Bob the Brit

On April 29^th 2011 Prince William (of Wales) married his fiancée Kate Middleton in London’s Westminster Abbey. They are now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Abbey has a long tradition of royal weddings, dating back to the year 1100, when King Henry I of England (a son of William the Conqueror) was married to Matilda of Scotland; Prince William’s grandmother – Queen Elizabeth II was married in the abbey in 1947.

The Abbey’s origins can be traced back to Edward the Confessor, who consecrated the first Abbey on the site in 1065, the location was said to have been the site of a vision of Saint Peter nearby. Edward was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England (prior to the Norman conquest in 1066) and in 1163 King Henry II oversaw the interment of Edward’s remains in the Abbey as part of his canonisation to Saint Edward.

The current Abbey was built between 1245 and 1517, while the distinctive west towers were added in the 18^th century, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor – a student of Sir Christopher Wren. Hawksmoor famously designed six London churches after the great fire on London in 1666, while Wren designed St Pauls Cathedral in the City of London.

Geoffrey Chaucer was living and working in the Abbey (as ‘Master of the King’s Works’) at the time of his death in 1400 and was buried in the Abbey’s grounds. In 1556 a more substantial tomb was erected in an area south of the nave, and other writers chose to be buried in what has become known as ‘Poets’ Corner’. Notable writers buried in Poets’ Corner include William Blake, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Samuel Johnson, Rudyard Kipling, T.S. Eliot, the Bronte Sisters, William Wordsworth and Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson.

More importantly, since 1066 the Abbey has been the venue for the coronation of every English monarch (with the notable exception  of king Henry III – as Westminster was under the control of Louis VIII of France as part of his campaign for the English throne).  The scenes in the recent film ‘The Kings Speech’ depicted events in the Abbey before the coronation, but were actually filmed at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, to the north and east of London.

The actual coronation takes place while the monarch is seated in King (or Saint) Edward’s Chair (carved in 1297) which in turn houses the ‘Stone of Scone’ during the period of the coronation, the stone was returned to the scots in 1996 – the scots have promised to lend it back for future coronations.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a clear example of poor economics and even worse planning –   while you solve one problem by paying Paul, you line up another problem for the future, because Peter will demand his payment in due course.

Like using your Visa Card to pay your MasterCard bill.

The most likely origin for this phrase dates back to the reign of Henry VIII, who granted Westminster Abbey (dedicated to St Peter) in Westminster the status of ‘Cathedral’ this spared the Abbey from being destroyed in his ‘Dissolution of the Monasteries between between 1536 and 1541. It could be argued that Westminster Abbey merited being spared as it had hosted the coronation of every English king since 1066 – and continues to to this day.

Westminster Abbey

After the dissolution was completed, Westminster returned to Abbey status in 1550.

However, during the period that Westminster was a Cathedral, funds meant for the upkeep of the Abbey (in the City of Westminster) were diverted to the treasury of St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London.

St Pauls Cathedral

Hence robbing Peter to pay Paul.

While the start of the Christian period of Lent is celebrated around the world with elaborate carnivals and Mardi Gras celebrations, the British are more prosaic, with ‘pancake day’ or ‘Shrove Tuesday’.

The origins of pancake day are the same as Mardi Gras (or ‘Fat Tuesday’) in using up extravagant ingredients such as eggs prior to the Lenten period of denial. The British cook pancakes, which is basically a batter mix cooked in a frying pan and tossed (flipped in the air to cook the previously uncooked side). Pancakes are usually about twelve inches in diameter and wafer thin, served with sugar and lemon juice.

Of course, there are some British eccentricities – pancake races.

The most famous of these takes place in the village of Olney, about fifty miles northwest of London.

The Olney Pancake Race, was first ran in 1445, supposedly to commemorate that the year before a housewife, while cooking pancakes, had heard the church bells calling the residents to the ‘Shriving Service’ and hurried to the church still holding her pan.

Today the race is more formal, and takes place just before mid-day, ladies of the town (wearing a skirt, apron and headscarf) are required to run a 415 yard course carrying a frying pan and pancake. After crossing the finishing line the winner is required to toss the before being greeted by the verger of the church with a kiss of peace.

Other towns and villages hold pancake races, including one held at the old Trueman Brewery in Spitalfields, London. Teams race to win an engraved frying pan.

Battenberg Cake is a popular sweet cake, often served with afternoon tea.

It’s square in cross section, but long and rectangular, made from sponge and wrapped in yellow marzipan (a sweet almond paste).

Within the square cross section there are four squares, two each of lemon coloured sponge and two of pink. The most popular theory for this pattern is that it was created in 1884 to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg. Each of the four squares represents each of the four Battenberg princes: Louis, Alexander, Henry and Francis Joseph.

The name Battenberg has further connections with the British royal family – the aforementioned Prince Louis  of Battenberg changed his name to the British version of the name – Mountbatten – during the first world war at the suggestion of King George V as anti German sentiment was running high. Indeed it was during that war that the royal family adopted the name Windsor from the somewhat Germanic “House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha”.  Prince Louis’ son – also named Louis – was a much loved and respected member of the royal family – best known as Earl Mountbatten of Burma until his death in 1979 at the hands of the Provisional IRA.

The distinctive chequered pattern of Battenberg cake has also given its name to the fluorescent patterns used to identify police and emergency vehicles in many European countries.