day

First...Happy Red Nose Day to you all!

What the heck, you say? Red Nose Day is a celebrated day in the UK, usually every other year, on which the Comic Relief organisation encourages the public to engage in fundraising for charity. Comic Relief is a charity, founded in the United Kingdom in 1988 by the comedy scriptwriters Richard Curtis and Alexander Mendis in response to famine in Ehtiopia.

Local and national fundraising occurs the weeks leading up to the highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is in a biennial telethon. For you yanks, think Jerry Lewis' MDA Telethon and you get kinda close to the concept.

The charity states that its aim is to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, which we believe requires investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. 

One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every single donated pound (£) is spent on charitable projects. All operating costs, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors (BBC, Sainsbury's and British Telecom) are covered by corporate sponsors, or interest earned on money waiting to be distributed. In 2009, £80 Million pounds was raised.

The most prominent symbol of Comic Relief is a plastic/foam "red nose", which is given in various supermakrets and charity shops such as Oxfam in exchange for a donation to the charity and to make others laugh. People are encouraged to wear the noses on Red Nose Day to help raise awareness of the charity.

So, there you have it...and my friend Cyn led the pack on her fundraising through her bake sale activities...stylish red nose and t-shirt!

Bob's Big 80th

Yea, I am just a tad bit behind the posting of Q1 photos, but a quick review of January would not be  complete without a whirlwind 3 1/2 day trip back to Dallas for Bob's 80th B-day celebration.  A lovely weekend filled with family, friends, good memories and TWO great meals!



A special thanks to Amy for the Friday night Pappas celebratory event.



Bob, here's to another 80!

St. Patrick's Day!

Almost forget...it is in fact St. Patrick's Day today. I would not have remembered the holiday had it not been for a St. Patrick's Day greeting card sent to me from the US.  It is just not the celebrated event in London that it is in the US.

Still,  from my favorite leprechaun and me to you and yours:

An Old Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days,

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world

with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons

bring the best to you and yours!