The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

I think we have all reached the saturation point with the Royal Wedding. The Abbey is closed and locked, the wine glasses are washed and put away, and William's mischievous brother, Prince Harry, is at home nursing his hangover. But I have two favourite photos I wanted to post here on my little blog. This photograph above is one.

And this is the other one. Just as William and Catherine were leaving the balcony at Buckingham Palace, Catherine glanced back over her shoulder for one last look at the crowd, and for me, the look of delight on her face summed up the whole day.  Can you imagine what she must have been feeling just at that moment?  There is a whole story in her expression.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge seem to be a down-to-earth, genuine couple and I hope they will be very happy.

Mary, Elizabeth and Kate

In spite of all the naysayers, I am rather looking forward to watching the wedding of William and Kate. It's living history. The relevance of the royalty has changed over the past few decades. Now they are more of an industry for Great Britain, than anything else. Tourism is the 6th major revenue generator for England, generating about £76 billion a year for the Brits, (that is about $104 billion in U.S. dollars). London is the most visited city in the world, ahead of Bangkok, Thailand and Paris, France. The main attraction in England? The royalty.

One of the most interesting places in London is Westminster Abbey, the church where the wedding ceremony will take place. Westminster Abbey was built in 1050 and has been the coronation church since 1066.  It feels very much like a tomb in many places, because it is the final resting place of 17 monarchs.

I was amazed to see the two old enemies, Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth the 1st buried together. When Queen Elizabeth died, Mary Queen of Scots’s son James 1st became the King of England. He built a double monument where his mother and Queen Elizabeth 1st share the same tomb. I spent a long time looking at their effigies, aware that I was in the presence of such rich history. It was ironic that Queen Elizabeth the 1st had Mary Queen of Scots beheaded, and now they are spending eternity together, just a few feet apart from each other. The Latin inscription on the tomb reads, "Partners both in throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection."

Of particular interest to me was Saint Edward's Chair (the Coronation Chair, built in 1296) which is accessible to everyone. It is carved from oak and its appearance is of aged and bare wood. On it is carved the initials and other graffiti from tourists and choir boys in the Abbey. I had imagined the site of the coronation of monarchs throughout the centuries to look much different.  I was tempted to add my initials, but decided against it.  In the movie, "The King's Speech", Lionel Logue sat in Saint Edward's Chair, and King George VI was almost apoplectic.

King George VI: "T-that... that is Saint Edward's chair."
Lionel Logue: "People have carved their names on it."
King George VI: "L-listen to me... listen to me!"
Lionel Logue: "Why should I waste my time listening to you?"
King George VI: "Because I have a voice!"
Lionel Logue: "Yes, you do."

There is so much history in that old church, and now it will be the scene of history again. An ordinary young woman whose family worked in the coal mines of England will become a princess and a possibly one day a queen. She will become part of the history of Westminster Abbey. I wonder what the old Tudor Queen would think of a future king marrying a commoner.  If folks listen closely, perhaps they may hear a ghostly voice echoing throughout the Abbey, "Off with her head...!", as Queen Elizabeth the 1st spins in her grave. I think it's a wonderful story, one that Shakespeare would enjoy.

When William and Kate are married, the bells of Westminster Abbey will ring out for three hours. And in true 21st Century fashion, if you miss any of it, you can follow Westminster Abbey on Twitter.

For All The Starving Children...

All of us at one time or another when we were children, heard our parents say "Eat all your food; there are children around the world who are starving..." And of course, as children, it meant absolutely nothing to us. Starving children were inconceivable. We had three meals a day plus snacks. Food was plentiful. Today we are a nation of overfed people, with McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Wendy's, and the ubiquitous Starbucks on every corner. On television, there are three main advertisers -- automobiles, food and medicine.

The other night I watched a program on "American Experience" about one of the several famines that happened in Russia during the 20th Century.  Millions of people starved to death, and as I watched the program, it was an eye-opener for me.  There really were starving children in other parts of the world.  In North America, eating has become a hobby.  We don't eat to live, we live to eat.  Food is no longer for nourishment, it is for fun.  At work, we are inundated with co-workers bringing in chocolates, doughnuts, cakes, pies, cookies...  Every day we have snack food and every day we work hard sit at our desks and nibble on snacks.  It occurred to me, when I watched "American Experience" that the plethora of food we have available to us in North America is almost obscene.  What would these people think if they could see it?  It would be beyond the realm of their imaginations.

It is no coincidence that the Nestlé Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of junk food, is also the owner of the Jenny Craig weight management program. Or that Weight Watchers, another weight management program, was owned by the Heinz corporation, also a manufacturer of junk food. That's good business; fatten people up and then help them to lose the weight. It's a treadmill that millions of folks can't seem to escape, and I am as guilty as anyone.

The formula for losing weight is easy:  3,500 calories equals one pound.  Cut back on the calories, or expend them as energy, and the body will lose weight.  It is the simple principle behind any weight loss program, including Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, with their packaged, artificial, processed food and complicated points formulas.

Yesterday at work one of our patients brought in a huge box of Tim Horton doughnuts for our staff.  As I looked through the doughnuts to see which one I wanted, I thought of how one of those doughnuts may have kept a Russian famine victim alive for just one more day.

My parents' advice about cleaning my plate because of "all the starving children" was well-meant, but ultimately bad advice which led to bad habits.  Because of those starving children, I am going to be very careful from now on about eating without thinking about it first ... well, starting right after Easter dinner.  ;-)

Twenty-five Things...

With the royal wedding less than two weeks away, the Vegas bookmakers' odds against the couple reaching their tenth wedding anniversary is 8 to 1. Well, with the track record of royal marriages in the past few years, I'm not surprised. William has said that he wants the marriage "to last forever". Well, I hope so. I do think William and Catherine are genuinely in love with each other, and with any luck, the world will leave them alone. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have been married for 63 years, and they're still going strong.  I find that amazing.  I would imagine Philip has been quite ... challenging, to say the least, but the Queen is indomitable, and their marriage has endured.  Here are 25 things about them I find rather interesting:

1. The Queen’s former private secretary said of Prince Philip: “He is the only man in the world who treats the Queen as a human being.”

3. Philps` pet name for his wife is “sausage”.

4. The Queen Mother used to refer to Philip as The Hun, as he is a member of the German house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg.

5.When the pair honeymooned at Broadlands, the Mountbatten’s country home near Romsey, Hants, the bride had 15 suitcases, the groom two.

6. Under pressure from his wife-to-be, Philip gave up smoking on the morning of his wedding.

7.When Philip’s cousin Patricia Mountbatten remarked on Elizabeth’s flawless complexion, the Prince joked: “Yes, and she’s like that all over.”

8. In traditional upper-class fashion Elizabeth and Philip had connecting bedrooms. When he walked into Philip’s bedroom one morning, royal valet James MacDonald was embarrassed to find Elizabeth in a silk nightgown and Philip naked. “Prince Philip didn’t care at all,” said MacDonald. “Pyjamas? Never wear the things,” Philip said.

9. When they first moved into Buckingham Palace, Philip had a direct phone line installed so that he could talk to his wife without going through the switchboard.

10. Once, when the Queen repeatedly sucked in her breath at his fast driving, Philip told her: “If you do that once more I shall put you out of the car.”

11. Both the Queen and Prince Philip dislike duvets and prefer sheets and blankets.

12. On the day of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding, a footman lost the bride’s bouquet and her tiara snapped in half as it was put on.

13. In the year of their wedding, the Queen and Philip attended a fancy-dress ball. She was dressed as a maid, he as a waiter.

14. Philip has nothing to do with his wife’s life as sovereign but does deal with family problems, of which there have been many.

15. The Queen still carries in her handbag a silver make-up case given to her by Philip as a wedding gift.

16. All the Queen’s major decisions – paying tax, giving up the royal yacht, urging Charles and Diana to have an early divorce – were taken after consulting Philip.

17. At the Coronation in 1953, Philip was the first layman to pay homage to the Queen. He knelt at her feet and kissed her left cheek.

18. After the death of King George VI in February, 1952, the royal couple did not want to move into Buckingham Palace but Prime Minister Winston Churchill insisted.

19. The Queen and Philip still have blazing rows. One courtier said: “You can hardly believe what you are seeing. There are cries of ‘Rubbish’ and ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’”

20. When arguing with her husband, the Queen’s technique is to talk in riddles to confuse Philip’s logical mind.

21. Philip could never have a bath with his wife because a maid is always in attendance.

22. The Queen loves to do impersonations and does a very good one of Philip.

23. Although they still sleep in the same bed most of the time, they stay in separate rooms if one of them has to get up early.

24. The Queen finds video recorders complicated so Philip is in charge of taping her favourite programmes.

25. They eat breakfast together with cereals on the table in plastic Tupperware containers.

With thanks to the royal expert James Whitaker.

Stranger Things Have Happened...

American politics fascinate me; there is always something weird and wonderful going on in the world of American politics.  Who would ever have guessed that The Donald would one day run for President of the United States?  Could it be that the man with the impossible spray-on tan and even more impossible hair could actually be a legitimate candidate?  Some folks are even taking his candidacy seriously.  Well, why not...  Could the Americans do any worse?  I have always believed that governments are a business and should be run by businessman, not politicians.  Americans are now paying between $3.50 and $4.00 for a gallon of gas.  That's insane.  And most of their oil and gas comes from Canada -- not the Middle East, so there's no excuse for that.  Maybe it's time for a businessman to run America like a business.

I'm not a big fan of Donald Trump, ever since he bought the wonderful sand dunes in Balmedie, Scotland, and turned them into a golf course.  Does the world really need another golf course, just so The Donald can make even more money?  No...  On the other hand, when it comes to business, the man is a genius.  If you have ever watched Trump in action on "Celebrity Apprentice", he is able to see right through to the heart of a matter in nanoseconds.  His instincts are right on point, and he never falters.   He may be the comic relief at the moment, but I think he will end up being a serious contender.  And usually what Donald Trump wants, Donald Trump gets.

American politics are just so much fun.  You couldn't make this stuff up...

The Ultimate Luxury...

It's Saturday morning, which means only one thing at my house -- it's time to vacuum. I hate detest despise don't like vacuuming. If someone wanted to torture me, putting lighted matches under my fingernails would be a distant second to vacuuming.  There are folks who vacuum every day, can you imagine?  Voluntarily.  And I have known real live, living, breathing people who said they actually enjoy vacuuming.  I should invite them over on Saturday mornings.

The folks who live upstairs from me having a cleaning lady. *sigh* If I were to win a lottery, the first thing I would do is hire a cleaning lady.  The second thing I would buy is a robot vacuum cleaner.  And then I could sit back in my big cozy chair while the little guy zipped around and did all the work.  Besides, he's rather cute; he reminds me of the little fellow in "Batteries Not Included".  What's not to love about a vacuum cleaner like that?

Doesn't this look like fun?

Catherine Zeta Jones And Bipolar Disorder

Yesterday Catherine Zeta Jones revealed that she had recently undergone treatment for Bipolar II disorder, and I think that is amazing. Catherine Zeta Jones is one of my favourite actresses, but I admire her even more now. She has shown a great deal of courage in revealing she has the disorder, as there is still a stigma around mental illness. Most people suffer in silence and shame, and that's just wrong.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Bipolar II disorder is a form of Bipolar disorder marked by irritation and a mildly elevated mood - a state known as hypomania. It's generally less debilitating than Bipolar I, a condition marked by mood swings and a severe mood elevation known as mania. Previously it was called manic depression because of the mood swings.

People with Bipolar II can generally continue to function, Dr. Thomas Wise, professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School, told CBS News. "It can cause excessive energy and lots of optimism and being really flighty in terms of ideas," he said. "The symptoms can be a little annoying to others, but people can still work."  Wise said stress can sometimes trigger symptoms of Bipolar disorder, but typically in people who have a hereditary predisposition to the disorder.  Those with Bipolar II tend to have more depression, with the mood swings spread over a longer time and the "up" periods less elevated. The episodes can be triggered by major stress or life changes.  With appropriate treatment - often drug therapy with lithium or another mood stabilizer and psychotherapy - people with Bipolar II generally have an excellent prognosis, said Dr. Wise.

I believe my mother suffered from a mild form of Bipolar disorder. I adored my mother, and in retrospect, I feel so bad for how she must have suffered.  Her mood swings were like an itch she had to scratch. She would let off steam by yelling and hollering, and then she felt better. Once it had happened, my brothers and I were in the clear for perhaps a few hours, or even days or weeks, until it all built up again. Often my mother would go for days without speaking to anyone, she would be in such a deep depression.  Those times were the worst.  We, of course, felt like anxious, weary, battle-scarred little warriors.  The sad thing is, when she was angry or depressed, we all thought she didn't love us.  But she did love us, and and she would be devastated to know what a profound and lasting effect her moods had on our lives.

My mother was a very creative person, and often creativity and Bipolar seem to coexist.  I was very proud of my mother for her beauty, her artistic abilities, her charm, intelligence and warmth; she had a certain je ne sais quoi that none of my friends' mothers had. She was magical and she had that mysterious thing called star quality.  But I realize now she also had Bipolar disorder, and she was as much a victim of her disorder -- if not more so -- than we were.  Today is the anniversary of the passing of my mother from this earth.  She left behind so many beautiful memories, but also some very deep scars which have taken time to heal.  I wonder how different our lives might have been if my mother had received the treatment she so obviously needed.

Margaret Trudeau suffered from Bipolar disorder all her life, until she finally sought help. She said, "There is no shame in having the disease, the shame is in having the disease and not getting help for it." In that regard, I applaud Catherine Zeta Jones.  The spotlight will not only be on her, but also on her courage.

The "Pod"...

The organization where I work is one of the leading organizations in Canada -- North America, in fact. We are known as a "Centre for Excellence", and the organization has definitely earned that title. A study done by our organization was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. No small potatoes, by any means... But when it comes to organizational thinking, well, let's just say there is room for improvement there.

I have worked for the organization for ten years, and my work space was wonderful, with lots of space and natural light. I could watch the seasons change, and any time my eyes needed a rest, I could look out the windows at the clouds or sun, or rain, or whatever. And the air quality was good -- just like little Baby Bear's porridge -- not too hot and not too cold. Everything was perfect, until a design company was hired to "improve" our work space.

*sigh*

The first thing they did was build walls around us; they call it a "pod". Natural light? Gone. They gave us desks that are too small; all our space ... gone. Then they squeezed us all into one little corner where there is no air. We feel crammed into each other's personal space, but because of the new walls on the "pod" our area actually takes up more space than it did before. And everything is grey.  The good thing is, we get more work done because we're too depressed to socialize.

My advice to any designer would be, if it ain't broke, don't fix it -- unless you're the one who has to live with it.

The Mystery Of The Rear Window...

I have lived in the same treehouse for 13 years, and with the exception of a very few people, I have had the same neighbours for all of those 13 years. Most of them I know well enough to chat with ... "Lovely day today..." that sort of thing. A couple of them are fairly close friends. But the folks who live in the apartment two houses away are aloof and mysterious. I have never seen them, ever.  It could be Bigfoot and Godzilla living there, and neither I nor any of my neighbours would know it.  The lights are usually on in the evenings, so we are fairly certain the apartment is in fact inhabited, but the curtains are always closed and the place remains hidden behind the branches of the trees, like a Gothic English novel. It looks cold, dark and uninhabited.

However, every Friday night like clockwork, the drapes are opened to reveal a spectacularly furnished apartment with wonderful antiques and carpets, candles and soft lights, and a table loaded with food and drinks.  The curtains stay open on this festive scene from around 7:00 in the evening until around 6:00 the next morning ... and no one is ever there.  Not a soul.  At dawn, the curtains close again until the following Friday.  I once thought I saw a flicker of a shadow in this diorama, but I realized I was mistaken; it was just my imagination.

For 13 years this same scene has played out every Friday night.  I'm sure there must be a story to it, but I am stymied as to what it might be.  I would love to hear some of your suggestions.  Do you have any idea what is going on when those curtains fly open on a Friday night?

Customer Service...? Not...

Several years ago we had a chain of department stores here in Canada called Woodward's. They were very exclusive, much like Harrod's in London, complete with a gourmet food department. My first job when I was in high school was at Woodward's, and customer service was drilled into me. The chain of stores was owned by Charlie Woodward, and he always referred to himself as a merchant. He said he was in the business of selling merchandise. If anyone need anything -- from groceries to private school uniforms -- they shopped at Woodward's. Folks could find anything at Woodward's and the service was wonderful. In 1986 the chain of Woodward's was bought by the Hudson's Bay Company, and most of the stores, excluding the flagship store, were torn down.

Yesterday I decided I needed some new pillows, but not just any pillows, I wanted Tempurpedic pillows, so I made some phone calls to see where I could find them. Big mistake. Do you think I could get a live person on the phone at any business in Vancouver? Just guess. Nope -- just voice mail. I called The Bay ... one ringy dingy ... two ringy dingies ... 24 ringy dingies later, no one answered. I called back and again the phone rang 30 times. There wasn't even a voice tree.

Finally I decided to go to Sears, after logging onto their website and choosing the pillows I wanted. When I got there, the store was so empty, you could shoot a cannon down the main corridor. I traipsed up to the third floor, and not a soul was in sight. After trudging around the cavernous linen department, I found the pillows I wanted. Were they on sale? I couldn't tell, and there was no one to ask. I glanced up and saw surveillance cameras with a sign "shoplifters will be prosecuted". As if I am going to walk out with two large Tempurpedic pillows and perhaps a new duvet cover, especially with Big Brother watching me. There were no sales clerks to help me, just lots of cameras ... watching...  Rather than making me feel like a valued customer, the store managed to make me feel creepy.

Did I end up getting the pillows? Yes, I went to Ed's Linens where there were three lovely sales clerks ready to answer all of my questions about what was the right product for me. They even threw in some free bath lotion.

Charlie Woodward was right. If a person is in the business of selling merchandise, they had better at least make an attempt at selling the merchandise.