The Jubilee Weekend (Part III: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and my birthday!)

Tuesday was the last day of the long weekend and it was off because it was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which meant she has been the ruling monarch for 60 years!  (conveniently it was also my birthday!)

The Queen's coronation in 1952 when she was 26 years old, same age as I am now :)
Photo: AP Wire at http://www.smh.com.au/

The Queen during the Diamond Jubilee
(Photo by: Reuters/Toby Melville from http://www.theatlantic.com)

She is less than four years away from becoming the longest reigning monarch, a privilege currently held by Queen Victoria.  The celebration had been going on all weekend.  If I would have known more about all the events, I think I would have gone to London for the weekend, especially for the huge concert they had Monday night in front of Buckingham Palace.  There were tons of British performers including Elton John and Paul McCartney!  Would have been fun to see.

Anyway, we celebrated by going to my supervisor’s beautiful home in a smaller town outside of Swansea called Llanelli (pronounced in a way that I have no idea how to describe).  It was so much fun to see another little town, and to be inside a local’s house.  This may sound funny, but if you think about it, it is very easy to study/intern abroad and never go inside someone’s house or apartment.  For students, even if they are friends with many Welsh students, those students may be living in student housing, or in my case I’ve always met people out.  So it was nice to be in a home and be able to just relax and watch TV. 

Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at Angela's house!

We had proper British party food which included sausages, sausage rolls, crisps (see fun phrases below), sandwich halves, cheddar and pineapple, blue cheese and grapes, and cakes provided by Ari, the nine-year-old guest at the party and the source of much entertainment.  

Photo of Duchess Kate by UK Press Association

They sang happy birthday for me and let me blow out some candles.  We drank champagne and watched the concert from the night before and part of the ceremony that took place that morning.  I loved seeing what all of the royalty wore to everything, especially the hats and fascinators (the little head pieces many of the women wear J). 

We watched some shows about the queen for a while and talked about British history.  It was a perfect way to celebrate the Jubilee.  Thanks, Angela!! I’ve decided that if the royal family decides to throw a large celebration for either the Queen’s 64^th or 65^th Jubilee that I will definitely try to make it back to London!

Fun Phrases: (food edition J)

"Crisps" vs. "Chips" crisps are what Americans call chips, and chips are what Americans call fries.  This can get quite confusing when talking to another American in Britain!

"Biscuits" what Americans call cookies are what the British call biscuits.  Biscuits are not the doughy breakfast pastry that you pour gravy over. 

"Welshcakes" these are delicious pastries that are similar to scones, or sort of like an American biscuit/pancake/muffin combo type of pastry.  They are made primarily of flour, sugar, and butter with raisins or sultanas and often have cinnamon and nutmeg. Delicious!