Could Queen Elizabeth I, who was in many ways a force of nature herself, actually command the elements?
Here is a scene from one of my favorite movies Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Queen Bess confronts her ambassadors about impending war with Spain. As it turned out, Bess did command the wind — she had the last laugh when fierce hurricane-like gusts actually overtook the Spanish Armada, bringing victory to England.
Was Bess a witch? You decide 🙂
This post is in response to the Daily Prompt Wind
This blog was inspired by Tony Burgess’ post Happy Treason Day, Ungrateful Colonists!
Treason day indeed… Now don’t get me wrong. I love apple pie and freedom just as much as the next guy. But truth be told, I often do feel like a treasonous American. All my life I have been an Anglophile and felt a bit out of place here in my home country. I blame it on Shakespeare. Or more specifically, Franco Zeffirelli. I saw his Romeo and Juliet movie when I was a little girl. I then became obsessed with England, Shakespeare, and all things Elizabethan.
I also blame it on Lewis Carroll, his tales of Alice, powerful queens, rabbit holes and mad tea parties.
Oh yeah, and I really blame it on the Rolling Stones! Once they hit town I was completely hooked, sold, crossed over. A total traitor to the New World 🙂
When I was 17 I got my chance to go to the UK for the first time. It was my senior class trip, a memory I still hold dearly. First time to see Stonehenge, the Tower and those stoic soldiers who never blink an eye. First time to ride the Tube and hang out in pubs with scruffy backpackers from all over Europe. Since then, whenever I could scrape together enough money, I’d hop a plane and head back to England. I still love everything about the place — the gardens, the cobblestone streets. And especially the pretty cottages where I’d love to live one day.
I have been fortunate enough to visit the stomping grounds of all my heroes. Oxford, Canterbury, Stratford, Liverpool, Abbey Road. Over the years friends have gravitated to me who were just as Anglophilian as myself. We have theories that all of us have lived past lives in England, which I am certain is true.
This always made me feel a bit guilty. American by birth but British in my heart. Since the Revolution, other wars (specifically WWI and II) have brought England and the U.S. together, inextricably bound against our common enemies.
When it gets down to core values and principles, maybe we are not really so different after all. As for me, I will always love America, the land of my birth. But I will also embrace England, the land of my heart, hopes and imagination.
Hope everyone had a safe, sane and fantastic Fourth!
Histories and Mysteries 