Blog Royale

I have embraced the 21st century, yet again. About the Elizabethan period, the first coffee served after putting to sea was called the 'coffee royal' (I assume they raised their styrofoam cups to the Queen) or some such thing so in the spirit of Captain Hawking's et al, this is my 'blog royale' - the first posting after putting out onto the wide open technological sea.

Now,  I just have to think of something to say...which normally isn't a problem. Mmm. Oh yes! I have it. Yesterday while researching the death of cellist Ernst de Munck (famous for having married Carlotta Patti who died in 1889)  I found out that he had remarried at an age when he should have know better. 1911 to be precise to a lady named Augusta. They married, set off for Belgium where she gave birth to a girl, Helene Louise de Munck and when they returned to London, Ernst, having had an interesting life (and goatee) snapped his strings and died. Helen, I found out was recruited to MI5 as a spy. A spy! Lord, you have no idea how that made my day. Her mother, Augusta (Baroness de Munck) was found by the police at the bottom of her staircase in 1951 aged 70. Augusta, not the staircase. The article in the Times showed an obvious disinterest in the age or condition of the staircase down which the poor Baroness had tumbled. Bannisters are never remembered in history are they? They come off the lathe and are press-ganged upon a flight and there they stand until doomsday or the wrecking ball. Sad isn't it?