Noon Report:

• Location: N 48° 48.09′, W 005° 35.54′
• Speed: 15.3 knots
• Course: 58º
• Weather: High Thin Clouds
• Temperature: 12º C; 54º F
• Wind: SW 17 knots; 19.5 mph
• Sea: 2′ swell

When last we checked in with our heros…
I got to bed at 1:00 am.
After turning off the alarm.
So we slept until we were darn good and ready to get up.
Then we went for waffles.

Following breakfast we headed down to the Theater for one of Caroline Malloy’s famous “45,000 years of history in 45 minutes” lectures (C – she’s VERY energetic so it’s rather a romp through history).
This was her last lecture – on Britain.

Once again we hung out between lectures.
At 11:00 Russell Lee was back with more Britannia.

Russell delved pretty deeply (if briefly) into the history of the monarchy, then focused on Charles and his coronation. You’ll notice that it happens tomorrow. But here’s a list of ongoing festivities:

May 7 (We’re in Canterbury)

• “Big Lunch” – (picnics all around Britain) one at Canterbury Cathedral, the other at Whitefriars
• Conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury about the coronation

May 8 (We’re in Greenwich)

• Bank holiday – Lots of places will be closed
• The “Big Help Out” – day of service
• Various events during the day in Greenwich
• Several of the museums will have free admission (with timed tickets)

We returned to the stateroom for Cheryl to rest while I headed upstairs for the last session of noon trivia.
We did rather well but not quite good enough for first place.

Following lunch it was back to the stateroom where we hauled out the suitcases and started sorting and throwing and consolidating and negotiating. The good news is that it looks like we DON’T have to buy another suitcase.

Also, last night we got our bag tags for disembarkation, along with our schedule. Bags need to be out in the hall by 10:00 pm Monday evening. We “deboard” at 7:45 Tuesday morning and are taken to the airport (then we sit at the airport until our flight leaves at 3:00 pm). I would talk to someone about a later leaving time except…Coronation crowds and festivities still ongoing. I suspect we’ll be glad to get to the airport really early.

I had one last Zoom meeting at 6:00 pm. It was due to run until 9:00, so when Cheryl went to dinner she brought me back a plate of sushi for my supper. And the meeting had just ended – so I polished off the sushi just in time to head up to the Explorer’s Lounge for the last BBB – 11/19 (tied for fourth place). As soon as we were done with that, we dashed down to the Theater to get in line (the doors opened at 8:30) for the farewell show.

It was a great show – hosted by Cruise Director Bruce, it included performances by all of the on-board musicians, a farewell by the captain, a video montage of crew members, and a parade of (most of the) crew as we applauded to thank them all for giving us such a great time!

We were back in our stateroom by 10:30 and were soon in bed, getting rested up for tomorrow’s adventure. Thus ends Friday.
More tomorrow,
R

Cheryl’s Factoids – HISTORY OF ENGLAND

• Neolithic stone rings and settlements at Stonehenge, Stenness and Orkney Islands date back 5,000 years. Romans arrive 43 AD and conquer their way north until Hadrian builds his famous wall (with occupied forts watching the border) clear across the width of England showing the edge of civilization. When the Romans were called back to defend Rome, it left behind a vacuum of power and the Dark Ages of tribes fighting tribes. By the late 9th century, the Vikings had overrun most of the Anglo and Saxon kingdoms that constituted England at the time. Alfred the Great, King of the united Angle-Saxons defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878 AD and had the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicles” written.
• William the Conqueror of Normandy (of Viking descent) won the Battle of Hastings and took over as King of England in 1066-bringing in the French language and building Norman castles all over (to watch for uprisings), as well as many cathedrals and monasteries. He had a listing made of all the people and properties written up in the “Domesday Book” in 1086.
• In 1215 the nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. Then from 1348-1350 the Black Death killed between 50% of the population, plus men were called off the farms to fight in the 100 years war – so the nobles increased the taxes the serfs must pay even though there were fewer workers. The serfs erupted in the Peasants Revolt of 1381 so King Richard agreed to abolish serfdom in 1382.
• In the 16th century, Henry the VIII needed a male heir to keep England from splitting into warring factions. He wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon/denied by the Pope/ Henry declared himself the head of the Church of England/ Pope excommunicated him and all the people/ Henry sent out the Dissolution of all Monasteries (took their riches as he needed the money) and started the Anglican (Protestant) Church of England. His heir was his young son Edward VI, who didn’t live very long. After this there was a bid to place his Protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey on the throne. However 9 days after Jane’s accession, Mary (daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon) took the throne and set about restoring the Catholic religion in England.  During Mary’s five-year reign, around 280 Protestants were burned at the stake for refusing to convert to Catholicism, and a further 800 fled the country. This religious persecution earned her the notorious nickname ‘Bloody Mary”. Her successor, Elizabeth I, was a Protestant Queen, however she kept Catholic symbols (such as the crucifix), and downplayed the role of sermons in defiance of a key Protestant belief. Elizabeth and her advisers perceived the threat of a Catholic crusade against heretical England. The Spanish were rising in power from all the gold they were getting from the New World, so Queen Elizabeth I allied with the Portuguese, French, Dutch, and even the Ottoman Turks to stop them – defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588. She put in place restrictions on Catholics.
• Though they were cousins, Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots never met. Ultimately, Mary was a threat to Elizabeth’s throne because she had two claims to the English throne: Many people believed Elizabeth to be illegitimate and so felt she had no right to be on the throne. (Her father, Henry VIII, had divorced his first . Mary was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII (the elder child of Henry VIII’s sister) and next in line to the throne after Henry VIII’s children. Mary (a Catholic) was Queen of the Scots when her father, King James V of the Stewart/Stuart dynasty, died. She reigned from 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. Mary’s Catholicism and previous alliance with France increased the threat of the French invasion in support of her, which threatened the stability of Elizabeth’s kingdom. After 19 years as a prisoner of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, Mary was executed in 1587.
• Elizabeth’s heir was Mary Stuart’s son James VI of Scotland-but he now became James I of England. His son, Charles 1 set off the English Civil War (aka: the Great Rebellion) which lasted almost seven years. His army was defeated and following a trial in London, King Charles I was found guilty of treason against England because he believed in the divine right of kings and used his power for his personal interests rather than the good of the country. Parliament had Charles 1 beheaded and formed a Republic under Oliver Cromwell, however he was very puritanical-banning gambling and even singing. Cromwell invaded Ireland in 1649 to punish the Catholic Irish and committed atrocities which led to an immense transfer of wealth and power from the Irish Catholics to the English Protestants. Cromwell even shut down Parliament-so after his death they asked Charles 1’s son to come back as monarch. Charles II converted to Catholicism before his death and was succeeded by his (also Catholic)brother James II. When James II removed all laws against the Catholics, the people turned against him. In 1701 Parliament came up with The Act of Settlement which stipulated Protestant succession to the throne – which they offered to James II daughter, Mary. She accepted with her husband William of Orange and in 1688, William of Orange invaded England and dethroned James II, House of Stuart (the Glorious Revolution). Catholic King James II and his infant son were forced into exile in France-his son and grandson became the “Old Pretender” and “Young Pretender”(Bonnie Prince Charlie)to the English throne-leading to Jacobite uprisings in 1715 and 1745. William and Mary had no heirs and the succession passed to the Hanoverian line of King George 1. In 1774, America fights for independence. In 1815, Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon. In 1914, World War I, In 1939, World War II. In 1926,  Britain and its the Dominions agreed that they were all equal members of a community within the British Empire. They all owed allegiance to the British king or queen, but the United Kingdom did not rule over them. This community was called the British Commonwealth of Nations.