Update for Everyone VIII: He who laughs have the last laugh

[Geoffrey Howe]

Excellent to see this azalea in flower after I 'pruned' it rather idiotically last year:

[Geoffrey Howe]

Tulips in Whitehall Gardens, a public garden behind Horse Guards Parade, Banqueting House and the Churchill War Rooms. The centre of the world, if you ask me  

Complete with primroses, Disraeli's favourite flower (hence the Primrose League)

[Geoffrey Howe]

Today is the Feast of the Republic, commemorating the referendum held on June 2nd, 1946, in which Italians opted to change from a monarchy to our current form of government. Happy 75th birthday to the Italian Republic!

I have a friend who is very interested in Italian history who is quite left-wing (he reminds me of Nathan here in many ways) who says he would have voted for the King in 1946.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Today is the Feast of the Republic, commemorating the referendum held on June 2nd, 1946, in which Italians opted to change from a monarchy to our current form of government. Happy 75th birthday to the Italian Republic!

I have a friend who is very interested in Italian history who is quite left-wing (he reminds me of Nathan here in many ways) who says he would have voted for the King in 1946.

That is surely odd but it's an idiosyncrasy I can understand. Any particular reason for that?

Not sure - he is British and a constitutional monarchist though. He has links to Sardinia, which voted for the monarchy.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Yesterday I was cycling by Wellington Barracks and came across the Coldstream Guards practising, at full volume, The Star Spangled Banner, presumably for Joe Biden's visit.


Wellington Barracks:


Coldstream Guards (elsewhere):


(Wikipedia images)

[Geoffrey Howe]

Last Saturday I walked about 45 km, almost surely the longest distance I have ever covered in one day, from La Spezia to Levanto making a sacred visit to a sanctuary in the Val di Vara in between as part of a vow. It kind of destroyed my legs, but it was worth it.

Great stuff! Do you plan to go to Santiago? (As it happens, my father has a longstanding ambition to spend a few weeks walking from La Rochelle to Santiago.)

[Geoffrey Howe]

I had the enlightening experience of visiting an anti-vaccine protest in La Rochelle today. The experience was somewhat surreal: they were chanting random slogans and spent half the time congratulating each other for turning up. I felt I was in America - at one point they started shouting “FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!” and at the end they sung the national anthem. Several people were waving flags. There were also some amusing placards, including but not limited to:

“I am not a sheep” (je ne suis pas un mouton)
“Vaccine passports - 1789” (a bit like Trumpians and 1776)
“When will Macronavirus end?” (Macronavirus - à quand la fin?)

“Gouverne
Ment” (you have to understand the French to get this pun - splitting the word “government” into “gouverne” and “lying.”)