I love my mama. She is one of the funniest people I know, not because she cracks jokes, but because she's spunky and what you see is definitely what you get.
In the great year of 2004, my parents went on one of their annual vacations to some exotic place abroad. This particular trip included a stop in Edinburgh, Scotland. When they got to their hotel on a chilly morning in October, the receptionist told them that there was going to be a parade of sorts and they needed to go and watch, as the Scottish Parliament was officially moving from one building to another. They scurried off and found a place to wait amongst the others waiting to see the show. While waiting, they had a nice conversation with a very friendly policeman whom they struggled to understand. Finally, the moment arrived. My parents watched this historic moment, as the Members of Scottish Parliament made their way from the old parliament building to the new one. The MSPs were dressed in their finest kilts and then, there he was. James Bond. And my mother, being who she is, was overcome with excitement and yelled out "Sean! Sean!" in her best giddy school girl voice. Upon hearing his name, Sean Connery, all decked out in his Scottish best, turned to my mother and gave her a thumbs-up.
Minutes later, the queen rolled by in her car. She did not look at my mother, presumably because she heard her call out for Sean, who, as we all know, is a Scottish nationalist that believes Scotland should be free of stuffy English royalty.
Ah, but our tale doesn't end there. This now brings us to 2011. About a month ago, my husband and I decided to go out for a drive. We went to Braemar, a small and not terribly interesting town, on to a ski spot, just to see what a ski resort looks like in the Highlands of Scotland and then turned back toward home, with the intent of stopping at Balmoral Castle. Balmoral Castle is the Queen of England's vacation home. Purchased by Queen Victoria in the mid-nineteenth century, it has been used by the British Royal Family ever since. While I did know that the Queen is currently residing there for her usual winter vacation, I thought I'd read that we could at least walk on the grounds. Unfortunately, the gates remained firmly shut - at least for us, though I did see a car or two coming in and out.
After all is said and done, I can only assume that the Queen knows who I am and is holding a grudge because my sweet and spunky mama called after James Bond and not her and therefore refused to let me see her fancy house. And I think that's rather petty of her. Don't you?
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