Mum’s Day with Mary Rose

I got to spend Mother’s Day at a shipyard. Well, technically it’s not MD in the UK as theirs is in March, but who cares about that and I like ships.

When my daughters were young, they read historical fiction about English kings and Irish wolfhounds and such. Now, I never paid much attention to Henry VIII and his wifey troubles (the focus of those teen novels) but as of today, I know all about his ship. In fact, I can tell you more than you care to know about the Mary Rose. Ready?

She was Henry’s flagship. She served 34 years. She capsized near Portsmouth. Five hundred years later she was salvaged and now she sits in a climate-controlled, state-of-the-art museum. Good enough? Good enough.  Also, this isn’t her:

Besides the Mary Rose, we toured the Victory (that is her, behind Jim). Admiral Nelson died on the Victory. Shot by a French sniper during the battle of Trafalgar, Nelson fell to the deck (there’s a plaque to mark the spot) and died later in the surgery. He was sent back home in a full barrel of brandy (used as a preservative) and buried in St. Paul’s, where we saw him yesterday.

And now, Jessica and I watch “The Great British Bake Off”, having had our dinner and our facials.  I can say with certainty that our faces feel “refreshed, soothed, and balanced.”  Thanks, Lush.