THE QUEEN PASSES: End of an era

 It is a sad day today at the Red Cardinal nest.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11 passed away peacefully at her Summer home, Balmoral, in Scotland, aged 96.

During her remarkable reign of 70 years, and her entire lifetime of service, the Queen was distinguished by her grace, dignity, kindness and unwavering dedication to the monarchy and the British Commonwealth.  

Many people have known no other monarch during their entire lives.

I have some small childhood memory of her coronation in 1953, and better memories of her Commonwealth tour in 1954, the first visit to Australian shores of a reigning monarch.

She brought to Australia the beautiful Coronation gown, and wore it to the Opening of Parliament in Canberra.

Her Majesty was born Princess Elizabeth in 1926, and appears to have been a pretty and confident little girl.

At 96, the Queen's passing was not unexpected, yet it was a shock to us all.  The Queen has been a constant in our lives, a reliable and calming figure, always there.  I have been thinking back over my life, and how I perceived her along the way.

During her early reign, the Queen was a glamourous figure, when formal gowns, jewels and tiaras, were worn on many occasions.

Look at her tiny waist, and she had already borne her first two children.  She is wearing the fringe tiara which she wore at her wedding, and which was later worn by Princess Anne and Princess Beatrice at their weddings.

Every inch a Queen, meeting Marilyn Monroe, then a Queen of Hollywood.

1954 Australian tour

Her Majesty visited Australia 16 times, and usually arrived wearing yellow, an acknowledgement of our National floral emblem, the Golden Wattle.

My parents brought we children to Brisbane to see the Queen during the 1954 tour.   I remember her going past in yellow, with a little yellow hat.  Was it the day of the above picture?  Alas, I do not actually know.

Australian artist, Sir William Dargie, painted this portrait during the first tour.

The Queen wears her Wattle Dress, which featured throughout the tour.

An official gift to the Queen from Australia was a Wattle Brooch:

Featuring white and gold diamonds, the brooch has been worn on all subsequent tours, and sometimes in the UK.

Long-term readers of the blog might remember I bought a replica of this brooch during a Buckingham Palace tour in 2016.

Her Majesty escorted by Brisbane Lord Mayor, Alderman Roy Harvey, 1982.

Many tours later, the Queen was here again in 1982, and the Red Cardinals were invited to a Civic Reception at City Hall.  I was fortunate when she paused about a metre from us to speak to the person beside me.  Her brooch is partly covered by the bouquet in this photo, but it astonished me with its large and brilliant diamonds.  Her petal soft English complexion also was very appealing to we sun-kissed Queenslanders.

A Queen, a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.

Devotion to duty and a radiant smile, right to the end.

Farewell Your Majesty, may you rest in peace.

God Save the King.

BIRTHDAY LADY

Hello from the Red Cardinal nest..

Happy Birthday to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,

94 years young.

Look at the birthday girl, pictured in happier times, wearing her Australian Wattle brooch, a gift from our nation on the occasion of her Coronation, all those years ago.

Gratuitous shot of my copy of the Wattle Brooch, happily bought at Buckingham Palace gift shoppe, 2016

It was a treat to see the actual Coronation robes at the Exhibition of the Queen's clothes, Buckingham Palace, 2016

All that fine beading and embroidery made my heart sing...

The Queen has always been a woman of great style, and she really knows how to wear a grand evening gown..

So elegant..

Love her in pink..

Majestic and inspirational in her recent message about the global pandemic..

Long may she Reign!

In our Isolation Nest, the tiny violas have started to bloom..

I have planted a few in the decorative cage, along with some nasturtium seeds which sprouted very quickly.

Let's see if this can turn into a cage of colour...

Also started a succulent baby nursery in a shallow dish.

So far, so good...

The lavender has expanded its footprint, and is covered in tiny buds...

and the little owl continues to stand guard over the herbs and vegetable seedlings.

We are amazed that in a whole year, the cockatoos continue to be frightened by those staring eyes, and no longer get in and destroy the plants.

Talk about guilty consciences....

I had good news today - full blood count and testing of my immune system.

All is good :)

Apart from playing gardener, I have a goal of sewing one garment a week.

Preparing for next Summer.

Winter never seems to happen here anymore.

I will photograph and show a few - maybe next time.

Cheers, and be safe and good

XXXX

AUTUMN?

It rained today..

and I think some of those lorikeets had no idea what it was...

over 90% of our State now being drought-declared...

The heat has continued, and although it is officially Autumn,

there is no sign of it.

Here's a recent picture of our youngest grandson, C2 in Canada..

just to help us cool off a bit..

Remember those snake deterrents we bought before Christmas, when the Canadians were coming to visit?

They worked a couple of months, emitting their strange vibration, but they have all become corroded in their little solar powered batteries and no longer work.

Cue the first snake sighting of the season, when I went over towards this limp tree fern to take a picture of the effects of drought.

It slithered down near the fence, and hopefully went away..

At least after a bit of rain the tree ferns are now standing proud once more.

This was the only flower I could find in the garden this week.

Thank goodness for the evergreen hedge plants for a bit of greenery..

And did you see what Her Majesty wore pinned to her yellow coat at Westminster Abbey yesterday?

Yes, it is the Australian Wattle Brooch making an appearance.

I'll have to wear my faux version somewhere soon - it is time for an excursion.

I bought a little yellow clutch at a recycle shop for $3, because why not?

I put a tiny pot from the Hopi Indians of New Mexico into Mr C's mini Zen Garden.  A mix of cultures, but I am excited by the Making Modernism exhibition at the Art Gallery which opened at the weekend.

The Georgia O'Keeffe paintings are so stunning, and it is a rare treat to have them come to Australia.  O'Keeffe spent much of her painting life in New Mexico, as you probably know. 

While we are looking at the Zen Garden, I want to tell you what happened to me on Facebook.  Someone hacked into my Facebook account and made a clone version of me, same name and some of my photos, and then sent friend requests to all of my friends.  Some of you would have received them.  I was unawares this was going on until our daughter alerted me.  My fault was I did not realise my privacy settings were set to 'anyone can see' instead of 'friends only' which is how a stranger had access.  They then made a 'clone' of me, and the attempt to gather in my friends is with the intention of collecting their data or finding a way to defraud them.   Most people know to delete a friend request from somebody who is already your Facebook friend, but I am telling the story for those who have not experienced this.  One friend had accepted the friendship of the 'clone' Patricia, and was then subjected to a series of messages about large sums of money available for the taking (something similar to the well-known Nigerian scam to which many Australians have succumbed).

I hope nobody has been hurt by this event, and I will pay much closer attention to my Facebook and Instagram settings in future.

May the rain and Autumn descend on us ...

XXXX