Boarding @ Home: Day 35/84: Melania Trump's 50th Birthday

First Lady in the USA is not an easy role to play. Melania is a first generation migrant from Slovenia to the US who in 2005 married a third generation German migrant with a first generation migrant Scottish mother who spoke Gaelic to him as a child and hailed from Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Little is discussed of Melania's earlier life which at the time saw her working as a model which had been pursued in Milan and Paris before she settled in the US. She was secretly baptised as a Catholic in her then communist home country of Yugoslavia and after Secondary School in Design and Photography she studied architecture and design at Ljubljana University although dropping out after her first year to begin a professional career as a model. She quietly supported Donald Trump's campaign in 2016 and vowed on becoming First Lady that she would champion women's and children's causes - not an easy task with her husband's often criticised actions as President. As he wrestles today with the Covid19 pandemic he may well reflect that his grandfather died of Spanish flu in 1918 - as did my own maternal side James Park. Much to the dismay of my PC young colleagues creating the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry I encouraged and Gill Lindsay in Northampton created for us a panel for Scottish descended US Presidents. It mirrors the panel for Scottish descended UK Prime Ministers she had previously stitched. I've placed my Official portrait alongside Melania's below - Mathew was the donor of T-shirt and Make America Great Again cap way back in 2016.

Domestic issues on the home front. Jules and Laura and the grandsons joined a 12 noon vigil for Melania's birthday whilst Toby ate the red grapes off the kitchen table back at The Manor. Elliot hasn't been taking his saxophone seriously so we gave him our last vuvuzela for Thursday night when handclapping for the NHS is routinely scheduled. Avril's request for artist's paints was met and so we have much to look forward too … as long as it's not windows with rainbows! Also swopped gardening notes ….. donation to the Manor House of a pot of cornflower seedlings and discussed how to deal with their Dwarf Beans already above ground [18"/ 24" high as a bush]. Await some more asparagus when it's ready to cut ….. Our own radishes look a bit mean but our potatoes are in full growth.
Dolphinstoun Baronial Banner fell to the ground overnight. Not yet too clear what's going to be involved to get it hanging well again since it appears that the toggle has jumped its loop and the rope hangs one sided. The pole itself stands well clear of the rooftop so reaching the top to recover the other end of the rope will be a challenge. My suggestion that Elliot should climb the pole was not accepted!
Salus populi suprema lex esto. Well we are promised Boris' return so not surprising he leads with a classical slogan taken from Cicero and enshrined above the State Capitol in Missouri. It has a number of suggested translations but it's not about the Second Wave. For me it pressages a total approach to salus, the health and safety of the nation as the supreme requirement. So my slogan from yesterneve still holds good for the supreme requirement - Work Again - Save the Economy - Plan a Holiday. Not sure Boris' latin will survive … so let's relish it whilst we can. In Gaelic Donald's mother might have whispered: Is e slàinte nan daoine an lagh as àirde.

We certainly are expecting a lot of Boris' Returning Speech; will he play logocentric, setting the wheels in motion with fine words and motivation or will he rest on his haunches until later in the week whilst telling foma, harmless white lies, about his inter pares Cabinet Ministers who've been keeping the ship on the bearings he set from the outset …
International Intellectual Property Day. Henceforth I shall be seeking to give mention each day in this blog to the various allotted days we have globally - today for the record is Intellectual Property Day. I hereby grant all rights to use these blogs provided not out of context by one and all; my sole protection being the Berne Convention 1886 as Revised 1971. [It was also DNA Day … so my words on Donald and Melania seem appropriate too.] Tapadh-leibh. Thank you all.