They make easy targets for class warriors but on days of military commemoration, like today VE Day, the British Royal Family are entitled to raise their heads high.
Prince Philip was first lieutenant (second-in-command) on board the HMS Wallace during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1942.
When the Luftwafffe began their bombardment of the waters.
Another war… but the same sacrifice
Yeoman Harry Hargreaves revealed back in 2003 how Philip duped the enemy and saved the ship and all on it.
By persuading his captain to drop a raft overboard, set it alight, and deceive them into bombing that instead.
And so as Prince Charles, whose own military career is distinguished, laid a wreath today at Balmoral to the Fallen, and the Queen spoke to the Nation…
It is well to remember that we wer all in the same fight in World War II. And now.
My Great-Uncle Willie
What we all do after we get out of this we’ll have to wait and see, and there will be a clamour for sun and sand.
My friends in the Caribbean take note.
While some will seek remote holidays, others adventure, while still others walking holidays.
And all are on my list.
But I will, as I’ve always done, continue to visit the places and commemorate those who fell in war around the world.
Cavernous destruction… in Flanders
Like I did when I was invited to lay the wreath at the daily Last Post commemoration at the Menin Gate in Ieper (Ypres).
Where my Great Uncle Willie lies in a graveyard of identically-sized crosses (no hierarchy in death).
And where I was the first of his relatives to see him, plant a wooden cross and say The Lord’s Prayer.
His brother Patrick has his name inscribed among the tens of thousands of missing on the arch at Thiepval.
Everyone a hero: Great-Uncle Pat and the Missing at Thiepval
I have been fortunate enough to trot the globe but I have never felt as moved.
Or deeply grateful than when I knelt before Great Uncle Willie’s grave.
And though I never knew him, or those he fought with or against, I commend them and those who care for their last resting places.
STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE: Tibet. Again one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
And while in the Western World this is considered rude, or at least cheeky, in Tiber it’s their greeting.
Because they used to have a particularly bad king who had a black tongue and this shows that you are not a reincarnation of his spirit.
We heart you
PUMP YOUR HAND ON YOUR HEART: Jordan: And I dare say elsewhere in the Middle East too, and thanks here to guide par excellence Zuhair for initiating me…
Meghan ‘Before Crown’. Or Meghan BC ‘British Columbia’.
The Duchess of Sussex is going back to the future by setting up home again in Canada.
So why BC? Well, no doubt you’ve met someone who has been and says it is the best place on Earth.
Lose the stress
This is their boast… that time spent in nature can make us less stressed and that its majestic wild can improve short-term memory by 20% and boost creativity and problem-solving by 50%.
Stay in an “oTENTik” (part tent, part cabin) visit Radium Hot Springs (part of theHot Springs Circle Route)
Or hike the 17.5km Kindersley-Sinclair trail; one of Kootenay’s most epic day hikes.
National Park admission is priced from £5.80 per adult.
The water of life
Retreat to the mountains with Mountain Trek’s health programs near Ainsworth Hot Springs.
Offering all-inclusive wellness retreats, guests will enjoy daily Nordic Hiking, detox in the on-site spa, take on a gourmet nutrition plan.
Mindfulness
And practise mindfulness. All-inclusive programs are priced from £4,162pp excluding flights and transfers.
Wide, wid rivers
Get your heart pumping with CHM Heli-Skiing and Summer Adventures new Alpine Heli Trail Running and Full Zillmer Canyon Via Ferrata trips, available from July 2020.
These heli-supported mountain adventures run from the Bugaboos Lodge and newly renovated Cariboos Lodge.
Previous mountaineering experience is not required to explore the Zillmer Canyon’s slots and waterfalls
Hit the trail
While trail-runners can expect to cover up to 25km per day across ridgelines, forest trails and mountaintop terrain.
Three-day trips are priced from £2,084 per person, excluding flights.
Watch the Aurora Borealis dance across the sky and enjoy a series of cultural and musical events in BC’s Northern climbs.
A Full Festival Package includes access to all events.
It is an overnight trip to the Fort Nelson First Nations Lodge at Liard Hot Springs, a sled dog ride with Streeper Kennels and a snowmobiling adventure.
With Jag Adventures, priced from £706 per person excluding flights and transfers.
Safari-style camping on the secluded Branham Island in the Great Bear Rainforest.
A whale of a time
Whale and bear watching and unique insights into the local Indigenous Kwakwaka’wakw culture.
Three-day safaris are priced from £2,292 per person based on double occupancy in a safari-style tent.
Including all meals and activities, excluding flights and transfers.
Beach life: British Columbia
Homalco Wildlife and Cultural Tours will continue to offer new Indigenous led wildlife and cultural experiences on the edge of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Join the Great Bears of Bute excursion and see some of BC’s most iconic predators.
Somebody dropped a pen in front of us… had it been Victoria it would have been no trouble because she’s wearing Aer Lingus’s new rip-resistant, extra comfy cabin crew slacks.
Victoria tells me that she had a split when she bent down (it’s a regular part of the job on the cabin crew) when she was wearing the trousers of a previous airline.
Louise’s special touch
Aer Lingus http://www.aerllingus.com showcased their new uniforms yesterday at a glitzy event in Dublin.
It is the first uniform change in 22 years, but again it is designed by the Petra Pan of Irish fashion Louise Kennedy,
Behind the Madonna soundtrack and the crew putting on their vogue on the runway the most important thing is…
How comfortable the uniforms are for the staff.
And let’s be honest here lads, it’s really about how the lasses feel.
On the bridge: We’ll look after you
Of course the look is important – no self-respecting woman wants to go to work in something they don’t feel a million dollars in.
After gliding across the runway, Victoria shared with us her delight with the new uniform.
Particularly with the trousers which she said she could see herself wearing in both hot and colder climates.
There are 25 redesigned garments including those new trouser options for female with Kenmare Green.
Girl power: And there’s style and comfort
The turquoise/blue ‘Kenmare’ shade captures our national colour.
And ‘Midnight’ navy blue skirts and trousers a good choice if you’re handling food and all the other things you have to do on a flight.
The new uniforms will be rolled out by the 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from February 10.
They used to be brown!
It would be safe to say that the Aer Lingus uniforms have come a long way…
Since those Sybil Connolly military-style rich brown suits from 1945 – the green came in in 1948
So as they say it’s Kenmare Green for go.
Victoria, Oisin and me.. and that glass didn’t take my leg off but if it had they’d have helped out!
I’ve always found that Aer Lingus flies the flag with distinction.
And I’ve seen first-hand how the ground staff and cabin crew go about their business.
With a friendly smile while also solving any amount of problems in an unfussy and efficient manner…
And, yes, I know that that last post is on Athens but it’s just a teaser.
And on that trip to Athens, Kythera and the Attica region my colleague Dutch Bas flagged up what he thought was Greece’s best city, Thessaloniniki.
He obviously knows his stuff… it’s just I like to check these things out for myself.
Lauda and louder
I didn’t always turn the telly over when the Grand Prix came on… in the days of Nikki Lauda and James Hunt I did follow them around the chicanes (whatever the heck that is).
While, of course, the film Rush with Chris Hemsworth, also reminded us of the fantastic story of their rivalry and ultimate friendship.
I’m reliably informed by my female friends that Chris Hemsworth in a film greatly increases the enjoyment levels.
Nikki Lauda, who we lost this year remained a huge figure in Formula 1, broke into airplanes (and by that I mean launched his own livery rather than cracked the lock).
Ryanair’s fully owned Austria subsidiary Laudamotion is to increase frequency on its Vienna to Dublin route from daily to eleven times weekly from March 29-October 25.
And here’s a reminder of what Austria http://www.austria.info has to offer both in winter and in the spring, summer, autumn…
And seeing we’ve just put one election to bed in the UK and are preparing for an Irish election over here while the Americans also have it all to do next year too..,
