An excellent week

Week of 20 November 2023

Recovery from the Point to Pinnacle

This was my recovery week from Sunday’s Point to Pinnacle.

I was relieved the walk was over! My sore foot didn’t hurt too much and the small amount of pain I’d had in my right calf after the walk had gone by Monday morning. I think I made the right choice to keep going.

I was glad to not be tracking my walks any more. Well, I guess I didn’t really have to track them when I was training either and I did slack off a bit towards the end when I decided to rest my foot rather than take longer walks, but now I can get back to walking more casually.

The mornings are great for agapanthus photos at the moment.

Apart from work and my acting class, I spent this week working on my Open House Hobart photos to get them ready for my photoblog. I finished the first one on Sunday.

Meeting the governor

Spoiler: I didn’t meet the Governor.

The highlight of this week was going to Government House to see Kramstable receive his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award from Tasmania’s Governor, Her Excellency, the Honourable Barbara Baker AC.

This is something he’s been working toward since he signed up for the award in 2020.

The award is a three-level program (bronze, silver and gold) for young people aged 14-25, in which they undertake consistent activities over a defined number of weeks in the areas of skills, voluntary service and physical recreation. They also take part in an adventurous journey and, for gold participants, a residential project.

I’ve written about some of Kramstable’s activities for this, including his weekly drama classes and his trips on the Lady Nelson tall ship. He also did activities like volunteering at a local charity and regular running (which helped him prepare for the various “fun” runs we’ve taken part in).

I’m really proud of the commitment he’s shown to doing all the activities so he could complete all three levels of the award while he’s still at school.

It was a lovely ceremony, with 16 young people receiving their awards. Kramstable’s grandparents and aunt travelled over from the mainland to attend, Lil Sis came too, and it was great that his drama teacher and his award assessor were also able to celebrate this wonderful achievement with him.

Week 47 summary

What was the best thing about this week?

Seeing Kramstable get his gold award.

What did I notice this week?

I was curious about these columns in Macquarie Street.

The lower round ones look very much like the Tuscan columns I learned about at the architectural drawing workshop but the square ones, I’m not sure. Maybe they’re a square version of the same thing.

I’m also unsure about the top columns because they have to be what looks like an Ionic top rather than the simple Tuscan one, but they aren’t fluted.

I’m investigating.

I also noticed this carving in a table at Government House.

The inscription “Dieu et mon droit” also appears on the coat of arms at Tasmania’s Parliament House.

Whenever I see it, I think, “Yeah, ‘God and my right,’” and think no more of it, never bothering to wonder why there’s a French motto in our coat of arms.

So I looked it up. It turns out it’s the motto of the monarch of the United Kingdom.

If the internet is to be believed, the use of French in England dates back to when the English elite spoke French (more accurately, Anglo-Norman French), following the Battle of Hastings in 1066. As modern English began to develop, King Henry V, in the 15th Century, wished to keep Anglo-Norman/French as the language of his court and chose the motto for the Kingdom of England at that time.

It is said that the phrase came from Richard the Lionheart, in 1198, who said it to indicate he owed his crown to only God and himself.

So there you go. Un peu d’histoire pour vous.

What did I learn this week?

This one is from my sister who told me a pen knife is so called because such small knifes were used to make and mend quill pens. Makes sense.

What I’m reading this week

• Living Drama by Bruce Burton