Washington in London?!

One of the most surprising sights that I encountered the first time I was in London was a statue of George Washington in Trafalgar Square.  This was the last figure I would have thought to be captured in bronze in the middle of the most famous square in Great Britain.  Apparently it was a gift from the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1921 and modeled after a marble one in Richmond.  It is rumored that because Washington said he would never set foot in London again after the Revolutionary War that soil from Virginia was placed under the statue.  It is also interesting to note that around the corner from Trafalgar Square is the only remaining, in-tact home of Benjamin Franklin.

First Valentine

After reading an overview of the Valentine holiday on history.com, I was intrigued that they had attributed the first Valentine to Charles the Duke of Orleans in 1415.  Charles was captured by the English after the Battle of Agincourt and sent to England to be imprisoned in the Tower of London.    There he wrote the following poem to his wife:

Original French	English
Je suis desja d’amour tanné, Ma tres doulce Valentinée, Car pour moi fustes trop tart née, Et moy pour vous fus trop tost né. Dieu lui pardoint qui estrené M’a de vous, pour toute l’année. Je suis desja, etc. Ma tres doulce, etc. Bien m’estoye suspeconné, Qu’auroye telle destinée, Ains que passast ceste journée, Combien qu’Amours l’eust ordonné. Je suis desja, etc.	I am already sick of love, My very gentle Valentine, Since for me you were born too soon, And I for you was born too late. God forgives him who has estranged Me from you for the whole year. I am already, etc. My very gentle, etc. Well might I have suspected That such a destiny, Thus would have happened this day, How much that Love would have commanded. I am already, etc.

*This original Valentine still exists in the British Library Manuscript collection.

Here is another source to explore this beloved holiday:
Love and Romance Through the Ages by the Virtual Museum of Canada

Mr. Bean & House do History

I have always been impressed by those who can cover up their natural accent, and sound like someone totally different.  Most Americans who are fans of the show House would not believe that Hugh Laurie was British.  I start with this observation because everyone needs to see clips of one of his earliest works called Blackadder.  He was in the third and fourth seasons of this highly regarded British Comedies from the 1980s that starred Rowan Atkinson before he was Mr. Bean.  The comedy follows a family through four eras of British History from 1485-1917.  I find it similar to America's MASH.  It is a laugh out loud comedy that still shows the drama of history.  The following are two of my favorite clips from the fourth season dealing with the trenches of WWI.

How did the war start?
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