Well, what a day. Everything from the High Victorian visions in Westminster Abbey- red uniforms and internal green trees like it must have been inside the Great Exhibition of 1851- to our village hall with a party for the children- miniature sausage rolls and My Boys (and others, it has to be said) taking it in turns to wear my giant tea cosy that's shaped like a muti-coloured crown. And this sponge cake emblazoned with stencilled castor sugar (I think). It was a little thing, and I expect there were a few thousand like it up and down the bunting-ed and beflagged streets of the nation, but this was one of ours. I loved it all, the care and precision of everything from a military epaulette to a flag stuck in a cake. "I was glad", as Hubert Parry had it for everyone in the Abbey, but particularly for that stunning processing bride. God bless 'em.
I surprised myself, and liked it a lot,too. Especially the stroppy little bridemaid who couldn't be doing with all the noise.(Just like my wife when she was that age.) Could have wished that Wills had driven the Aston with his right elbow on the top of the driver's door,and warmed the rear tyres just a leetle.....! All that open road to play with...! Felt sorry for Charles as the Phantom (the car,the car!)did look dated and a bit Ancien Regime.And the State Barge needed a Royce grille. Bentleys are for Le Mans,doncherknow ! Still,mustn't carp...The Old Firm did us proud.
Ah yes, the Phantom VI. Loved it, especially with its big don't-mess-with-me headlamps. But I once had the undoubted honour and chance of doing some close-ups of the State Bentley, and have to say I loved that too.
Yes,we tend to do "technical problems" quite well too...so much so that the role of the Gifted Amateur or Gentleman Player is enshrined in our national psyche. Otherwise the Phantom and Bentley would probably have been Mercs or somesuch, which John le Mesurier wouldn't have liked at all. Must admit however to a sneaking regard for my old Honda trials bike which NEVER failed to start,unlke the Royal Enfield. Couldn't actually love it though.
Cue Anne Shelton: "Coming in On a Wing and a Prayer"!
The lettering on the sponge cake was done with icing sugar and I agree, was utterly spendid. I had an interesting conversation with an elderly lady about whether we should tax people for having too many children.
I thought the whole thing was fabulous - I could watch it all over again.
It was a splendid thrash wasn't it? Watching it on Italian television was interesting, all they could talk about mostly was whether the bride or her sister had had their nose or breasts or chin or bottom modified.
I am a designer, writer and photographer who spends all his time looking at England, particularly buildings and the countryside. But I have a leaning towards the slightly odd and neglected, the unsung elements that make England such an interesting place to live in. I am the author and photographer of over 25 books, in particular Unmitigated England (Adelphi 2006), More from Unmitigated England (Adelphi 2007), Cross Country (Wiley 2011), The Cigarette Papers (Frances Lincoln 2012), Preposterous Erections (Frances Lincoln 2012) and English Allsorts (Adelphi 2015)
"Open this book with reverence. It is a hymn to England". Clive Aslet
Preposterous Erections
"Enchanting...delightful". The Bookseller "Cheekily named" We Love This Book
The Cigarette Papers
"Unexpectedly pleasing and engrossing...beautifully illustrated". The Bookseller
Cross Country
"Until the happy advent of Peter Ashley's Cross Country it has, ironically, been foreigners who have been best at celebrating Englishness". Christina Hardyment / The Independent
More from Unmitigated England
"Give this book to someone you know- if not everyone you know." Simon Heffer, Country Life. "When it comes to spotting the small but telling details of Englishness, Peter Ashley has no equal." Michael Prodger, Sunday Telegraph
7 comments:
I surprised myself, and liked it a lot,too.
Especially the stroppy little bridemaid who couldn't be doing with all the noise.(Just like my wife when she was that age.)
Could have wished that Wills had driven the Aston with his right elbow on the top of the driver's door,and warmed the rear tyres just a leetle.....! All that open road to play with...!
Felt sorry for Charles as the Phantom (the car,the car!)did look dated and a bit Ancien Regime.And the State Barge needed a Royce grille.
Bentleys are for Le Mans,doncherknow !
Still,mustn't carp...The Old Firm did us proud.
Huzzah!
Ah yes, the Phantom VI. Loved it, especially with its big don't-mess-with-me headlamps. But I once had the undoubted honour and chance of doing some close-ups of the State Bentley, and have to say I loved that too.
The whole thing was utterly splendid. We do do this kind of thing awfully well, don't we?
I would have enjoyed a bit more commentary from inside the Lancaster, but perhaps there were technical problems.
Yes,we tend to do "technical problems" quite well too...so much so that the role of the Gifted Amateur or Gentleman Player is enshrined in our national psyche.
Otherwise the Phantom and Bentley would probably have been Mercs or somesuch, which John le Mesurier wouldn't have liked at all.
Must admit however to a sneaking regard for my old Honda trials bike which NEVER failed to start,unlke the Royal Enfield.
Couldn't actually love it though.
Cue Anne Shelton: "Coming in On a Wing and a Prayer"!
The lettering on the sponge cake was done with icing sugar and I agree, was utterly spendid. I had an interesting conversation with an elderly lady about whether we should tax people for having too many children.
I thought the whole thing was fabulous - I could watch it all over again.
It was a splendid thrash wasn't it? Watching it on Italian television was interesting, all they could talk about mostly was whether the bride or her sister had had their nose or breasts or chin or bottom modified.
britain was stop! when royal wedding.cograt to british for ur next king wedding
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