The Battle of Britain Monument in London: a monument to “The Few”

While walking from Parliament Square to Churchill War Rooms and Banqueting House, one can stop by at The Battle of Britain Monument to admire and pay respect to “The Few”—whom are immortalized by Churchill’s “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

“The Few” is British fighting spirit that dated back to 1415 when the Battle of Agincourt was fought in France, during which the British troops (Henry V) were way out numbered and prevailed.

Henry V made a stirring speech before the battle, now known as St. Crispian Speech as the battle happened on St. Crispian Day.  Shakespeare immortalized the speech in his play of Henry V (Act IV  Scene 3)

King

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

 

Churchill was a historian, FDR read history for pleasure, and Hitler didn’t know history and was not aware of British fighting spirit of “The Few”.  He thought British will come to term with him once he brought Russia to her knees.

The Battle of Britain Monument is located on the Victoria Embankment between the RAF memorial and Westminster bridge / Big Ben. It is opposite the London Eye ("The wheel").

 

Westminster is made not just by stones and marbles, but words and history

Wall inscription

While Isaac Newton was being carried to Westminster Abbey, Voltaire (being exiled to England at that time) was among the many spectators of Newton’s magnificent funeral in 1727. Voltaire was moved and wrote Newton’s “countrymen honored him in his lifetime, and interred him as though he had been a king, who had made his people happy; . . . the gratitude of the nation to writers and thinkers, believing that it inspired Englishmen to greatness.”

We also read, “We view their statues in that Abbey in the same manner as those of Sophocles, Plato and other immortal personage were viewed in Athens; and I am persuaded that the bare sight of those glorious monuments has fired more than one breast, and been the occasion of their becoming great men.”

This kind of reading helps one to better appreciate the Abbey.  Newton was the first scientist buried among the kings and queens; Rutherford (the New Zealand-born British physicist) was also there.  J.J. Thomson (Rutherford’s teacher; in fact seven of his students went on to become Nobel laureates) is also in the Nave of the Abbey not far from Newton.  These Cambridge Men are all in good company there.

Poet's Corner

I don’t know how many times Nathaniel Hawthorne had visited the Abbey, but I know how he came to see the Poet’s Corner; he wrote, “Approaching it down Whitehall and parliament street, you pass the Abbey, and see ‘Poet’s Corner’ on the corner-house of a little lane, leading up in the rear of the edifice.  The entrance-door is at the south-eastern end of the South Transept – not a spacious arch, but a small, lowly door – and as soon as you are within it, you see the busts of poets looking down upon you from the wall.  Great poets, too . . . .”

So look for the scientists in the Nave and poets/literary figures (Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Macaulay, Alfred Tennyson, etc.) in South Transept.

Remember the Abbey is not built by just stones and marbles, but by words and history.

Janice said, and I agreed, that even the natural beauty, wonder and grandeur can be better appreciated by reading, lest beautiful scenery won’t be just “piles of stones and a pond of water” (幾堆石頭， 一汪子水而已).

Edward Confessor shrine

Elizabeth I's grave

Henry VII chapel

Henry VIII fan vaulting

Mary Queen of Scots

Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey quire

Unknown Warrior grave at Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

 

Abbey layout

 

Root for Pirates wherever you are. Let’s Go, Bucs!

After recovering from a seven-game losing streak, Pirates has since become a wild card contender, 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee Brewers and Atlantic Braves.   Yesterday Pirates lost to Phillies, but so did Brewers and Braves; no harm done.

Atlanta Braves has beaten Washington Nationals today; Pirates is leading 6 to 3 against Phillies at the bottom of 8th inning as I am writing.

With 16 games left for the season, the stake is getting higher; I need to mobilize all the Pirates fans, wherever you are.  When we sent the green tomatoes to our daughters in Boston, it went with one of these photos, reminding them to root for the Pirates.

I always root for Yankees unless they play with Red Sox, and root for Red Sox unless they play with Pirates.  The occasion will come up next week; Boston Red Sox will come to the Steel City, I expect Janice to root for Pirates, not forgetting her root.  Besides, at the bottom among two leagues, Red Sox has nothing to lose on September 16-18 even if they are swept by the Pirates.  Let's Go, Bucs!

Derek Jeter was the “luckiest man on the face of the Earth” at Yankees Stadium today

luckiest man on the face of the Earth” at Yankees Stadium as was Lou Gehrig at the original Yankees Stadium in 1939 when the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease now often bears his name, cut short his baseball career.
Today Derek Jeter was the “

Yankees gave the retiring captain a touching farewell ceremony before the Kansas Royals – Yankees game on this Derek Jeter Day for the NYC.  He well deserves it; he is the embodiment of what is the best for baseball on or outside the ball field.

In 2007 I wrote a post of “Intellectual Colognes”, which was inspired by Jeter’s cologne, Driven.

http://doctorjytsai.blogspot.com/2007/01/intellectual-colognes.html

 

Many of the Yankees greats the past 20 years were present for the ceremony, including Mariano Rivera, Hideki Matsui and Joe Torre; even Michael Jorden was there.

 

I received a Father Day gift from our daughters, an ebook of  “The Closer” (the autobiography of Mariano Rivera; the greatest closer of Yankees and of all time; a fascinating story).  Rivera retired last year.

 

 

 

On visiting Versailles

While visiting Paris we’ll squeeze at least half a day for Versailles.  One doesn’t have to know anything about Louis XIV to enjoy the grandeur and majesty of the Versailles Palace.  Extravagant though Louis XIV might be, he gave the Europe the symbol of French power and influence, embodiment of classical French art.  He also gave future generations of France the source of endless tourists money, just like Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) did to China by building the Great Wall and his tomb.

Oeil0-de-Boeuf

But knowing how Louis XIV personally involved in building Versailles or how the mob chased Marie Antoinette from the Queen Chamber, through Oeil-de-Boeuf, to the King’s Bedroom at the beginning of French Revolution will make one think while on the ground of Versailles; I think therefore I am!

The reception of du Grand Conde by Louis XIV in Versailles

The above photo shows a painting of the reception at Versailles; a general received by Louis XIV. It is flamboyantly colorful; the painting was done in 1878, a bit more than 200 years after the event in 1674.  So I don’t know how faithfully it reflects the true event; nevertheless, it is a stark contrast when Benjamin Franklin was received by Louis XVI on March 20, 1778, over a year and a half after he arrived at Paris. (I believe this painting hangs in d'Orsay Museum, which is also on our itinerary.)

“Franklin, true to his popular reputation for democratic simplicity, did not present himself in gay court costume amid the grandeur of Versailles.  Instead, he wore plain brown velvet, white stockings, and spotless linen.” (This is from a book called The Age of Idea.)

More people may be more interested in history had the camera been invented, say, 500 years or even 1000 years ago.  History will be more vivid, alive and less controversial.

Louis XIV

Marie Antoinette

The Queen's Chamber

Mild summer is not conducive to the growth of the luffa (菜瓜)

This mild summer is not conducive to the growth of the tropical luffa (菜瓜 or 絲瓜), which requires 150-200 warm to hot days to grow and mature, which is a luxury the western Pennsylvania weather cannot afford.  Our success is attributed to our planting of the seeds indoor in late February/early March and the loving tender care when they were young and vulnerable.

We shouldn’t complain as we have had enough to share with some friends.  The yield would be much higher had August been as hot as in July.  We gardeners resign to the fact that we’re at the mercy of the All Mighty.

The glorious canna has reached their full majesty in our garden

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Canna;

. . . . . . .

Her beauty is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

The glorious canna has reached their full majesty in our garden;

 

Our good friend gave us this rhizome (tuberous root—see photo) of canna a few years back. We dug them up when the harsh winter came; they are now more than two dozens; these tall, flamboyant and vibrant tropic splendor will last until the first frost.

Good garden workers

A garden this size needs garden helpers.  Might as well put them to work!  Ben and Gabby are good garden workers; well trained by Gloria and Tom, I presume!

The hidden garden needs a 360º camera

All visitors are impressed by this spot in the garden—a hidden garden within a garden as one cannot see it entering the garden from the back porch.  A very nice place to relax among the beauty and colors; Jason said he would eat dinner here.  Sean took a picture and sent it to Tom, who was responsible for the beginning of this garden.

Look at Gabby who was checking it out the beauty surrounding her.  Jo brought me a Flight 360º suitcase for our forthcoming trip; I need a 360º camera so you can see the surrounding beauty and colors as if you were here.