jubilee

greetings

and so here we are. well, us in the uk, look you see. on date of publication, being the first day of june (2020), it is the eve of an ostensible four (4) day weekend. at the least it is for those who are not required to go off and verk over these days, or simply "work" if, unlike me, you are not fixated on the way that arnold schwarzenegger pronounces the word in total recall. 

the purpose, or reason, for this is to mark (celebrate, even) the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II being our monarch. or queen, if you will. and shall. yes, to show i am down with how the kids say things these days, and for ease of reference, i shall use HMQE2 from here on out. although this is a bit of an issue for some in our land, believe it or not. with, to be fair, a degree of validity. on announcement that Elizabeth would be crowned (if that is the right word for being made queen) Elizabeth II Scotland objected. rightly, too. Elizabeth I was queen of England only, for her reign (rule) was long before the act of union. strictly speaking, she is indeed the first Elizabeth to be monarch of the uk. there, every now and then there is some information of value here. 

so, on to celebrate HMQE2, or whatever she may be referred to in different parts of the country. no, not any obscenities, thank you, why not give yourself the day off from such. and celebrate i intend to, in perhaps an admittedly or confessed more English way. 

fortune or favour (perhaps both) smiled upon me, it seems, as it was all possible for me to attend my most beloved Fortnum & Mason, so as to inspect their prestigious range set to commemorate the jubilee. indeed i did purchase an item or two, but possibly not so many as one may think in relation to the imminent celebration. 

indeed it was not quite so long ago that i visited Fortnum & Mason. such used to be a quite rare treat, but now fate seems to decree i can go more often. for those interested here is a link to a recent excursion, or if you shall adventure. and in that link you can link (if that's right) to several other such instances of me paying my respects to this most wondrous of places. 

having given consideration to the many, many fine items pertaining to the jubilee, for the most part, or mostly, i purchased (procured) other items. a reasonably clearer image of my haul is pictured below, should the partial image, presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode above, not be entirely satisfactory. also, a bit of video of one item for you, for fun. 

yes, that is a rather elaborate, somewhat posh biscuit tin, presented in an attractive way and so as to look like the front of Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly Circus. and also yes, it does indeed play some music. considering just how discerning my readers are i hardly not speak (or type) another word, but to confirm for you, indeed that is fragments of Handel's Water Music. or, at the very least, that is what it says it is on the tin, or box, if you will. splendid. expensive, certainly, and i am not entirely sure i had a requirement for a biscuit tin. but splendid all the same, and done now. 

what other items did i procure (buy)? pictured just below is almost the entire haul. first and foremost, i took them up on the gracious offer to replace any F&M bag which had become damaged. one i bought several years ago was showing signs of use and age (aren't we all), and they were delighted to exchange it for this, their new and strictly limited platinum jubilee variation. quite exceptional fortune here, for this is indeed limited. once the commemoration of the jubilee has ceased, by which i presume the end of our prolonged weekend, so too they shall cease selling this one. 

allowing me to celebrate the jubilee in a respectful, agreeable and appropriate way is the jubilee tea. i have no idea if this is also to be limited for sale, but i thought best not to chance it, let me go ahead and procure a box, just in case they stop selling this by the fifth day of june. no, i have not tried it as such as yet, but then this is Fortnum & Mason tea, so i am certain it shall be splendid. 

but, that said, i am not sure such shall certainly be true of the other tea purchased. having procured a tin especially for biscuits i thought it appropriate to get the same for all future tea purchases. i looked at all of their offerings, considered each, and went for a tin of "nocturne" silky tea bags, owing to be falling a little bit in love with the tin. further (or also), a tea blended for the specifics of an evening sounded like a most grand thing. upon returning to my temporary London (innit) lodgings i inspected the tea tin a bit more closely. well, closely for the first instance. apparently this tea is a (and i quote) "botanical infusion with lemon balm, camomile and lavender flowers". in furtherance of definition, it also says that it, the tea, is "mellow, clear and bright with hints of lavender and cherry". oh. well, i shall try it at some stage.

observant types shall (possibly) note another item, concealed in some elegant tissue paper. that's some plum jam, which rather took my fancy. no, i have not taken it from its cradle of paper yet, the lady who wrapped it so was really nice, so i have left it be for now. but at some stage i shall fancy some, or recall that i procured it, and try it. perhaps over the jubilee weekend. 

righty-ho, let me get (or "crack") on with some verk stuff. after that, well, i shall have every confidence of every intention to honour HMQE2 with a most splendid cup of tea. posh biscuits too.

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!