Royal Visit

Dear Friend,

Hello!  How are you?!  I hope you are doing well and enjoying all the great things about fall....American football games, colorful leaves, the build up to Halloween.  Sadly, I will probably not be participating this year - they don't really do Halloween in England like in the States...plus, it's tricky to go as an American movie character if it didn't make a good box office showing over here...you might just get a lot of looks like you're insane (note: did my Dodgeball girl costume last year again and received many puzzled/horrified looks at my giant uni-brow, lipstick and mole).

I'm going to try to cut down on the astronomical length of my posts in an effort to whip them off faster (this should be interesting - straight from the blabbermouth's mouth), so here goes.  I posted last time about my job starting in January in Berlin.  Right now I got an amazing opportunity to work with a research study in Cambridge looking at the legal regimes of four developing countries and how the international climate change laws on forests and reducing emissions from them will fit, what challenges will be presented, how to ensure equitable benefit-sharing for local communities, what investors will need to include in their contracts, etc.  So I've been in Cambridge since the beginning of Sept. and will be here until the first week in Dec. (thus my complete failure to write again).

But in the spirit of trying to remember my time here in the UK, here's the story about the Queen's visit that I mentioned before.  So in early July I received a text from a friend asking if I wanted to go on an adventure the following morning.  My first question was of course how early this adventure was going to begin, and was confused at the response - 7:00 a.m.  What could possibly be starting that early?  No no, my friend, what I soon found out was that the actual starting time was 10 a.m. - we were just going to early....more like, the earliest people who have ever been early for anything...ever.  The Queen was coming up to Scotland to swear in her grandson Prince William to the Order of the Thistle (the highest knighthood honor you can get in Scotland) and the ceremony would take place at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.  In order to get "good spots" for viewing/picture taking...we showed up 3 hours early.  No people around, no press yet - we even beat the shift change for the night police.  It was hilarious.

So for the next seven hours, I stood pressed up against the barricades (at the very front, obviously) as gradually more and more people starting to crowd in and literally the red carpet was rolled out.  They put in special stairs over top of the stone stairs (red carpeted mind you), and marched in the royal archers and this royal band all in tartan with those massive furry black hats the guards in front of Buckingham Palace wear.  It was glorious - three Rolls Royce cars pulled up, one with the Queen and Prince Philip, another with William and Kate, and the last with Princess Anne (poor thing got the shoddiest one).  They joined the procession of Knights (except Kate - she just had to go in by herself and watch) all in flowing dark green velvet capes with plump green velvet hats adorned with enormous white feathers.  The Queen even had a page boy to carry her train in this ornate green jacket with gold trim, white knickers, high white stockings and the black buckle shoes....it was blissfully pretentious!

The ceremony didn't last that long, but afterward they all proceeded into the nearby building (to which the red carpet led) to have lunch.  We were debating whether to leave, since having stood there for five hours already, my heels felt like there was a sharp iron rod stabbing up into them and I couldn't really bend my knees anymore thanks to the heavy fog that had settled in and frozen my joints in place.  Silly to even question it, you might think - the only thing they were going to do was come out and get into their cars.  Leave immediately right?  Wrong.  We had chummed up to one of the policemen (Keith) who was on the other side of the barricades making sure no nutjob hopped over and made a dash for ol' Elizabeth, and he informed us that they had a specific block of time set aside in their schedules to come over to the crowd and shake hands after lunch.  Well believe you me, once we heard that, game over.  Two more hours - what's that after you've already stood for five.  But sure enough, they bailed.  Didn't shake hands with the lowly commoners.  Just hopped in the cars and took off.  Apparently, the royals were "tired" after such a "busy" day and retired to Holyrood Palace to warm themselves by the fire and have tea and scrumpets I'm sure.  Sooooo annooooooyed.  That made a little bit of their luster fade for me that day - but I was still starstruck to see the Queen :) I limped back home, promptly passed out and woke up with a little more feeling in my knees.

Thanks so much for reading, and take care of you!  Will write again soon.
Much love,
Beth x