Southern Sonoma Country Life

Paddington Revisited — The Bear, The Myth, The Legend & The Great British Train Station

During my September visit to my childhood home in the deepest, darkest East Anglian Fens, we talked about the Paddington Bear collection that my parents sold for peanuts a decade or so ago during an extremely ardent and efficient streamlining of their household possessions. After raising four kids there was a lot of stuff in the attic, besides a certain likeness of a famous stuffed bear or two. And seeing as my parents had no appetite to downsize their beloved house, it was the mountain of old treasures that they tackled over a period of a year or so. 

Since the late Queen's cameo appearance over tea with Paddington Bear, his popularity has soared, reaching new generations of children with his delightful appeal and reminding those of us who are old enough to have loved him first, just how deeply this furry fella dug himself into our national heritage and hearts. That said, we all agreed that maybe the Paddington Bear collection should have stayed on up there in the attic after all.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and Paddington Station featured at the tail end of my trip. Not just as a dash-in and out on the train type of thing, but for a few glorious October days of dashing around the capital city reuniting with old friends and a few more fun outings and meals with precious family in the London area. 

When I posted photos from my early-morning walk to the Heathrow Express to return home to California, my dear friend, Yolanda, one of the first I met in the States back in the early 90s, wrote from her husband's mother's native Peru that the "golden" spectacled bear, which bears a striking resemblance to Paddington Bear, hence his heritage, is sadly listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, largely due to deforestation and human activity.

A recent study from Peru does share a bit of good news: there may be more spectacled bears in the country than previously thought. The spectacled bear is elusive and not much is known about its ecology, making it difficult to strategize how to protect the endangered species. 

More alarming however, is that according to National Geographic, Spectacled Bears, also called Andean bears, are killed illegally in Peru for their private body parts, used for cures dispensed by traditional healers, or shamans.

Learning this makes me ever more protective of Paddington. How much do we know about his history?

The creator of Paddington, Michael Bond, worked as a BBC cameraman on several national children’s programs, including Blue Peter. On Christmas Eve 1956, he was walking home past Selfridges, the famous London department store, when he noticed a small toy bear on a shelf that appeared a little lonely and unloved. 

"I felt sorry for it. I took it home as a present for my wife Brenda and named it Paddington as we were living near Paddington Station at the time. I wrote some stories about the bear, more for fun than with the idea of having them published. After ten days I found that I had a book on my hands. It wasn’t written specifically for children, but I think I put into it the kind of things I liked reading about when I was young"  _ excerpt from Traveling & Living in Peru site. 

Michael Bond wrote the first Paddington book in 10 days in the spring of 1957 on a typewriter in a small flat off Portobello Road. The book is set in the then- shabby world around Paddington and Notting Hill. And the bear himself was crafted out of Michael's memories of evacuee children during the Second World War, luggage-labeled against loss in transit.

Paddington’s friend, Mr. Gruber, was based on Hungarian refugees Bond had worked with at the BBC’s monitoring service, attaché cases packed with tragic pasts and carefully learned English.

Mr. Brown, a London risk analyst, found the new member of his family at Paddington Station sitting on a suitcase with a note attached to his coat which read, ‘Please look after this bear. Thank you.’ Which he did.

It was Paddington's uncle, forced into a retirement home in Lima after an earthquake, who gave him his hat and his Aunt Lucy who taught him fluent English and decided he should go to England to make a name for himself.

Aunt Lucy mades him a pile of marmalade sandwiches because, as Paddington says, bears like sandwiches. 

Seven publishers rejected the book, but Collins eventually picked it up and paid Michael Bond £75. Since then, the books have been translated into 30 languages – including Latin – across 70 titles and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Two successful films have followed and a third is in the pipeline.

Statues to Michael Bond's Paddington greet passengers as they flood through the station, one of the major transport hubs in the UK. Paddington Bear stores have resurfaced in Train and Tube Stations and around the city, providing tourists with a souvenir like no other.

What is not apparent to those passing through the train station from one place to another is the delightful surrounds that have been redesigned and engineered in the district outside of the station. 

The Paddington Arm  of the Grand Union Canal is one of London’s best kept secrets. Home to London's first floating pocket park, it connects Paddington to the main branch of the canal near Hayes, snaking through West London providing a green corridor for city folk and wildlife. It's a refreshingly peaceful area tucked away behind the train station and brimming with places to eat and drink and stay with super easy access to Heathrow. In fact, it's become a tradition for me on recent visits to the UK to drop my bags and anchor myself in the Paddington area for last few visits with London-based friends and family. I like the security of knowing all I have to do is hop on the Heathrow Express (or the new Elizabeth Line) and it'll drop me at Terminal 5 in 15 stress-free minutes.

This October I stayed in a tiny serviced apartment right there close by the canal and a five minute walk into the station. I like a mini-kitchen, personally, when traveling. If you're headed to London for more than a few days, I recommend Wilde London Paddington serviced apartments. Thank you to my sister Kerry editor of the Britishtravellist for this keeper of a tio. This company has a modern edge and a great model for travelers who might like to use a gym and laundry room and pantry as well as in-room kitchen facilities. There are more locations in other cities and one in Covent Garden, too. Edgware Road tube and Paddington were easily accessible and provide access to the whole of London. Now that the tube station gates take an ApplePay swipe of the phone, there's no messing around with figuring out Oyster Card options and fees. 

map - this is Paddingtn.com 

Baker Street By Foot — A Visit to the Home of The World's Most Famous Detective — The Sherlock Holmes Museum

One of my favorite museum visits is that of a famous writer or poet's home. Wherever I am in the world, I always make a bee-line for the literary domestic front. To wander through rooms once inhabited by a great writer is to absorb the essence of his or her character and personality, personal space and home comforts. A writer's desk is best of all.

When it is the fictional home of a literary character, it's just as exciting, if not more so, to visit and step into the inner world of a million words that have poured onto pages that have, over time, become as real as any living creature ever was.

So be it with the small and intimate setting of one of the most famous addresses in the world of books and film — The Sherlock Holmes Museum, situated at 221B Baker Street, London

According to the brainchild of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock the super sleuth made this his residence from 1881 to 1904. His storied rooms are faithfully maintained to provide a visceral insight into the life and stories of the world’s first consulting detective in the days of gas-lit, Victorian London.

I had a couple of hours to spare during a recent few days in London in between visits with friends and families and, having taken a close look at a map, I figured I would tie-in a half-hour morning walk from Paddington canal area to stop in at the four-story Georgian townhouse that dated back to 1815. Now the listed Museum building, it served for decades as a lodging house. It wasn't hard to spot, with a short line of people waiting by its blue plaque that commemorates the period of Holmes’ fictional residency. That's where the line blurs between fictional world and fact. It's hard to believe that Sherlock was a figment of Conan Doyle's imagination and not the living, breathing legend fans around the world continue to obsess on.  

The Sherlock Holmes Museum first opened its door to visitors from all over the world in 1990. A chirpy London ‘Bobby’ in traditional uniform greeted me at the door, as did welcoming, knowledgeable parlor maids in mop caps, black frocks and white aprons as they guided me along with a small group though the private rooms of London’s iconic detective.

Authentic Victorian furniture and curiosities and a treasure trove of items like those that belonged to the fictional Sherlock, his friends and adversaries complete the feeling of having stepped back in time and dropped in for tea, maybe even with a case plea to investigate.

This was my first visit to the museum. If you're looking for something fun and fairly quick to take in when in central London, I recommend you do. The life-size dummies on the upper floor were a little grizzly for younger kids, I wouldn't take this tour with under tens. 

As we continue to lap up modern detective and murder mystery books, movies and shows these days , it's clear that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the master of its class. Sherlock Holmes continues to inspire and intrigue in his many modern guises. 

I asked one of the guides if it is creepy in the museum later on in the day. She said as the winter evenings draw in and light falls fast mid-afternoon, there have been stories . . . 

Click here for the museum website.

“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.”

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

The Boscombe Valley Mystery

"You know my methods, Watson"

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, 1893

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." 

Sign of the Four, 1890

"Excellent, I cried. Elementary said he."

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, 1893

“You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.”

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

The man behind the myth — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

“How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. It shines on a good many folk, but on none, I dare bet, who are on a stranger errand than you and I. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”

The Complete Novels and Stories of Sherlock Holmes , Vol 1

Travel Tuesday — Dispatch From the Lincolnshire Fens

Greetings from the heart of the Fenlands, in England's East Anglia. I'm here with my parents, celebrating my Mum's 80th Birthday this week. I was over in March of this year so it hasn't been too long between visits, but whenever my feet touch British soil I'm filled with inspiration for future travels. 

There's not a part of this more remote region of the country that isn't packed with history — and even more thrilling, hidden history waiting to be uncovered. 

Yesterday, my husband, Timo and I took a few hours to ourselves for a Monday visit to beautiful Burghley House in nearby Stamford, Lincolnshire. We walked the Garden of Surprises and the bucolic Sculpture Garden, enjoyed lunch in the elegant yet casual Orangery and toured the house itself in relative solitude given the early weekday timing,

Photos: Frances Rivetti 

Docents at Burghley have been there for years, some into their third decade. There's nothing like an extraordinarily learned and enthusiastic docent to bring history alive. Given that I'm a writer and a history buff I had lots of questions, too! There are a pair of white, kid leather gloves in a case in the bedroom where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed for a couple of nights. When the glass case was opened in recent years after many decades to inspect the gloves for age damage, handwritten notes from the Prince were found tucked inside the gloves. 

"There's always a surprise tucked away within these walls," said the impeccably dressed and articulate room docent. The notes, with regards to their visit, were written to then-hosts Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Exeter and his wife Isabella, née Poyntz.

The original William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley  (13 September 1520 – 4 August 1598) was an English statesman and chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her life. In fact, I learned that so fond of him as a mentor she was, she spoon fed him soup at his deathbed. He was born and educated in Lincolnshire and Cambridge University and developed vast properties in England, Burghley surprisingly not the largest. 

The Netflix Series The Crown airs season 5 in early November 2022 in the UK & USA. Several scenes including the 1992 fire at Windsor Castle were filmed at Burghley with the use of realistic looking fire and smoke created by an elaborate lighting set up. This new season stars the wonderful Imelda Staunton as the Queen. Elizabeth Debicki takes on the role of an older Diana and Dominic West steps in as Charles. I expect there will be a growing audience as the show approaches a period so many of us remember. 

Centuries prior, Queen Elizabeth I and her entourage were the most costly guests by all accounts. 

Burghley is not part of the National Trust because the family wished all of its treasures to remain within the house and not be distributed amongst any other historic properties. Home of the international Burghley Horse Trials and several seasonal special events, its a terrific spot to add to your list if you're traveling north from London. 

My intrepid journalist/editor sister Kerry has launched a new travel site The British Travel List recently. She's a fountain of knowledge of top spots to visit and stay and writes for multiple international newspapers and magazines. Sign up for her newsletter if you're a fan of British travel or follow on social media. 

My main focus this trip is my folks and I'll be tagging on some extra travel on the end of this visit, which I'll be posting about when I'm back home in Sonoma County. Until then, cheerio. It's tea time again! 

 

 

 

Travel Tuesday — Christmas in England — The Wow House Company Holiday Selection for A Festive Escape with Family & Friends

I've lost count of the times friends have shared their festive fantasy of spending the holidays in the English countryside. Feel-good movies such as The Holiday and Love Actually evoke a sense of seasonal comfort and joy in a loved-up setting straight out of location hunting.  And so when I received a press release email from The Wow House Company in England offering a selection of gorgeous country homes to rent over the holidays, I figured you may enjoy perusing them as much as I have. And if you happen to have a group of 16 willing to chip in for a week, well, then it's not all that outrageous an idea.  Swapping homes with a pal from the UK might be a more affordable option, as in The Holiday, a movie which friends have confessed to having watched multiple times over the years, but if you don't have a house trade deal in the works, there are lots of ways to enjoy the hols in the UK to fit a range of budgets. Classic hotel stays go all out at Christmas. Serviced apartments are a better-priced option in London if you'd like a kitchenette to start or finish your day after taking in the sights, theaters and stores and if you don't require the frills and fancy of a hotel. But there's truly nothing like a beautiful fire place, plush beds, bucolic views and a comfy couch in a country house to come home to after exploring historic towns and villages and a pint or two at the local pub! Cartmel House, Lake District, sleeps 20 Set in the village of Cark at the southern end of the Lake District, close to Lake Windermere, this beautifully restored Grade II listed Georgian property has all ingredients for a perfect festive getaway. Whether celebrating with a pint in the bar, sampling a glass of something special from the stunning 1,000 bottle wine cellar, organising a tasting in the specially built tasting room, or relaxing in the snug featuring a pin ball machine, jukebox and refurbished 1960’s Coca-Cola Machine, there are plenty of spaces to have some festive fun. There’s also an elegant drawing room with great grandfather clock, a cosy dining room with open fireplace, an orangery, a cinema room and two kitchens – one commercial and one domestic. The property can sleep 20 guests in 10 en-suite bedrooms, all named after famous hotels around the world: the Sandy Lane Suite has its own entrance while Claridge’s has private stairway access. There’s also the Annex, a self-contained apartment, perfect for those who like their own space. Or head to Caesar’s Palace, a dedicated card room. Outside there are six acres of grounds and woodlands plus an Outhouse where guests can make their own coffee or, upon request, a barista will serve up coffee each morning. Price: Available for six nights’ self-catering over Christmas from £22,800, or five nights’ self-catering over New Year from £20,400. Wisteria Manor, Cotswolds, sleeps 16 For a real wow factor Christmas, book this stunning Grade II listed house dating back to the 13th Century in the pretty Cotswold village of Ebrington, just outside Chipping Campden. The property sleeps up to 16 guests in eight en-suite bedrooms and oozes character.  Expect large open fireplaces, beamed ceilings, wood panelling, window seats, a card table and a cinema room with bar. The real showpiece is the property’s grounds with 20 acres of beautiful gardens to discover, offering never-ending views across the Cotswolds, towards Broadway Tower. The parkland is full of ancient apple, pear, plum and walnut orchards, plus there is a walled rose garden and spring-fed lake for those brave enough for a festive dip (a paddle board and rowing boat are also available), as well as a large firepit for outdoor festivities and a lawn with football nets. Two well-behaved dogs are welcome too. Price: Available for a week’s self-catering over Christmas from £20,160. Cromwell House, Sussex, sleeps 12 Oliver Cromwell famously tried to clamp down on Christmas, so guests staying at his former Hunting Lodge, a beautifully restored Grade II listed building located in West Sussex, might be tempted to celebrate the festive season with extra vigour. The property sleeps 10-12 guests in six bedrooms – four in the main house and two in a separate annex. Wow factors here include open fireplaces, a games room featuring a Playstation with virtual reality headset and plenty of traditional board games, and a stand-out kitchen for whipping up Christmas dinner. Outside there’s two acres to explore, with a large terrace with seating, heating and a sunken fishpond, plus a croquet lawn, trampoline, hot tub and a sauna/steam room. Located in the village of Lickfold, which sits in the middle of the golden triangle of the historic country villages of Lodsworth and Lurgashall, the beautiful South Downs National Park is on the doorstep with a variety of walking trails to blow away the cobwebs. It’s also just over an hour away from London. Dogs are welcome too. Price: Available for a week’s self-catering over Christmas from £9,950, or a week’s self-catering over New Year from £9,450. River View House, Devon, sleeps 8-10 For a Christmas beside the water, opt for this gorgeous, recently refurbished and renovated property with stunning views across the Avon estuary and the South Hams countryside in the village of Bantham. Sleeping between 8-10 guests, the house features a cinema room with bar – perfect for settling down to watch the Christmas movies, and landscaped gardens with a path providing private access to the river estuary. It’s also just a short walk from Bantham Beach, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Wood burning stoves, underfloor heating, comfy sofas galore, and copious sliding doors and windows that drink in the views, complete the picture of this snug hideaway.  Price: Available for a week’s self-catering over Christmas from £9,495.   Riviera House, Devon, sleeps 10 Located at the heart of the traditional seaside town of Torquay in Devon, this beautifully restored Victorian manor house is just a short walk away from the harbour and seafront. Five spacious bedrooms, all with en-suites, cater for ten guests, plus there is an array of facilities to keep all ages entertained this festive season. Head to the gym with its treadmill, cross trainer and selection of free weights to work off the festive excesses; take on the family with a pool tournament in the games room; or make merry music in the drawing room which features a piano and guitar. Outside, there’s three acres of grounds set within a walled garden, perfect for the kids to run wild.  There is also an outdoor kitchen/dining area boasting a bbq, pizza oven and outdoor heaters. Dogs are welcome too. Price: Available for a week’s self-catering over Christmas from £6,750, or 5 nights’ from £5,535.   Vista House, Cornwall, sleeps 8-14 Another waterside stunner, Vista House is a modern home located in the fishing village of St. Mawes. The beach house can accommodate up to eight adults and six children in four en-suite bedrooms, with a family bedroom sleeping up to five guests, perfect for a kids’ sleepover or for a family wanting their own space. The master bedroom can also double as a family suite.  This family-friendly bolthole boasts luxurious interiors, a generous glass-frontage, a games room with pool table and table tennis and beautiful gardens for relaxing (or trampolining) and taking in the sea views. When not celebrating festivities in the cosy retreat, there are plenty of beach walks to choose from and St. Mawes Castle is just a few minutes’ walk away. Price: Available for a week’s self-catering over Christmas or New Year from £5,950.

For more information on The Wow House Company visit thewowhousecompany.co.uk,

History, Heritage and Rosemary for Remembrance — National Unity in a Flawless State Funeral for a Beloved Monarch

It was the relatively simple wreath that I was most drawn to during the pomp and splendor of extensive early hours BBC World news coverage of the largest and most extraordinary ceremonial occasion in my lifetime as a dual national British born American. 

I felt a little guilty for those who'd camped out throughout a cold night in London and Windsor as a nation came together to pay respects to the country's longest serving monarch in history. With an eight hour time difference, I was propped up in my bed with a pile of fluffy pillows, lights off, TV on, my cat, Moxie curled at my feet and my dog, Rosie snoring contentedly in the family room next door. 

While California slept, London revealed its deep and ancient history, heritage and sense of national pride. I'd set my alarm for 2.45 am but I couldn't sleep with the knowledge of all that was unfolding around Westminster and Buckingham Palace. 

And so I ditched the plan for a couple of hours of a pre-service power sleep and settled in to full immersion of the glorious and engrossing 21st Century coverage. 

English Oak — stately and unique, its distinctive leaves woven into the beautiful floral wreath that graced the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II during her flawless state funeral on Monday, September 19th, 2022. Her coffin, born on the shoulders of the Grenadier Guards (one of the most senior regiments of the British Army, dating back to 1656) seemed to me quintessential Elizabeth with its dazzling crown, orb, sceptre and a hand written note from her son, King Charles III.

At King Charles’s request, this lovely and sustainable wreath on top of the Queen’s coffin contained fresh flowers and foliage from the royal properties of London's Buckingham Palace and Clarence House and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, affixed in a nest of English moss and oak branches.

The gorgeous and feminine wreath also featured  myrtle, the ancient symbol of a happy marriage, cut from a plant  grown from a sprig of myrtle in the then Princess Elizabeth's wedding bouquet in 1947. Rosemary, symbol of remembrance along with English oak, a national symbol of strength, a nod to the Queen’s steadfast duty and constancy. Flowers and foliage featured pelargoniums, garden roses, autumnal hydrangea, sedum, dahlias, and scabious in shades of pink and gold, burgundy and white.

It's always breathtaking to see the streets of ceremonial London emptied of traffic and lined by hundreds of thousands of people in crowds 20 or more deep from all around the world. The Queen's funeral led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was something else altogether in comparison to more celebratory occasions. She was the world's most famous female leader and though grief in the crowd was palpable, it was love, fondness and respect that undoubtedly shone through.  

The Queen was descended from Robert the Bruce on two lines of her lineage. Her mother, Lady Elizabeth was the ninth child and fourth daughter of Lord Claude George Bowes-Lyon and Lady Nina Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Lord and Lady Glamis of Glamis Castle in Scotland. Members of the Mass Pipes and Drums led the procession played traditional tunes, favorites of the Queen at Windsor and Balmoral. She and the Queen Mother shared a love of bagpipes and it was this haunting sound that transported me from my house in the wee hours of the morning across the Atlantic and an entire continent in Petaluma, Sonoma County to the Mall in London, a classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks musical fantasy moment.

Later, a lone bagpiper in Westminster Abbey played a haunting tribute appropriately called: "Sleep Dearie."

Elizabeth was the most traveled monarch in history having visited 115 countries since she became Queen on her trip to Kenya in 1952. This journey via gun carriage from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace and out through the green fields to Windsor was her last, her final full stop. 

HMS Bubble  — Ladies of the Queen's Household, pictured above. Did you know that one of these wonderful women actually wore in all of the Queen's new shoes for her? During lockdown, her dresser doubled as her hairdresser. Trusted aides and Ladies in Waiting, they were the Queen's most cherished confidantes and I'm sure they're missing her terribly.  

Buses ushered in some two thousand guests - a congregation of its kind in Westminster Abbey not seen since the passing of the Queen's father, King George. It was a relief to see this go off without a hitch. Security and logistics must have been a huge undertaking. 

U.S. President and First Lady Joe and Jill Biden took tea with the Queen last year. The Queen had met 13 of 14 American Presidents during her 70 year reign. The reason she never met Lyndon B. Johnson, according to archivists is that she was pregnant with Prince Edward and was unable to attend J.F.Kennedy's funeral.  

Heads of State from around the world transcended national borders in this age of jet travel. Five hundred foreign leaders was an incredible and hopeful sight to see gathered in one hallowed space. 

In the words of the U.S. President: "Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States. She helped make our relationship special . . . Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world."

Westminster Abbey was built between 1245 and 1517. It is a World Heritage Site and burial place of some 30 kings and queens. It is built from sandstone and limestone and contains art and sculptures of the medieval period, tapestries, tombs, chapels and gothic arches. Small beams of sunlight stream through stained glass. As I watched the proceedings unfold from the warmth of my covers, I could almost smell the distinct aroma of history, that old- Cathedral aroma of ancient relics, oils and wax and wood. 

A bell in the abbey later tolled once a minute for 96 minutes in commemoration of each year of the Queen's life. 

The royal torch has been passed at the same time the country has a new Prime Minister. It's interesting to note that the Queen's first PM, Sir Winston Churchill, was born in 1874, whereas PM Liz Truss was born over an entire century later in 1975. That puts perspective into the picture. Charles will, I believe, as a forward thinker, usher in plentiful timely change into the British monarchy and hierarchy. By the time William becomes King there will most certainly be a more streamlined working Royal Family. The family was clearly grieving and under a global spotlight. I'm surprised there was no veil in sight, though mourning attire was elegant and tasteful all round.

Two small figures, Prince George (9) and Princess Charlotte (7) were remarkably poised and patient with such a lengthy and public obligation. Charlotte made me smile as she swung her legs beneath her chair and gazed intently at the order of service, no doubt thinking her own private thoughts on such a day as this. She's not shy about keeping her brother in line, reminding him to bow at the appropriate time. Her diamond horseshoe brooch, the first piece of fine jewelry she has worn in the public eye will undoubtedly set off a trend of its own. It was given to her by her great grandmother, whom she called Gan Gan. 

"People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer," said the Archbishop of Canterbury on the pulpit in the Abbey. "But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privilege are long forgotten." 

When it came to the Commonwealth, commentators described her as a career woman with a human touch, the glue that held it all together. She respected heads of state as equals and knew the Commonwealth like nobody else. Much of the work regarding the future of the British monarchy will undoubtedly be focused on the modern age of independence for many of these Commonwealth nations.

Two of the Queen's Corgis, Sandy and Muick and her Fell pony, Emma awaited her arrival at Windsor along with those who had known her best and worked with her, gathered in St George's Chapel, in which she had known as a girl and worshipped as an adult and where she now is buried. 

I'll leave you with a sweet anecdote I read on India Hick's instagram. India's mother, Lady Pamela Hicks was one of the Queen's bridesmaids. Lady Pamela remembers how the Queen would visit with a box of chocolates for her host and a box for herself. During one visit she came to her host with a small complaint. Lady Pamela's intelligent pet mongoose, Neola had a tendency to creep into the guest room. It wasn't that she minded him helping himself to one chocolate, but the Queen considered taking a bite out of each one a bit rude!

The Queen has been laid to rest in a side chapel with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. Farewell Elizabeth. And thank you. 

An appreciation from Petaluma: A moment in time — the end the 2nd Elizabethan Age (My Essay in Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

There’s a saying that life is not measured in time, it’s measured in moments. I’m not one for remembering exact dates and years, but the most seismic historic moments in my lifetime this far are permanently etched in my mind.

When I was 11, in my last year of primary school in rural East Anglia, England, I wrote and hand-illustrated a booklet on the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

I still have it, some 45 years and a continent later. It has a blue cover decorated with a heraldic fleur-de-lis stenciled with silver spray paint and inside color pencil drawings featuring a crest, an orb and the Queen in various ceremonial attire.

Every schoolchild in the U.K. received a commemoration mug. I have that in my possession also, along with various others that people have offloaded on me knowing my penchant for history and heritage and tea parties.

My granddad was chairman of the town council and organized a big shindig of a Silver Jubilee Celebration in a marquee on the town green. The beer — and shandy for the kids — flowed. We stuffed ourselves with ham sandwiches and salt and vinegar crisps and danced the Hokey-Cokey (Pokey here in the States) until the sun went down, we girls dragging one another in our party dresses made by our mums across the wooden dance floor with glee.

I couldn’t say what specific date that was without looking it up but I’ll never forget how exciting it all was.

Flash forward to my early twenties as a cub reporter in 1987 on the Ely Standard Newspaper in my native Cambridgeshire Fens. I was assigned station reporting duty as the Queen arrived in the small city of Ely for the annual Maundy Monday Service at Ely Cathedral, via the British Royal Train. Again, I had to search what month that was — April, though it’s not an occasion or experience I’ll ever forget.

Photo- Ely Cathedral 

More than three decades later, on Thursday morning, I awoke to a stream of messages on my phone. This is not all that unusual for a British expat given the time difference between family and friends in the U.K. and California.

But there was an urgency in those updates as my two sisters, Kerry, a Kent-based royal correspondent in the UK for Australian media and Lindsey, a teacher in the greater London area alerted me to the news that the Queen’s passing was imminent. I certainly hadn’t expected this so soon after watching the traditional handing of the baton for 10 Downing Street in the Balmoral footage of the British prime ministerial update just a couple of days before.

Outside my west Petaluma home an unprecedented heat spike was already climbing toward another sweltering 100-plus-degree day. I switched on the two large ceiling fans in my one-story midcentury house and immediately turned my attention to BBC World Service.

It was raining in the UK. The heavens had opened in Britain but not here as ominous updates pinged on my phone as to reporters being spotted in black clothing. Still, the world and I watched and waited, glued to the gates of the Scottish Balmoral Estate.

We all knew this was coming. Someday. Yet 70 years of service is a long time to be Queen. And, as in fairy tales, surely, we believed, iconic Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor of York with her hats and handbags, her coronets and adorable corgiis was somehow invincible to the slings and arrows that eventually take down mere mortals.

If I was to walk my eight-year-old dog Rosie in any degree of bearable heat I figured I’d have to make a move before 9.30 am. I asked my sister to message me if immediately there was any announcement while I was away from my TV. As so many people have shared, and not just British or Commonwealth citizens and expats, but Anglophiles around the globe, the prospect of a world without the Queen’s reassuring constancy and dignity, was just too grim to bear.

We strolled down the hill and past McNear Elementary School, crossed D Street at the lights and made our way over El Rose to B Street and back around the block. A good 40-minute walk reaching home before midmorning temperatures soared.

I felt the suspended pause, a surreal and poignant protective film coating the prospect of what was about to happen. I’d left the television on in my kitchen, something I never do when there’s nobody home. It wasn’t long after I stepped back in before the sad news came in around 10.30 a.m. here.

A black-tied, solemn-faced BBC presenter, Huw Edwards. announced that Buckingham Palace had confirmed that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at age 96, surrounded by family in the comfort of Balmoral that afternoon.

Over the years, my British American community in Sonoma County has gathered for Jubilee parties and royal wedding breakfasts, any excuse to air out the teapot collections, table linens, fine China and silverware. Sausage rolls, real ale, Cornish pasties, pork pies. Cucumber sandwiches and picked onions. Trifle and Victoria Sponge. It’s all very civilized and good fun and compounds our cultural connection despite being so far from home.

Home is here also and though there are mixed sentiments surrounding the precise future of the monarchy in a modern age, the common thread has been the Queen and that she’s been such an awfully good one.

Elizabeth II, as the longest serving monarch in British history, is unlikely to be usurped in this record of her extraordinary lifetime achievement. She was the mother of a nation and the commonwealth, diplomatic, wise and funny. It was wonderful to witness the ease in which she shared her sense of humor in her later years. Those endearing skits with James Bond and Paddington — as quintessentially British as afternoon tea and biscuits.

Pass the scones and clotted cream, I'm tearing up again.

 

I’m hopeful that her legacy continues to inspire female leadership on the world’s stage and that her frequently (publicly) imperfect life and family teaches that we have to keep on turning the pages and chapters and learn from the past to better the future.

A new prime minister and a monarch in one week is a lot to process. One of my British friends in Sonoma County who has never taken dual nationality messaged me to say she hoped she wouldn’t have to go through the complicated process of renewing Her Majesty-issued passport again for the second time this summer now that we have a new king. I’ve been helping several friends and family members with online passport renewal since post-Brexit and pandemic delays and regulations made it so much harder to navigate. I assured her that (I hope) she’ll be able to pass freely between borders until it's time to renew again. Same with postage stamps. No doubt we’ll be looking out for a King Charles III likeness on our snail mail from family in the UK soon.

I read in Town and Country Magazine that the Queen’s signature scent was Guerlain L'Heure Bleue, a spicy citrus with a powdery dry down. I’m flying back to Britain for a visit this fall. I think I’ll have a look for her perfume in Duty Free and test it out as I leave. That way I’ll carry her with me as I continue to connect the two countries and cultures that share my heart.

Long Live King Charles III, a dedicated, focused, green monarch for our age.

Click here to view the article on the PD website

 

 

Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino County Partner to Create a Cleaner Coast

Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties are launching a coordinated campaign to provide visitor education and outreach to reduce the amount of litter and waste in coastal regions and watersheds through a three-County memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the non-profit organization Leave No Trace. The ongoing partnership includes coordination with federal and state agencies, federally recognized tribes, non-federally recognized tribes, local jurisdictions and land managers, Sonoma County Tourism, and other community-based groups across all three counties.

Beginning later this month, the bilingual campaign will include a broad scope of messaging that will be used by all three counties to educate and influence visitors prior to and during the summer season. Agencies and organizations partnering with the campaign will be able to share the Leave No Trace-based messaging resources in English and Spanish and take advantage of a new stewardship education series, both of which specifically address visitation impact issues taking place along the California coastline. 

California Coastal beaches and public parks are experiencing rises in visitation year over year as important outlets for mental and physical health. Over 10 million people annually visit the California coastline and adjacent communities across Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Even more staggering, over 55,000 pounds of trash were picked up from the sensitive coastal environment across the three counties last year alone.

“COVID-19 pushed more residents outdoors and drew them to the coast as they looked for safe ways to recreate,” said Marin County Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, who initiated the three-County collaboration in 2020. “This stressed our limited visitor-serving infrastructure, creating an overflow of trash and waste like I have never seen before.”

Sonoma County Tourism, the county’s destination stewardship organization, was instrumental in bringing the Leave No Trace organization into the partnership conversation with the three counties. Sonoma County Tourism has worked with Leave No Trace since April 2021 on the Sonoma County Leave No Trace Initiative. 

Through its Seven Principles, Leave No Trace provides a framework of minimum impact practices for anyone visiting the outdoors. New education messaging focusing on trash and litter in coastal watersheds is highly relevant due to a surge in visitation to all three counties’ coastlines and adjacent communities.

The new education messaging serves to complement existing Leave No Trace and other trash reduction efforts promoted by state, county and local parks officials in all three counties, as well as the Sonoma County Leave No Trace Initiative. 

“We had a bit of a head start with the successful launch of our Leave No Trace campaign last year, and we are happy to leverage and coordinate our efforts with our neighbors from the north and south,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins. “Visitors don’t stop at county lines, nor does the flow of trash.”

Trash causes major impacts on our enjoyment of creeks, bays and the ocean, and creates significant impacts on aquatic life and habitat in those waters; trash eventually enters the global ocean ecosystem, where plastic persists in the environment for hundreds of years – if not forever.

“We don’t have the resources to launch this effort on our own,” Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams noted, “But with the support from our southern neighbors and non-profit partnerships with groups like MendoParks, we are excited to launch this campaign.” Fellow Mendocino County Supervisor Dan Gjerde added, “The key to moving this effort forward was the unanimous decision for all three counties to use a shared MOU and contract with Leave No Trace. We look forward to working together for years to come.”

“Leave No Trace is thrilled to be working with Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties,” said Dana Watts, executive director of Leave No Trace. “With such diverse natural and cultural resources, we look forward to addressing the key issues in the area. Consistent messaging is crucial because there is no differentiation from visitors on what county they are in when they visit the coastline.”

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About Leave No Trace: Leave No Trace is an international movement, program and nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, education and stewardship, to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet. The organization accomplishes this mission by delivering state-of-the-art education and research to millions of people across the country each year. For more information: www.LNT.org.

Sonoma County Artist Gail Foulkes Launches Online Showcase of an Extraordinary, Decades-Long Body of Work

Images — Gailfoulkes.com

I'm absolutely delighted to share the stunning new website of my beloved friend, prolific multi media artist Gail Foulkes, who works her magic from an idyllic studio in a turn-of-the-century Red Barn on her family's rustic country property on the border of West Petaluma and Marin County in bucolic Chileno Valley. 

Gail was born in Kenya and lived there until she was 12, when she went to high school in the UK. She remained in the UK until moving to Northern California with her husband, Michael and son Alex, 20 years ago. Our family's have been tight-knit since early on in the Foulkes' settling into our Sonoma County community. 

Both Gail and Michael are thoroughly immersed in community life, especially within the arts and many of my readers know them well and consider them dear friends, neighbors, dedicated arts supporters. 

And so it is super exciting to be able to share Gail's website Gailfoulkes.com with you all in its inaugural launch. Largely because this is the first time most people have had the opportunity to glimpse into Gail's rich body of work, of which there are some 600 plus pieces that she has produced over the past two decades alone.

"I started the site three or four years ago," says Gail. "Before COVID. A mentor at art school in the 80s said not to have a show until I had amassed a good body of work! Nearly four decades later, I finally feel confident in putting my work out there and not being too affected by what people say or think."

Early this year Gail pulled out all the stops to organize an extensive photoshoot of her diverse works in an outdoor studio on her property under the oaks. My youngest son, Dominic Rivetti was newly returned from a post-grad extended stay in Brooklyn and jumped into the project, working tirelessly with Gail out at Chileno Valley. They were lucky to have good weather to complete the shoot which was just the start of preparing the photographs Gail's art for online catalog. 

Fine tuning takes time and the two of them have been keenly focused for the past few months. It's wonderful to see such an extensive body of work on one, easy to navigate site. Bravo Gail & Dom. 

 

The pulling in during the pandemic made Gail look in rather than out. She describes how looking out: at her life in England, in Kenya, here, as somehow: "Too big," during that period. "It has brought me back to where I actually live, it is so important to be where you are," she says.

"I wanted to draw from the age of 12, but it wasn't until I was in my 30s that I finally went to art school and studied painting," says Gail. "Following art school, I branched out to learn about the third dimension through sculpture. And although I have always used the medium of photography for ideas and training my eye on composition, it is only recently that photography has become a medium that I use for more than just inspiration." Click here to see Gail's beautiful photography. 

"These are drawings and paintings I made during COVID using the brown paper bags from supermarkets when we weren't able to reuse them for our shopping. They just piled up and this was my way of recycling them," explains Gail, who was offered a show at Redwood Cafe last summer. "That really propelled me forward — everything seemed to be going in the right direction," she adds.

 

 

 

 

The section of my work from the 80s shows where I've come from in my work," says Gail. "I still do the same subject matter." 

Gail enjoys collaborating with fellow artists. Click here. This is very good for me as I am thrilled to be working with my dear friend on cover art for my upcoming novel, The House on Liberty Street. Gail has been sketching various Victorian properties around town these past few months. The idea is that she is recreating my fictional ideal of the house where most of the story takes place. Readers always want to know exactly where the ranch house in my first novel is located and I have to explain that it is an imagined home based on all of the energy of the many abandoned structures I've soaked in to my imagination in coastal Sonoma County and west Marin. The house in downtown Petaluma in this coming story is a similar amalgamation of heritage homes. I can't wait for us to complete the cover this summer and start showing it off prior to a fall release.

If you'd like to contact Gail for collaboration/shows or to see more of her work click here. 

And So This Is Christmas . . . Sentiments, Rituals and Recipes for Comfort and Cheer

Contrary to increasingly popular belief, Christmas is not cancelled this year. It comes in many sizes, shapes and forms and doesn't necessarily have to be celebrated on the 25th. After all, the 'reason for the season' was conveniently attached to the pagan winter light festivities in order to make the best of the darkest time of year, so bringing it on early, waiting a day or two or a week or two even wouldn't be too much of a problem!

Now more than any other time, it's perfectly fine to shake things up, tone it down, even ramp it up if we choose, as long as we do it with necessary caution and care. News has been a bit bleak of late and we're all tired of the on again, off again social restrictions. So finding comfort and joy and celebration in the small details and the company of those we love, even if it has to be by screen, is the key to taking solace in this 2021 festive season. 

I've enjoyed hearing from friends and family around the world as to the fun and innovative and sometimes super last-minute ways to make merry during these unprecedented holidays. And so I reached out on social media to find out what's in store for Christmas. 

If you're not feeling it this year, your plans have been altered or cancelled or you just fancy something new in your holiday activity line up, I hope at least one or two of these missives from around the globe will inspire your mood. 

And if you're batting down the hatches and hunkering down at home with the cat and a good book and a glass of something warm or bubbly (or both), then that's perfectly fine too. A new year is on its way. Yeah! 

"Christmas Eve we have a rousing rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas and a dear friend reads A Night Before Christmas before everyone goes home," says Andrea of Petaluma. "We skipped it last year and my teen insisted we continue the tradition this year."

"We have a long-standing tradition of going for a Christmas Eve neighborhood walk with a flask of good Cognac," says Adrian in Petaluma. "It's wonderful to see everyone's tree or lights in their window and hear the laughter of people having dinner parties. Love to have Becky on my arm as we walk in the cold evening air. Something we look forward to every year. It's sounds voyeuristic but it's very innocent enjoying the lights. Safe and outdoors. Perfect for introverts almost joining in."

And for Tina of Petaluma it's a: "Sunset walk on the beach on New Year’s Eve. Bye, bye last year and no hangover into the next!"

In fact, winter walks are popular at this time of year in colder climes too:

"We make mince pies with fresh apple added into them, then deliver our Christmas cards to neighbours and follow the village advent window trail," writes Kerry in Kent, UK. "Then on Christmas Eve we walk to the village pond to watch Mary and Joseph ride a donkey up the hill into the church."

Nancy in Petaluma is going to: "Make a hot cocoa board with gingerbread men, marshmallows, peppermints, etc . . . and then drag my family out to look at lights."

Helen in Queensland, Australia: "I watch the Love Actually movie to remind me of families coming together again and of the day I can go home (to the UK) for a cold Christmas . . . and I eat Queensland prawns with mango and avocados . . . yum."

"Our fam tradition is to gather and watch Polar Express together. And of course drinking lots of hot hot hot chocolate with marshmallows in our collected vintage Santa face mugs," says Renee, also of Petaluma. 

"Alice's Gluten Free Pear and Persimmon Cake is great for all the persimmons out there," shares Petaluma food writer and designer, Alice. 

"My family gathers to make tamales for Christmas Eve. Usually the Sunday before- it has been a tradition for 4 generations," writes Pilar, of Petaluma. 

John from Cincinnati shares his Mom's Spoonbread recipe from Virginia. "It's like cornbread, but better." His Mom's grandfather was good friends with (American naval officer & explorer) Admiral Byrd. "This recipe has been enjoyed for over 5o years."

John writes: "It's a family tradition every Christmas when my 40-something son and daughter kneel at my side and thank me for getting them out of Illinois when they were still in grade school. Really."  No offense if you're reading this in Illinois. John explains how he came to California when he was eight, left again at 13, wandered the US and France and when he returned to the States at 24, it was obvious to him that Northern California was: "The place to BE." Needless to say, John and family will be happy just to be home in Petaluma this Christmas. 

Elaine, who lives a couple blocks from John shares that she's looking forward to serving Italian foods as per her Swiss Italian family's tradition. "Torrone in individual boxes with lovely protraits, along with Panettone and a St. Honore cake . . . My Swiss grandparents would make a wonderful pastry that I can't find the recipe for: thin pastry squares, deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar . . . and a similar pastry which would be folded over and stuffed with a mixture of brandy, walnuts, sugar, and crushed dried figs, then deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar."

Kerry and I both concur that we love the 1992 Muppets Christmas Carol more than any other cinematic version of Dickens' classic. Wonderful and heartwarming for kids of any age! 

"Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard, or too sad when you've got a Christmas tree in the living room." _ Nora Roberts 

And talking of trees . . . my sister-in-law Francesca is spending Christmas in Philly where she lives and works after a last minute change in plans to visit her Mom and family and friends in the UK for the first time in two years. It was hugely disappointing to make the decision at the 11th hour but potential lock downs in the UK and concerns about traveling back into the US were just too much to ignore. Seeing as she didn't have a Christmas Tree, when she stumbled upon one in her all time favorite color on sale, she knew it had her name on it. 

Click here for Francesca's video short! 

"And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent..." Taylor Caldwell. 

Dreaming of Scotland? How About a Long, Luxury Wildlife Weekend at a Shoreline Ancestral Family Home On The Isle of Skye?

In 2022, Kinloch Lodge, Skye’s landmark hotel, celebrates its 50^th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it is introducing a new three-night package showcasing the very best experiences that the hotel has to offer, and giving guests a real sense of place. From a wildlife walk with the hotel’s own ghillie to a shoreline foraging session with the restaurant’s head chef, the package invites guests to join the Macdonald family in marking 50 very special years.
 
Originally built as a farmhouse, Kinloch Lodge was converted into a shooting lodge for the Macdonalds of Skye in the 18th century.

 

Today Isabella Macdonald is at the helm, welcoming guests into not just a hotel, but her ancestral, family home. It was opened as a hotel by Isabella’s father Godfrey, Lord Macdonald and High Chief of Clan Donald, and his wife, world-renowned cook Claire, in 1972.

 

 THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY PACKAGE

 
As soon as guests arrive, they are led into the hotel’s drawing room with its roaring fire and comfy sofas and the atmosphere is of being welcomed into a family home, not a hotel. As they relax and look at artefacts and heirlooms from the Macdonald family’s history (including a signed letter from Sir Winston Churchill), they are served a welcome ‘golden cocktail’ and the feeling of celebration can truly begin. Dinner on each of the three nights, served in the beautifully historic dining room, are three-course affairs, with inventive dishes using homegrown produce from the hotel’s polytunnels and taking inspiration from Claire Macdonald’s early recipes.
 
The first morning is spent with Mitchell Partridge, Kinloch’s own ghillie and part of the Kinloch team for over 20 years. Mitchell has an unrivalled knowledge of Skye’s wild places and the wildlife that can be seen on the island. Beginning from the hotel’s front door, guests will scan the horizon and the ridgelines for the swooping forms of golden eagles, a species that has prospered in the area since being reintroduced, before heading closer to the loch’s edge to spot porpoises and, hopefully, otters. Mitchell will give an introduction to bushcraft skills too, lighting a fire using traditional techniques. In the afternoon, guests will be able to enjoy walks around the Kinloch estate or head south along the Sleat Peninsula for a visit to Armadale Castle, the historic seat of Clan Donald and now home to an enchanting walled garden and museum.
 
The second full day takes on an epicurean feel. After a full Scottish breakfast, guests head off to Torabhaig Distillery, the newest whisky distillery on the Isle of Skye. The building was built out of stone from the ruined castle in the bay and today has a removable roof so that the copper stills can be more easily replaced. Visitors will learn how the distillery is fed by the pure waters of the Allt Breacach and Allt Gleann burns before joining a tutored tasting of Torabhaig’s first edition whisky, a dram laced with smoke and peat. In the afternoon, guests join Jordan Webb, Kinloch’s head chef, for a foraging walk along the loch’s foreshore. Jordan will explain more of his food philosophy – seasonal produce, locally sourced and cooked with creativity, while teaching guests some foraging skills. From identifying seaweeds and sea herbs, to tasting and picking bog myrtle and sea buckthorn, there’s much to learn and enjoy. Guests will spot foraged ingredients on the menu for their three course dinner in the evening.

 

 
Price: Kinloch Lodge (Kinloch-lodge.co.uk, 01471 833333) offers a Golden Anniversary package from £899pp sharing, including three nights’ half-board accommodation in a cosy double with sea view, welcome cocktail on arrival, Golden Eagle and wildlife walk, shoreline foraging, tour of Torabhaig Distillery, walk around Clan Donald lands and branded apron.
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