November

HOUSE OF ENGLAND
www.houseofengland.org
House of Pacific Relations- Intl Cottages
2294 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, 92101
President
Fran Weekley
619-262-5512
fweekle@cox.net
Vice-President
Rachel Adams
858-354-1871
Rachel@sandiegohoney.com
2nd Vice-President
Hosting coordinator
Meegan Gosseline
619-469-0510
mgoss1@cox.net
Secretary
Rich Braun
619-517-1357
richbraun123@gmail.com
Treasurer
Melvin Weekley
619-262-5512
619-851-5514 cell
mlweekle@cox.net
Trustee
Steve Gonzales
619-260-8178
Membership
Terry Carpenter
Britlady68@peoplepc.com
HPR Delegates
Fran Weekley
Mel Weekley
HPR Alt. delegates
Rachel Adams
Sandra Yeaman
Alex Yeaman
Paul Molina
Chris Tuttle
Webmaster
Melvin Weekley
619-262-5512
619-851-5514 cell
mlweekle@cox.net
Newsletter Editors
Frances Weekley
Melvin Weekley
Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
NEWSLETTER- NOVEMBER 2015
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at HALL OF NATIONS at 6:30pm. We will
have jacket potatoes with toppings and dessert a la Selena, short meeting which will include
voting for next year’s Board, and then another fun game. Come prepared to eat and enjoy a
laugh or two!
Meeting minutes: The October minutes are being mailed or emailed with this newsletter to
save time. Please read so that they can be approved at the November meeting.
Beryl Clarke has not had a good month. She fell again at home and had to have further
surgery. She is now in a rehab.facility. Still not quite ready for visitors yet but cards/calls
would be great.
Patrick Kearney was not able to find a place to stay and had to return to Alaska for a while.
The waiting lists for accommodation he qualified for were so long.
Birthdays in November: Eileen, Maureen J, Dottie, Sandra, Rita, Jeff, Maureen F, Jen.
Anniversaries in November: Dave/ Sharon, Alex/Sandra, Jim/Jing.
Annual Election of Officers: Come to the November meeting to vote.
British Legion Poppies: we have poppies available by donation at the cottage AND our
Tower of London Poppy is on display. Come check it out!
Food Handler Training Certificate: If you don’t have this please see Fran about attending a
class on Nov 12th or Nov 17th evenings. No cost and good for 3 years. If you host in cottage
and/or help at events, the health dept really wants you to have this certificate.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Sat. Oct 31st: Halloween at the Houses! Cottage will be open for trick or treaters from noon
until 4pm.. Come and join in the fun- costumes optional!
Wed. Nov 11th: Ladies Auxiliary Luncheon: At noon, at the HALL OF NATIONS. It will be
hosted by House of Turkey. Men are invited also. It is only $4 per meal with good food and
good fellowship.
Sat. Nov 14th: Peace Corp Presentation at the Houses: House of England is sponsoring
this event in honour of Marcee Chipman, honorary member, serving currently with the Peace
Corp in Senegal. Come and join in the celebration and promotion of the Peace Corp.
Tuesday Dec 1st: Christmas Party: Get your tickets at the November meeting or call Fran to
order. Selena has agreed to do the same wonderful meal she did last year. Tickets only $15
each for a great evening of food, entertainment and fun.
Fri/ Sat Dec. 4/5: December nights/ International Christmas Festival: Yes, that crazy two
day event is coming up again. Please sign up to bring baked goods, volunteer in the cottage
or food booth and help with set up/ tear down.
MAY YOU ALL HAVE MANY BLESSINGS TO COUNT THIS THANKSGIVING
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HOSTING AND HOSTESSING AT THE COTTAGE
Thank you to our volunteers.
Call our hosting chairperson, Meegan Gosseline to volunteer for future dates. 619-469-0510
Commitment is from 12 noon to 4PM, providing light refreshments and milk (teabags, sugar and
paper products are provided) and chatting with the visitors. Donations are accepted for upkeep of the
cottage.
(Cottage must have the doors open a minimum of 4 hours between 12:00 noon and 5:00pm)
Oct 4
Oct 11
Oct 18
Oct 25
Dottie and Fran
Steve , Meegan and Fran
Mike H and Fran
Sheila, Kayleigh and Fran
Nov 1
Nov 8
Nov 15
Nov 22
Nov 29
Steve, OPEN
Anne and Fran
Dottie and Fran
Charlotte, Meegan, Fran
Alex and Sandra
Fran will work with anyone hosting for the first time to show how
we do it!
Reminders: It is acceptable to take $10 per host from the donations towards cost of milk and food- just let the Treasurer
know for accounting purposes.
Also, please let Fran know if you notice that any supplies need replenished.
House of England Lapel Pins: These are on display at the cottage. If a visitor donates to obtain one, please let Mel
know when turning in the donations money. (Pins are $4 each).
Interested in joining House of England?
Print a membership application from the website (www.houseofengland.org/member) or get one at the cottage
on a Sunday afternoon and mail with check for $12 made out to the House of England to membership
chairperson, Terry Carpenter, 3955 Violet Street, La Mesa, Ca 91941
TARDIS at Maker Faire!
Mr. Plod at a lawn program!
Page 2 of 14
Our House Queen and Princesses in 1990s
TERRORIST ATTACKS ARE NOT UNIQUE TO OUR AGE.
Near the end of 1605, a group of radical, disenchanted Catholics plotted to overthrow the British
government by blowing up the House of Lords, killing King James I, and wiping out the nation’s
religious leadership, which had in recent generations become Protestant.
Due to an intercepted letter, the 36 barrels of gunpowder hidden
in the cellar were discovered and the plotters, including Guy
Fawkes, arrested, tried and grotesquely executed . (not burnt at
stake).
Londoners immediately began lighting bonfires in celebration that
the plot had failed, and a few months later Parliament declared
November 5 a public day of thanksgiving.
IN YEARS PAST: Children made a “Guy” and asked for pennies to purchase fireworks. On Nov 5th
the “Guy” was burnt on top of a big bonfire. Children lit their fireworks and put potatoes and chestnuts
in the bonfire embers to roast. Such fun times!
“Penny for the Guy”
at House of England!
Page 3 of 14
Reflections on fame and living in Del Mar from Zandra Rhodes
BY MICHELE PARENTE : Union-Tribune 10-19-15
To hear her tell it, Zandra Rhodes’ life is like a bolt of plain muslin fabric — muted, ecru, and oh-so-dull. Evidence to the
contrary, the British-born fashion designer’s life has mirrored one of her heavily textured, ornately patterned silk kaleidoscopic
prints. She is a walking explosion of Technicolor, and not just because of her bold, fuchsia bob and theatrical teal blue eye
shadow.
Over four decades, Rhodes’ outsized client list has included Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy, Diana Ross, Freddie Mercury,
Debbie Harry, Shirley Bassey, Lauren Bacall and Elizabeth Taylor; she has counted architect Frank Gehry, Diana Vreeland and
Divine among her friends. One of the first designers to send clothes down the runway with slashes and safety pins, Rhodes was
dubbed “The Princess of Punk,” and is credited with helping put the London fashion scene on the map. Last year, she was
bestowed the title of “Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire” by Queen Elizabeth herself.
Rhodes, now 75, is a part-time Del Mar resident and has a design studio in Solana Beach...
Rhodes, a self-described workaholic, is as active — and relevant — as ever.
She just came off showing her latest collection at London Fashion Week), to
good reviews. Last week, she was in Seattle putting the finishing touches on
the costumes she designed for the Seattle Opera production of Bizet’s “The
Pearl Fishers,” which opened Saturday. And on Thursday, she will hold her
annual fashion show at San Diego’s Westgate Hotel.
When she’s not in London overseeing production of her custom-made
garments or tending to the Fashion and Textile Museum she founded there,
Rhodes lives most of the year here, by the beach, with longtime partner
Salah Hassanein, 94, a former president of Warner Brothers. Hassanein, a
native of Egypt, retired 20 years ago, decided he wanted to live by the sea in
Del Mar, and persuaded Rhodes to join him.
Zandra Rhodes shows her hand-painted jean jacket at her studio in Solana Beach.
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Tower of London poppy on display
at the cottage
Remembering also the heroes of all wars.
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The poppies are back! Iconic Tower Of London flowers inspire a new audience at
a disused Northumberland colliery (Daily Mail Sept 12, 2015)
The iconic ceramic poppies which surrounded the Tower of London to mark the centenary of the First
World War have gone on display at an old colliery in Northumberland –started Sept 12th, 2015.
The red poppies, which captured the public’s imagination last year and attracted more than five
million visitors, are now on show at the Woodhorn Colliery Museum in Ashington. Several thousand
poppies can be seen cascading from the old pit wheel and down to the ground creating an impressive
installation called the Weeping Window.
Another “Wave” as been opened at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton until January 2016. This
is a waterfall of poppies from a bridge into a lake.
The locations were chosen by a panel who selected them because of their connections to the First World War.
1. Of the 65,000 men from Yorkshire who served in the war, 9,000 were killed in action. The Yorkshire Sculpture Park has
500 acres of parkland and five galleries.
2. More than 2,000 miners serving at the Front came from Woodhorn Colliery, where a museum, home of the Pitman
Painters, now stands.
3. St George's Hall, which is within Liverpool's city centre, held First World War recruitment rallies, and offers a "visually
compelling" site for the poppy displays.
The third location is to be open later in the year.
Stoke-on-Trent has petitioned to added as a location as one of the potteries used to make the poppies is there. (The
Sentinel 9-18-15)
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Harvest Festival –Kenilworth church.
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An American tourist posted his impressions of England on Facebook:
I was in England again a few weeks ago, mostly in small towns, but here's some of what I noticed:
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Almost everyone is very polite
The food is generally outstanding
There are no guns
There are too many narrow stairs
Everything is just a little bit different
The pubs close too early
The reason they drive on the left is because all their cars are
built backwards
Pubs are not bars, they are community living rooms.
You’d better like peas, potatoes and sausage
Refrigerators and washing machines are very small
Everything is generally older, smaller and shorter
People don’t seem to be afraid of their neighbours or the
government
Their paper money makes sense, the coins don’t
Everyone has a washing machine but driers are rare
Hot and cold water faucets. Remember them?
Pants are called “trousers”, underwear are “pants” and
sweaters are “jumpers”
The bathroom light is a string hanging from the ceiling
“Fanny” is a naughty word, as is “shag”
All the signs are well designed with beautiful typography and
written in full sentences with proper grammar.
There’s no dress code
Doors close by themselves, but they don’t always open
They eat with their forks upside down
The English are as crazy about their gardens as Americans
are about cars
They don’t seem to use facecloths or napkins or maybe
they’re just neater then we are
The wall outlets all have switches, some don’t do anything
There are hardly any cops or police cars
5,000 years ago, someone arranged a lot of rocks all over,
but no one is sure why
When you do see police they seem to be in male & female
pairs and often smiling
Black people are just people: they didn’t quite do slavery
here
Everything comes with chips, which are French fries. You
put vinegar on them
Cookies are “biscuits” and potato chips are “crisps”
HP sauce is better than catsup
Obama is considered a hero, Bush is considered an idiot.
After fish and chips, curry is the most popular food
The water controls in showers need detailed instructions
They can boil anything
Folks don’t always lock their bikes
It’s not unusual to see people dressed different and
speaking different languages
Your electronic devices will work fine with just a plug adapter
Nearly everyone is better educated then we are
If someone buys you a drink you must do the same
There are no guns
Look right, walk left. Again; look right, walk left. You’re
welcome.
Avoid British wine and French beer
It’s not that hard to eat with the fork in your left hand with a
little practice. If you don’t, everyone knows you’re an
American
Many of the roads are the size of our sidewalks
There’s no AC Instead of turning the heat up, you put on a
jumper
Gas is “petrol”, it costs about $6 a gallon and is sold by the
litre
If you speed on a motorway, you get a ticket. Period. Always
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You don’t have to tip, really!
Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall really are different
countries
Only 14% of Americans have a passport, everyone in the UK
does
You pay the price marked on products because the taxes
(VAT) are built in
Walking is the national pastime
Their TV looks and sounds much better then ours
They took the street signs down during WWII, but haven’t
put them all back up yet
Everyone enjoys a good joke
There are no guns
Dogs are very well behaved and welcome everywhere
There are no window screens
You can get on a bus and end up in Paris
Everyone knows more about our history then we do
Radio is still a big deal. The BBC is quite good
The newspapers can be awful
Everything costs the same but our money is worth less so
you have to add 50% to the price to figure what you’re
paying
Beer comes in large, completely filled, actual pint glasses
and the closer the brewery the better the beer
Butter and eggs aren’t refrigerated
The beer isn’t warm, each style is served at the proper
temperature
Cider (alcoholic) is quite good.
Excess cider consumption can be very painful.
The universal greeting is “Cheers” (pronounced “cheeahz”
unless you are from Cornwall, then it’s “chairz”)
The money is easy to understand: 1-2-5-10-20-50 pence,
then-£1-£2-£5-£10, etc bills. There are no quarters.
Their cash makes ours look like Monopoly money
Cars don’t have bumper stickers
Many doorknobs, buildings and tools are older than America
By law, there are no crappy, old cars
When the sign says something was built in 456, they didn’t
lose the “1”
Cake is pudding, ice cream is pudding, anything served for
dessert is pudding, even pudding
BBC 4 is NPR
Everything closes by 1800 (6pm)
Very few people smoke, those who do often roll their own
You’re defined by your accent
No one in Cornwall knows what the hell a Cornish Game
Hen is
Soccer is a religion, religion is a sport
Europeans dress better then the British, we dress worse
The trains work: a three minute delay is regrettable
Drinks don’t come with ice
There are far fewer fat English people
There are a lot of healthy old folks around participating in life
instead of hiding at home watching TV
If you’re over 60, you get free tv and bus and rail passes. They don’t use Bose anything anywhere
Displaying your political or religious affiliation is considered
very bad taste
Every pub has a pet drunk
Their healthcare works, but they still bitch about it
Cake is one of the major food groups
Their coffee is mediocre but theirtea is wonderful
There are still no guns
Towel warmers!
Cheers!
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert (1836–
1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men, both
born in London, collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The
Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.
Gilbert, who wrote the words, created fanciful "topsy-turvy" worlds for these operas where each absurdity is
taken to its logical conclusion—fairies rub elbows with British lords, flirting is a capital offence, gondoliers
ascend to the monarchy, and pirates turn out to be noblemen who have gone wrong. Sullivan, six years Gilbert's
junior, composed the music, contributing memorable melodies that could convey both humour and pathos.
Their operas have enjoyed broad and enduring international success and are still performed frequently
throughout the English-speaking world. Gilbert and Sullivan introduced innovations in content and form that
directly influenced the development of musical theatre through the 20th century. The operas have also
influenced political discourse, literature, film and television and have been widely parodied and pastiched by
humourists. Producer Richard D'Oyly Carte brought Gilbert and Sullivan together and nurtured their
collaboration. He built the Savoy Theatre in London in 1881 to present their joint works (which came to be
known as the Savoy Operas) and founded the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which performed and promoted
Gilbert and Sullivan's works for over a century.
This is the time of year when many people enjoy a good Gilbert and Sullivan opera.
Page 8 of 14
Dale Chihuly (born September 20, 1941), is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur. His works are
considered unique to the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". The technical
difficulties of working with glass forms are considerable, yet Chihuly uses it as the primary medium for
installations and environmental artwork. His work has been exhibited in many countries including England:
2001- Chihuly at the V&A, Victoria and Albert Museum and 2005: Gardens of Glass, Kew Gardens.
Chandelier at V&A Museum
Chihuly at Kew Gardens
Display at Kew Gardens
Sunset boat- Chatsworth
Margaret, at the Seattle exhibition.
Page 9 of 14
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It has been 20 years since BBC's Pride and Prejudice was first aired
Here some of it's cast and crew reveal things you never knew about it: By Liz Hoggard for the Daily Mail
Can it really be 20 years since Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle gripped the nation as on-off lovers Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in BBC1’s mega mini-series Pride and Prejudice?
The critically acclaimed six-parter was a huge success that made a sex symbol out of Colin, earned a Best Actress
BAFTA for his co-star Jennifer and is credited with bringing period drama to a fresh generation of younger viewers. But
when it first went out on BBC1 on 24 September 1995 no one guessed it would change the TV landscape.Colin Firth
wasn’t actually allowed to dive into the lake himself for the wet shirt scene as the film’s insurers demanded a stuntman
because of the fear he might contract Weil’s disease, spread by rats’ urine in the water and potentially fatal.
Catastrophe occurred when Colin Firth had to shoot the underwater close-ups of him
swimming in the lake in a large weed-filled tank at Ealing Studios some time after the
outdoor scenes were filmed.
‘The tank was covered by four heavy, metal-reinforced wooden slabs,’ says director
Simon Langton. ‘On the day Colin was due to dive in; the plan was to remove all the slabs
by crane. When I arrived the last slab was still in place but I was told there was no need to
move it. Colin overheard this and intervened, saying nobly that he would take special care
to avoid surfacing too late and hitting the slab.’
Against the director’s better instincts filming commenced, but ‘all too predictably the
momentum of Colin’s initial dive took him further than he’d calculated, so he rose to the
surface beneath the slab, hitting the metal support crossbar with a sickening thud – right on the bridge of his nose.
By some miracle, the collision wasn’t as bad as was feared. ‘The swelling on Colin’s nose wasn’t conspicuous enough to
merit rescheduling. I was wary however of using any profile shots for some time,’ adds Simon dryly. ‘We made him look
wet instead. ‘Colin poured a bucket of water over his head, much to the consternation of the make-up and costume
departments – and the rest is history.
Audiences fell for the slow burn romance at the heart of the drama, helped no doubt by Colin and Jennifer's own real-life
love affair on set. The romance went on for several months after the filming of Pride and Prejudice was finished.
Jennifer was only 24 but, says David Bamber; she was already ‘a miraculous actress’. ‘She was so composed. She hit the
bull’s eye every time. I don’t mean she was complacent. She was just fully formed. I was mesmerised by her, everybody
was. And Colin was a hoot, very funny and adorable.’
The locations were nearly as important as the actors. For the Bennets’ home of Longbourn an ochre-coloured house in
Wiltshire called Luckington Court was found. Morse actor John Thaw, who lived at the end of the road, was not happy
when the BBC crew descended on his rural idyll. ‘He complained bitterly because he wanted to get away from it all, but
we invited him for a drink and he went away well-fed and mollified,’ recalls director Simon Langton.
The ladies' Regency necklines displaying ample cleavage caused much merriment on set. But the high-waisted dresses
saved the day for director Simon Langton when three months into filming Susannah Harker, who played Jane Bennet
announced she was pregnant.
READY FOR WAR AND PEACE FROM THE SAME TEAM?
A glorious mini-series like Pride and Prejudice reminds us all how good great drama can be. And Andrew Davies will be
hoping for the same impact having teamed up with the BBC again for his latest project, a six-hour adaptation of Tolstoy’s
epic novel War and Peace scheduled for this winter. Just as he did with Darcy, Andrew has focused on the book’s
brooding hero Prince Andrei, played by Grantchester’s James Norton who shot to fame in Happy Valley. ‘We want to get
the women of England excited,’ says Andrew. Filmed in Russia, Latvia and Lithuania, the series also stars Downton’s Lily
James, already a Hollywood star thanks to Cinderella, as heroine Natasha, Ade Edmondson as her father Count Rostov,
Greta Scacchi as his wife, and Gillian Anderson and Rebecca Front as a pair of scheming society ladies. The bets are on
it will create the same sort of hysteria as Pride and Prejudice – 20 years on.
Page 10 of 14
The Royal Yacht Britannia was Queen Elizabeth II’s floating home for over 40 years, sailing over
1,000,000 miles around the world, visiting over 600 ports in 135 countries, on 968 official royal visits,
with a crew of 276. (San Diego U-Y Sept 27, 2015)
Now berthed in Edinburgh, you can follow in the footsteps of Royalty to discover the heart and soul of
this most special of Royal residences.
(Britannia visited San Diego in 1983- some
of the House of England members were
invited to dine on board!)
The 83rd in a line of royal
yachts dating to 1660,
the Britannia was
completed in April 1953
by John Brown’s
Clydebank shipyard in
Scotland to replace the
aging Victoria and Albert
III. It had the ability to
also function as a
hospital ship, if needed.
It could produce its own
fresh water from sea
water, and a two-month supply of meat and fish could be stored in the cold rooms. The dairy and
vegetable rooms could hold enough supplies to feed the entire ship passengers and crew for a
month. Fresh bread was baked daily, and 100 chickens could be roasted at a time in the ship’s two
ovens.
It has hosted everything from formal state dinners to royal honeymoons-although not always a token
of luck, since the four royal couples who honeymooned onboard ended up on rough seas, so to
speak, eventually divorcing. Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones 1960, Princess Anne
and Capt. Mark Phillips 1973, Prince Charles and Princess Diana 1981, and Duke and Duchess of
York 1986).
Britannia has been open for tours since October 1998. It is owned by the Royal Yacht Trust who offer
self-guided audio tours so visitors can see how royalty once lived at sea. They can see the Queen’s
former sleeping quarters and those of Prince Philip next door. The royal cabins have extra high
portholes to allow for privacy in case a crew member passes by the outside deck. The ship houses a
post office, three galleys, laundry, sick bay and operating theatre.
The Queen selected the deep blue colour. Its crest is on the stern and its name does not appear on
the side of the ship.
For a state visit, the queen took five tons of luggage, including royal jewelry and Malvern water for her
tea.Up to 45 members of the royal household would accompany her, including her surgeon,
detectives, hairdresser, valets, footmen, ladies-in-waiting, press, private secretaries and chefs.
The State Dining room hosted such dignitaries as Winston Churchill, Rajiv Ghandi, Boris Yeltsin,
Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Bill and Hilary Clinton.
The Britannia was decommissioned at 3:01pm on Dec 11, 1997 (hence all clocks on board are
stopped at that time). This ceremony was said to be the only time the queen was seen shedding a
tear in public-and she has not been aboard since.
Page 11 of 14
BIG BEN might be running out of time:
LONDON -- Big Ben has been striking the hour for 156 years, but lately it's been slipping. It was
out a whole six seconds last summer. (CBS news with Ian Westworth)
The men who maintain it, like Ian Westworth, have been struggling to keep it on
time -- even using pennies as weights. "By putting on or taking off a penny on the
pendulum, you speed up or slow down the clock by two-fifths of a second in 24
hours," Westworth said.
Now Big Ben is on borrowed time, so worn out it may have to be stopped and
completely overhauled before the 14-foot long, 600 pound minute hands fall off.
British lawmakers have warned the clock may stop altogether if it is not refurbished
-- at a cost of $45 million (£29 million) -- in works that would see it shut down for
four months.
Newspaper columnist Quentin Lett believes stopping Big Ben would be like stopping the heartbeat of London.
"This is the marrow in our bones, this old clock," said Lett. "The thought of it not being there, or one hand flying
off, or heaven forbid the thing going digital, is just too gruesome to consider."
It would be like losing yet another old symbol of London when others seem to be dropping like flies.
The iconic hop-on hop-off buses are gone, replaced by unloved models. The old red phone boxes are only
kept around for the tourists since the advent of the cell phone. And London's famous black cabs are now
threatened by Uber.
If Big Ben were to go, "it would be a calamity. A catastrophe, a disaster," Lett said. "And for that reason I
suspect they will find a way round this." But it seems they are running out of time -- literally.
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in
London and weighs 13 ½ tons. The tower is officially known as the Elizabeth Tower, renamed as such to
celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012 (formerly called St. Stephen’s Tower). The tower holds
the second largest four-faced chiming clock in the world (Minneapolis City Hall having the largest). The tower
was completed in 1858 and there are 334 steps to the top. The clock is the most accurate one ever built and is
called ‘the great clock’.
The clock dials are set in an iron frame 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter, supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a
stained-glass window. Some of the glass pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands. The surround of the dials is
gilded. At the base of each clock dial in gilt letters is the Latin inscription: DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM
VICTORIAM PRIMAM, which means O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.
Unlike most other Roman numeral clock dials, which show the '4' position as 'IIII', the Great Clock faces depict '4' as 'IV'.
The dial also has an adapted 'X', used for number '9', '10', '11' and '12'.
The Daily Mail said the record for a Big Ben shutdown is 26 days intermittently over nine months in 1976, during repairs.
BBC bulletins with pips on the hour replaced the tower’s chimes.
Page 12 of 14
MINI is a British automotive marque owned by BMW
which specialises in small cars.
The original Mini was a line of iconic British small cars
manufactured by the British Motor Corporation from
1959 until 2000. Its models included the Morris MiniMinor and the Austin Seven, the Countryman, Moke,
1275GT and Clubman. Performance versions of these models used the name Cooper, due to a partnership
with racing legend John Cooper. The original two-door Mini continued in production until 2000. Development
of a successor began in 1995 and the new generation car was launched in 2001. The current Mini range
includes the Hardtop/Hatch/Convertible (three-door hatchback), Clubman (estate), Countryman (five-door
crossover), Coupe/Roadster and Paceman (three-door crossover based on the Countryman).
The Mini was originally a product of the British Motor Corporation, which in 1966 became part of British
Motor Holdings. British Motor Holdings merged with Leyland Motors in 1968 to form British Leyland. Mini
became a marque in its own right in 1969. In the 1980s, British Leyland was broken-up and in 1988 Rover
Group, including Mini, was acquired by British Aerospace. In 1994, Rover Group was acquired by BMW. In
2000, Rover Group was broken up by BMW, with BMW retaining the Mini brand. Ochen Goller of BMW
currently serves as the managing director of the Mini division.
The Mini Hatch/Hardtop, Clubman, Convertible, Coupe and Roadster are assembled at BMW's Plant Oxford in
Cowley, England, and the Countryman and Paceman are assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria. A total of
301,526 Mini vehicles were sold worldwide in 2012. Mini vehicles have been active in rallying and the Mini
Cooper S won the Monte Carlo Rally on three occasions, in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Mini has participated in the
World Rally Championship since 2011 through the Prodrive WRC Team.
1959 Morris Mini-Minor. This car, with registration number
621 AOK, was the first Mini off the production line to be
badged Morris. It was never sold, and is now kept at the
Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, UK.
2014 mini with Union Jack
2015 Mini Countryman
1st in a ‘Transportation’ series suggested by Arya.
Page 13 of 14
Duchess Kate stuns in tiara for state dinner
Duchess Kate donned the Queen Mother's tiara for her first state dinner at Buckingham Palace, which was
held in honor of Chinese president Xi Jinping. Kate dazzled in her diamond Lotus Flower tiara and her stunning
Jenny Packham red gown. Approximately 130 guests attended the function, but Kate, per usual, stole the
show.
She teamed the diamond piece with chandelier
earrings loaned to her by the Queen.
Duchess of York in 1928 wearing the Lotus
Flower tiara after it was made by Garrard
from a Greek-style necklace given to her by
her husband the future George VI.
Princess Margaret wears the Lotus Flower
Tiara at an official reception at the King's
House, Jamaica, in 1962. Princess
Margaret was so fond of the tiara she often
wore it throughout the Sixties, Seventies
and Eighties, even until the Nineties.
Page 14 of 14