This afternoon (Danish time), Danish crown prince Frederik will marry Mary... Mary Donaldson of Australia. (No arranged political marriage, this.)

I was quite surprised to find nothing about the event posted on the New York Times web site... though their search engine did turn up an AP article.

This is an important event for Denmark, and for Europe. Scandinavians view their monarchs not as aloof and untouchable, but as family. And Mary has won the hearts of the Danes and is welcome into the family. On holidays, the Danish buses fly small Danish flags on each top front corner; today it's one Danish flag and one Australian!

So I invite you all to have yourselves a Foster's and a Tuborg or Carlsberg (or whatever you prefer; I have a couple of bottles of a special beer that was brewed by Carlsberg in honor of the wedding) and cheer the new royal couple.

And a special "skål" to the Australian members of the Concertina.net!

Back in the '80's my parents took their teen morris team to Denmark a couple times. They came back with stories about just how accessible the royal family is. My mother thinks she saw the Queen do her own banking...

skal!

Quite likely. She goes shopping like everybody else.

She is also known for her paintings, which have been in several exhibitions. There were a few persons who criticized her for designing a poster for the Bosnian war relief effort, saying it wasn't appropriate to her station. They were roundly dismissed by the majority, who said that she had as much right as anyone else.

Take heart, Jim. They got a full two minutes on one of the UK terrestial TV News channels (BBC News 24?) last night after 11pm. What was the brides former occupation? I seem to remember hearing it was something quite ordinary, and remarking to my wife that it seemed very 'Cinderella'.

Hello

The marriage was mentioned in a short piece on National Public Radio here in Miami, FL. The presenter described the bride as a "commoner" -- a consultant for Microsoft, who met her new husband (? by the time I post this) in a bar during the Sydney Olympics.

Paul

Maybe so, but Elizabeth Windsor née Battenburg doesn't go shopping like her.

There was an interesting programme on the Beeb the other day about the wealth of our Royals in which, passim, an incident was mentioned where the Queen was staying as a guest with some one when her dresser was taken seriously ill. In the morning HRH (God bless her, and all who sail in her) was in serious difficulties because she didn't know how to finish dressing herself.

I guess if our Royal family were more like the Danish Royal family then chances are I wouldn't now be a republican.

Skål,

Chris

A friend of mine who plays the Digeree Do told me that there was a Digeree Do concert planned for the day of the wedding. With one hundered players. He mailed a CD of his music to the happy couple in April, to get a jump on the fun.

I must get a copy of that CD. I have no Digeree Do music at all.

I know of only three Digeree Do players in all San Diego California, making it possibly the only instrument less played around here than the English Concertina.

Russell Hedges
Aquarussell

Jim,
I'll drink to that, though not with this special beer. I already finished the four bottles I took from the SSI, so I'll have to drink Duvel

There was a nice mention and some footage of the ceremony shown on....some newcast on my television, maybe it was NECN.

I celebrated with an iced coffee. Bird-Watcher's Blend, a medium roast!

Neither do most dij players

Chris

Jim,

Our paper had a 4 column picture and article about the wedding. They made a gorgeous couple.

Glad to hear it.