Lost in Translation

From today's London Times:

Tony Henry, the opera singer tasked with singing the national anthems before England’s game with Croatia earlier this week, has become an unlikely hero of the Croatian game after appearing to make a somewhat risque slip of the tongue while belting out the nation’s tune.
The singer, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, should have sung “Mila kuda si planina”, which translates roughly as “You know my dear how we love your mountains”. Instead, he appears to have sung “Mila kura si planina”, which, although moderately nonsensical, can be interpreted as “My dear, my penis is a mountain”.

A potent reminder that you don't grow turkeys in the garden. The UK tea mug is a gift from friends who attended yesterday's ceremony.

Yiiiiiiiikkes!

What do you do the day after you become British citizens? Why you celebrate American Thanksgiving of course. We picked up our turkey yesterday afternoon but only discovered this morning that this farmer includes the head with his produce. Almost makes you want to become a vegetarian! Almost, but not quite.

Ron signs the visitor's book.

Maurene signs the visitor's book. Great clock!

Hein and his friend

Hein -checking out the herbs

Becoming British: The Final Step -Part II

After the ceremony we moved from the Council Chambers to the Reception Room for the quintessential 'tea and biscuits.' We were also asked to sign the visitors book which was once signed by Queen Elizabeth. People from six nations took part in our ceremony. Fifteen new 'subjects' in all.

We met an interesting gentleman from South Africa who was also becoming a citizen. Hein van Vorstenbosch is the Executive Chef for St. Catherine's Court which is the palatial home of actress Jane Seymour. Hein and his friend had forgotten to bring a camera and so he asked me to take some photos and send them to him. He offered us a tour of the estate as an exchange for my photographic skills! If you'd like a peak at St. Catherine's Court go to: www.stcath.com

Mary Ede, our Church Historian and Archivist presents us with gifts

Ron and the Vice Chairman of the Council

Maurene receives her Certificate of Naturalisation

Ron, Maurene and the Queen

Becoming British: The Final Step

Today was the big day! Maurene and I travelled to the Guildhall, just a block from Central United Reformed Church to become British citizens. The festivities actually kicked off the night before when we attended our monthly Church Meeting and were presented with a lovely teapot and an American/English English/American dictionary.

The actual ceremony lasted about one-half hour. It began with the Registrar welcoming us and then introducing the Vice Chairman of Bath and North East Somerset Council who gave us the 'official ' welcome. We then took the oath and the pledge (see below) and were presented with our Certificates of Naturalisation. The Registrar then congratulated us and the Vice Chairman added her congratulations and said that this was a special week to be naturalised since it was the week of Her Majesty's Diamond Wedding Anniversary.

Oath of allegiance: I (name) swear by Almighty God that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her Heirs and Successors, according to law.

I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.

Tony Benn

Loyal followers of this blog will know I'm a big fan of former Labour MP Tony Benn. Today, he spoke and did a book signing at St. Michael's Without Church. I went along to hear him speak for the second time since we arrived in Bath. He was mesmerising! It is so refreshing to hear someone who simply speaks his mind without spin, without vitriol, and with a great sense of humour. It helps that he is an old lefty. His latest book is a diary of his life since leaving the House of Commons. It is quite political yet interspersed with insights into his family life and his struggles with aging.

I took along my copy for him to sign. We had a brief but friendly chat. I told him that I had lived in Cincinnati (his late wife was from Cincinnati), I told him I was a Congregational Minister (his mother was a Congregational Minister), I told him that Maurene and I were becoming citizens of the United Kingdom on Wednesday. He asked where we lived in Cincy. Talked about Congregationalism and the direct line we have to the Almighty. He didn't say anything about the Citizenship Ceremony although in his book he is quite critical of swearing allegiance to the Queen. He is not a monarchist and describes the oath of allegiance as revolting. He does admit to repeating it when he joined Parliament. He says his oath is the same as American Patriot Thomas Paine: "My country is the world. My religion is to do good." He has written an authoritative book on Paine.

My favourite quote of the day. "The Labour party is not a socialist party. But their are a few of us socialists in the Labour Party. Just like their are a few Christians in churches." Bingo!

For a video sample go to: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/tony_benn/2007/10/the_struggle_goes_on.html

Sahara, the sun-worshipper

Spain or Iceland? One smart seal!

An Arctic hooded seal rescued off the coast of Africa last year and taken to Britain to be nursed back to health has paddled in the wrong direction again, turning up off the Spanish coast.

The story of Sahara began last year when he was only a few months old and was washed up on the shore of Morocco, far from the normal migratory zone of a loner animal that mates near Iceland and Greenland.Sahara was weak and had lost his fur when he was found, said Tamara Cooper of the National Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall. "We think he left a breeding area in Iceland and got completely lost and followed the shelf down to Morocco," she said.

In April, he was sent from Spain to the sanctuary in Cornwall so he could learn to socialise with other animals and gain weight. After six months, the sanctuary attached a satellite tag to Sahara, and released him near the Orkney Isles on October 10.The seal first headed towards Iceland, but then changed course and went south again, towards Spain. He was found on Sunday in the bay of Ondarroa, 45 miles from Bilbao. From Ondarroa, Sahara was taken to a rescue facility in San Sebastián, where his health is now being checked, Cooper said. "We're disappointed that he headed south and not back up north," she said. "But we're relieved that he's safe and well."

Sahara's urge to go south is a mystery. Other hooded seals have been observed to be heading south from the Arctic over the last 10 years, said Cooper, but the reason is not known. They may be following ocean currents or fish movements. Sahara's future has not yet been decided. "We hope he gets one more chance to remain free, instead of being protected here," Cooper said.

Kevin Brown:

This event celebrates the first acoustic blues evening at the United Reformed Church, Argyle Street in Bath - what promises to be an outstanding acoustic venue.Who better to herald this occasion than Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler's favourite blues man, our very own Kevin Brown, together with European blues master Homesick Mac and Phillip Henry, another of our home grown slide experts.This triple bill acoustic blues blow-out brings the very best of entertainment to the heart of Bath in this exciting newly refurbished venue.Doors open at 7.30pm.To book tickets, costing £10, and for more information telephone 0777 1907167 or visit http://www.thekevinbrown/. com.

From this week's Bath Chronicle, the emphasis is mine.

Maurene tries to hide her disappointment at the early blooming with a half smile.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . .

I don't know if it is the far north latitude where we live, but Maurene's Christmas Cactus blooms too early every year. Quite lovely this year, just 47 days to early.

Sound as the dollar??????????????

The current monetary situation is great for our pending trip to the USA, not so great for people coming this way. From today's Guardian:

The pound climbed to $2.10 for the first time since 1981 this morning, boosted by speculation that China was preparing to shift its foreign reserves out of dollars.
By 10.30am, one pound was worth $2.1053. The dollar, which has been weakening for several weeks, also hit a new all-time low against the euro of $1.4703.
Analysts said today's falls had been sparked by comments made by Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress. He told a Beijing conference on Tuesday that China would "favour stronger currencies over weaker ones, and readjust accordingly".
A vice director of China's central bank, Xu Jian, was also quoted as telling the conference that the dollar was "losing its status as the world currency".
Thanks to China's booming exports, the country now holds the largest reserves of foreign currency in the world. The People's Bank of China reported last month that at the end of September, China's foreign reserves were worth $1.434 trillion.
Adam Cole of RBC Capital Markets said this morning that the comments from the two Chinese officials had "clearly been the catalyst" for the latest dollar weakness.
"However, it is more due to negative dollar sentiment generally," Mr Cole said.
The slowdown in the American economy, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the ongoing credit crunch have all combined to weaken the US economy. Back in January, one pound was worth around $1.96.

This year's official photo. He doesn't look like a trouble maker.

Glorious. . . Not so glorious. . .

There goes the neighbourhood. . .

One of the few perks that ministers get in England is that the manse is quite often located in a 'desirable' part of town. With home prices in Bath some of the most expensive in the entire United Kingdom we live in a house far above our means -very far! The church purchased the house in the late 1800s when it was still reasonably priced for the frugal Congregationalists.

We've been noticing a house down the street going through some major renovations. Renovations in this neighbourhood, because of its historic value, are through the roof themselves; since everything has to be renovated to conservation standards. Remember my stone wall repair (see 20 October 2006 entry.)

Well today I found out that the house has been purchased by Olly Barkley. That name probably doesn't ring a bell with most of you. But he is a world class Rugby player and is one of the stars of Bath Premiership Rugby Team. In American Football terms, he isn't a Peyton Manning but he is at least an Eli Manning. He has also had a run in with the the law after a bar room scuffle earlier this year. Our Neighbourhood Watch will have to keep an eye on him. I attach a photo of a moment of glory and a moment he rued.