Queen and Country

A charming little behind-the-scenes story of the Queen's visit to Dorset and Wiltshire just last week.  (The Queen is in the process of visiting all parts of the realm for her Diamond Jubilee - she's letting the kids cover most of the colonies dominions Empire Commonwealth, which who can blame the old girl for that?  She's 86, you know.  Though still going strong, as you can see here.)

The charm lies in the stories of the people who come to see her, and what they have to say, which gives a different perspective from the usual media coverage by cynical city types.  As I understand it, this is a very rural part of the country in the West of England - no big cities, lots of small towns, many of them quite ancient.  Which makes me think of rural Texas, of course, and I can see the similarity - down-to-earth folk who work hard, get on with things, and love their country and their Queen - who to them is like Old Glory and the Constitution and maybe the Statue of Liberty all rolled up into one living, breathing symbol of the nation and all they hold dear.

Or so it seems to me.  For a long while there after the whole tragedy with Diana, I wasn't sure they would keep the monarchy very long, but all seems sorted out now.  See what you think.



Bonus:   A bit more on Allen Parton, the disabled vet, and his Hounds for Heroes program. So amazing, what a wonderful story.