Royal Visit to the USA

[O'Callaghan]

Not sure how I missed this thread. I'm almost tempted to make the trek from Maryland to the Carolinas. Almost, but perhaps not quite.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Awards are not only available through the Scouts. I did mine through the Air Training Corps, which is a youth organisation that is part of the RAF. I think the Civil Air Patrol that you have here in the US may be somewhat similar, although I have no personal experience of the CAP.

We did our 'expedition' for the Gold Award in the Derbyshire Peaks, and got caught in a blizzard, even though it was Easter. We weren't carrying the required number of tents. Our CO cheated by carrying most of our tents in his car, when they were supposed to be carried by us. If your highnesses happen to be reading this, it wasn't our idea to put most of the tents in the car!

So, when the blizzard came down, we couldn't shelter as we were supposed to have done, as we only had a single 2-man tent between a dozen of us, and had to keep walking, using a compass for dead reckoning, as we couldn't see where we were going atall. Mind you, when actually faced with the prospect of erecting a tent in a blizzard, the idea seems hopeless anyway.

ETA: Not only that, but it's all bogs every few feet, which tend to suck you down, and when you can't see for the snow it's easy to step in one, which some did, so we had to pull them out.

We cut across to a road (eventually) and got a ride in the back of an open lorry (truck). I reckon I had hypothermia, and I certainly wasn't the only one, but the two eldest lads didn't seem to be as badly affected as the rest of us, and it was them who did the compass readings and the map reading. I don't think my mind stayed clear enough in that cold to do much but follow them out of there, so I'm not sure where I would have been without them.

ETA: It occurred to me that some will ask why we weren't dressed warmly enough, but it was a sunny spring day until it started snowing and the wind came up.

I received my Gold Award from Prince Phillip himself at Buckingham Palace. However, I think nowadays they are presented in local ceremonies by the Lord Lieutenant of the particular county (someone whose entire job appears to be performing ceremonies, and who dresses something like a police chief!).

I have told the following story in another thread, and probably other places too, but I can't resist it. When you go to Buckingham Palace as a guest you can bring a camera, but you can only take pictures when you are in the inner courtyard, where you are still out of doors, but you can't be seen by the public who are outside the gates. As a teenager, oh so long ago, I took my mother with me to the palace as my '***', i.e. the invitation allowed be to bring one other person. We had to enter by a side entrance, but we had to exit through the main gates in the front.

So, I walked out first, while mum dawdled behind on purpose, and then I was able to snap a picture of her standing on the parade ground in front of the palace through the open main gates, with no railings in between. A moment later, a coach ('tour bus' in American) full of Japanese tourists rolled up at the kerb, and they all jumped out and took pictures of my mum standing in front of Buckingham Palace! We still jest that they thought she was the Queen, LOL!

I would be half inclined to go to the games, as I doubt that there would be many other attendees at any US event who could wear the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award. OTOH, the likelihood of finding some way to meet Prince Edward would seem to be pretty slim.

As for the anti-royalty comments, I can understand, but as Jock says, there are different ways to express things. I can see the sense in abolishing the monarchy, even, but the present royals mean well, and do a lot of actual good, such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme itself.

Although I'm a Londoner originally, I'm Irish on my mother's side, and I do mean Irish of the Southern, Catholic, Gaelic variety (otherwise I'd hardly be posting under this user name), so I can even genuinely sympathise with some anti-British comments, provided they come from groups that were actually oppressed by the British, such as the Irish, and unless they are directed at me personally!