Monday 23 May 2011

Victoria


Today is Victoria Day in Canada – Queen Victoria’s birthday (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901).  I suppose this is our version of Memorial Day in the U.S., since it represents a long weekend and signifies the beginning of cottage season. We shop, we garden, we drink beer and throw off fireworks. Nobody really thinks about the Queen.



But ever since I saw the movie “Young Victoria” with Emily Blunt, I’ve been thinking about Victoria. She really was an amazing lady. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, ruled England for 63 years, and was madly in love with her husband and first cousin, Prince Albert, with whom she had 9 children.  She was known as ‘Drina’ as a young woman, and later named ‘the Grandmother of Europe’,  owing to the fact that 26 of her 42 grandchildren married into royal European families. 



That got me to thinking about some other famous women named Victoria. Does anyone remember Victoria Principal? She is lately known for starting her own line of skin care products and jewellery, but she is most famous for her role as Pamela Ewing on Dallas. Who can forget the famous scene where she wakes up, turns over and sees Bobby, the husband she thought was dead, lying next to her? I’m dating myself, I know. 



In an effort to get Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) back into the show after killing him off, the writers turned an entire season into a bad dream. Viewers felt cheated, and there was quite an uproar. It’s what’s referred to in the arts as ‘deus ex machina’ – a plot device where a seemingly impossible problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with a contrived and unexpected intervention by higher forces - in this case, the producers. It was a lesson in how not to write a television episode. But you have to give them kudos for shock value.

The only other Victoria that comes to mind is Victoria’s Secret, the lingerie company. I have to say, they make the most comfortable bras EVER. I’ll never buy a bra anywhere else. I have to cross the border to buy them, but it’s worth it. 


Disclaimer: my bras dont' have tassles, and my boobs never looked like that, even when I was younger. Just in case you were wondering.
 
If I’ve forgotten any other famous Victorias, my apologies. 

Happy birthday, Drina.

4 comments:

  1. Remember when we used to call it "Firecracker Day?" What I want to know is, if we are celebrating Queen Vicky's birthday, why isn't there a big chocolate cake delivered to each of us...you know, to eat in her honor. :)

    Fun blog, Nancy! Keep up the great work.

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  2. Omigosh, I totally forgot about Victoria Beckham. She's really cool. Maybe a tad skinny. But she's got a hunky husband and nice kids. Well, I don't know if her kids are nice, but they seem nice in the pictures. My daughter is forever trying to copy her hairstyles.

    Sorry, Posh Spice.

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  3. We really appreciate your train of thought here. How you got from Queen Victoria to Victoria Principle is a classic example of how most our conversations with each other go. ;)

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  4. Lol.... strange how my mind works, huh?

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