JUST WHEN YOU NEED a cross from Keswick…
Maybe foresight nudged me to take this photo a few days ago. And maybe the strange impulsion to specifically visit Paddington Station on the brand new Elizabeth line as Léo and I went back to Paris wasn’t a coincidence.
In any case, a strangely luminescent French sky greeted the news just now that the British Queen is no longer with us.
I was never a royalist, yet I was never really anti-royalist either. I could never forget the fact that they were born into an institution, and it’s certainly one I wouldn’t want to belong to. Then they do the best they can with what they’ve got.
My stance on the Queen has softened recently, especially when I saw the adorable little film where she has tea with Paddington at Buckingham Palace before greeting the crowds for her Platinum Jubilee.
My hunch is that, after losing her husband, she dutifully hung on for one last national party before taking her well-deserved leave.
Although she spent most of her time elsewhere, the Queen enjoyed the Lake District and seems to have visited a few times, although usually for official events rather than holidays. Understandable when you think how many people you’d have gawping at you every time your corgis dipped their royal paws into Windermere!
After all these years, I can find a Paris photo from my collection to suit practically any eventuality. This isn’t the case with my Lake District pictures, as I’ve just started this creative adventure. However, I’m glad to have produced an appropriate, if melancholy image to illustrate these sad reflections. Happy hiking in heaven, Queenie!
The Laggard of Lakeland 
(Lakeland Chronicles No.5)
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Wainwright Log: 2 of 214 Fells Conquered / Zero Books Completed / Visit Log
