Proud to be British

At Easter, we had planned a family day out with my wife's parents, sister and brother in law but this had to be cancelled due to sister feeling unwell & so it was rescheduled for today. However this morning I woke up feeling very under the weather but as the others were all at our place, the trip to Mainau Island on Lake Constance went ahead without me.

I had to ignore the suggestion from my brother in law that I was faking it so as to be able to watch the Wedding on TV. As it turned out they had a wonderful day, Mainau more than living up to its reputation for having wonderful gardens.

Although I'm not usually particularly interested in such things, I did switch on the box as I lay on the sofa with hot water bottle & several rugs. What then unfolded had me glued to the TV for several hours and caused a large lump to appear in my throat which wasn't caused by any bugs.

Surely only the British can stage such a ceremony. It wasn't just the organisation and traditions of the event, nor the lovely music & singing of the choir; Kate & William simply made the event a truly moving experience and I wish them both a long and happy marriage. My thanks to them for making my day somewhat better and clearly I was not alone.

The flower is commonly called "Bleeding Heart" but today lets use the Latin "Lamprocapnos spectabilis". Spectabilis can be translated as "visible" or "viewable" and thus there is probably a connection to "Spectacle".

Yes, I am a Patriot - German Wiki describes Patriotism as "an emotional bond to ones country" and today that was very much the case. Mainau will be for another day and the first thing my wife said on getting home, "You have to take Kate to see the island". My daughter Katherine (another connection to the Wedding!) is a garden designer and may hopefully get over this summer with her family and drag her brother and girlfriend Sarah with as well. Jonathan is amongst other things a hot air balloon pilot and although not quite the same, he may be interested in Friedrichshafen which is just down the road from Mainau island. Here the Zeppelin story started and there is the Zeppelin Museum as well as the base for the modern Zeppelin company which offers sightseeing flights over Lake Constance. If this works out then I will have one of the happiest events of my lifetime and I know what I will answer when my wife asks me "Are you happy now?"