THE BRITISH ARE COMING

Paul Revere isn't riding down the lane but my tweets and blog indicate that the British are coming...not by land and not be sea but via social media.  It seems that the Brits are amazed at the overwhelming interest we Americans have in the Royal Wedding (I wonder if the Brits call us Americans by another name?)  They appear amused at our overwhelming interest in the the magic of the marriage to be.  Could it be that the last generation of matrimonial royalty have cast a pall over the English translation? 

We don't have royalty in the colonies and we seem to be sorely lacking on national idols so what could be better than a Royal Wedding?  Bieber Fever is great but doesn't appeal to the masses.    Especially at a time like this,  the promise of pomp and the notion of romance, allow everyone to focus on the frivolous instead of nagging about the negative.  It gives us the opportunity to regale in the regal.  Most of us don't know the difference between a dame and a damsel but we do know a classy lassie when we see one.  And the notion of Prince Charming is charming well beyond our storybook years. 

So bring it on Brits!  Show us your best hats and remind us of our royal roots. And, although we won the Revolution you win this one! 

I AM SAD I AM

I am sad

I am

So sad not to get an invite

It just seems wrong, not right

I do not want to stand on the side

I want to be able to see the bride

Kanye gets to go

But Michelle was a no

What about that Uncle Gary

Could be fun with him and Harry

Fergie I can understand

But Nick and Carla are banned

I am sad

I am

That Posh Spice will be there

And Chelsy Davy with her pretty hair

Nineteen hundred and I am not one

That is not nice, that is not fun!

Wouldn’t you like me in Buck House

I would be quiet as a mouse

Won’t you please rethink

And at least invite me for a drink

So please be ever so sweet

@royalcrasher the invite you can tweet.

I AM SAD I AM

I am sad

I am

So sad not to get an invite

It just seems wrong, not right

I do not want to stand on the side

I want to be able to see the bride

Kanye gets to go

But Michelle was a no

What about that Uncle Gary

Could be fun with him and Harry

Fergie I can understand

But Nick and Carla are banned

I am sad

I am

That Posh Spice will be there

And Chelsy Davy with her pretty hair

Nineteen hundred and I am not one

That is not nice, that is not fun!

Wouldn’t you like me in Buck House

I would be quiet as a mouse

Won’t you please rethink

And at least invite me for a drink

So please be ever so sweet

@royalcrasher the invite you can tweet.

Float like a butterfly

The only monarchs we have in the United States is our beautiful butterflies. It's interesting to watch Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth with the transplanted Piers Morgan touching on the subject tonight. And just like the butterfly they simply alight around the topic but don't seem to get to the heart of the matter.

My American friends are in awe of the monarchy. We learned about kings and queens long before we started on the Revolutionary War. And what little girl hasn't been referred to as Princess. It might be more politically correct your daughter by Sasha; while we still long to be Queen for a Day we certainly would prefer to be dressed as Michelle.

Helena Bonham Carter actually met the Queen Mum as did Piers. We hope she wasn't dressed as the Queen of Hearts - that role will always belong to Princess Di. I like his description of her never explaining and never complaining. I guess when you are the Queen you rely on others to bide by your wishes.

And for those of us fond of the royalty we are certainly glad that their lifespan is much longer than that of the insect variety. Great interview with our new "king" of interviews with Piers Morgan.

Rub a Pub Pub - Do The Brits Do It Better?

There are several things that I think the British might do better than us in the USA.  The weekends always are a wind down time and here in the Village of Midlothian, Va, USA you might find a group of friends gathering around a bar for a couple of rounds. 

Our rounds might consist of a Cosmopolitan or Fireflies instead of a pint of bitters.  It's actually amazing that the Cosmopolitan has lasted so long as the staple of the woman's menu it is actually becoming "old fashion-ed".  And our bars' names certainly lack imagination:  Caddy's, Bailey's, Sports Page, Wild Ginger, Mediterrano and the like. 

Now, let's take a look at a couple of the names that I might have the chance to frequent on my upcoming trip - The Old Queen's Head, Tiger Tiger, Anchor and Hope, The Cow, The Dog and Duck, just to name a few of the 4500 pubs in London!!!!  Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese sounds like my kind of spot - after all, Charles Dickens had a pint there and so might I! 

Cheers and cheerio!

Gaga over Gaga - American Royalty

While many of our friends across the sea might be gaga over Hollywood, my starry eyes only have visions of London. America's closest brush with Royalty has to be the entertainment industry and tonight is a "red carpet" night with the Grammy's.  While our stars flaunt their wardrobes, which either lack total imagination or defy all imagination there is something refreshing about the sedate and secretive rush of royalty.

Would you rather see your idea of royalty arrive in a placenta egg or a glass carriage?  Do you want to talk to your stars about how they keep the girls in or talk to your prince about how to keep the girls out?  Would you rather watch E or the BBC?  Don't get me wrong but Justin Beiber doesn't cause my heart to skip a beat like Prince Harry can. 

Yes, our American royalty might entertain but the English do a much better job at keeping mum and their is magic in their mystery.

The Magic Kingdom

"I'm going to Disney World!'  Yes, it's a tradition for the winning Superbowl quarterback and definitively American.  The magic kingdom awaits with its promise of fun and food and the funny little guy with big ears - Mickey Mouse, not Prince Charles.


Not being a Disney die-hard, my magic kingdom also awaits.  And, according to early press predictions, the queue might be a little longer in London for those wanting to catch a glimpse of a modern-day Cinderella.  Figures of close to 1.5 - 2 million are being bandied about and one can only wonder where will all these people go.  Can you imagine waiting for Space Mountain in that line?


I can only imagine that there will be something magical about visiting a real Kingdom, complete with its castles and carriages.  And, my guess is that any royal firework display will certainly be greater than the one that crosses the Florida skies each evening.  Uncle Walt no longer reigns supreme and the American kingdom is a commercial approach designed to capture the imagination that is part of London's living legends.  


So let Aaron Rodgers go to Disney World.  I'm headed to London where a historian named Walter Bagehot wrote over 100 years ago about the royal monarchy:  "In its mystery is its life.  We must not let daylight in upon magic."

In for a Penny - In for a Pound

As the plans for the trip across the pond begin to take shape, it has become more evident that I am venturing from my homeland into a land unknown; we are talking currency conversion here.  And although I just attempted to download an app for it on my iPad (but it was going to require reading the new "Terms and Conditions" which total 36 pages) I decided to forgo the research and blog ahead.


So, earlier this week I questioned 2 charges on my AmEx that were an integral part of my pre-planning.  Although it would be be a great story to say that my life-long dream has been to venture to England and that as the youngest of 23 children, abandoned at birth and scrambling my whole life to save my pennies for a trip to find my birth parents (a WWII vet and retired English nurse that met in the hospital as he was recovering from the Blitz) that would be what we Americans call bullsh***t (or Reality TV); the real story is that the morning the Royal Wedding date was announced I was playing on my iPad while watching the telly in the lounge and, on a lark, I booked a hotel room in London within minutes of the announcement.  It sounded like fun - a girls weekend (or hen party) not at the sea BUT across the sea.  Unfortunately, most of the roosters would not allow a hen party so Mary (more about her later)and I decided to forge ahead.  I know, what does all this have to do with currency conversion?  Patience please!


The Terms and Conditions for the hotel (4-5 star rated, depending on your resource) stated a one-night non-refundable deposit and no cancellation policy.  I could accept all those terms easily since I had not talked to my rooster at this point and, at the most, I would be out $215 or a lot of Pounds.  


The venture begin to take a life of its own - with Christmas and my birthday both in December the trip became a reality (along with Kayak alerts on a great fare for Virgin Atlantic) as my gifts all came with a British flair (anybody want to buy one of 16 copies of Fodor's London 2011 that I received?).  


What I didn't expect was the surprise that came with my AmEx bill with a bill for $1100 for the hotel.  I called AmEx and they would happily dispute the claim which I feared would result in me being booted from my room at the inn, which could now sell for quite a few more pounds than my original reservation.  Instead I opted to inquire at the hotel direct, via email.  Today, they responded "I would like to thank you for highlighting the MISLEADING detail in your confirmation; we have taken action to rectify this in order to avoid confusion."  They further confirmed that I have been charged for 744GBP for three night's room and tax.  Hmmmm....sounds like the only action taken was responding to my email; which in today's world is known as outstanding customer service.


I mean, doesn't the conversion rate fluctuate wildly?  At what rate on what date was my American Express charged?   (I bet those Terms and Conditions would be fun to read!)  Today $1100 = 681GBP.  


And, let's not even get started on the confusion for my tickets to Les Mis which were also on the same bill - two times!  


I guess there is a reason they call us "foreigners" but all those waiting for my arrival (and to date, no one has indicated that they are) please take heart, I plan to read those 36 pages of Terms and Conditions before I arrive and download the currency conversion App.  After all, I'm in for a penny or for a pound!


Cheerio.