Queen’s Birthday in September?

Posted on September 26, 2021 by vanbraman

Tonight was one of those nights when I really didn’t have an idea wandering through my head for a post.

So, I looked at the calendar for inspiration. The square for September 27 had Queen’s Birthday (W AUS). I wondered why the Queen’s Birthday was only celebrated in Western Australia on September 27. Then I remembered that I had written a post about it back in 2013. So here it is with some minor changes, mostly in this paragraph.

Queen Elizabeth II - Queen's Baby Picture - Elizabeth II as baby - Princess Elizabeth

I looked up birthday of Queen Elizabeth II and found that it was on April 21. Why is it being celebrated on September 30 in Western Australia?

I then found out that the Queen’s Birthday is not celebrated on the same day in all the countries of the Commonwealth. The celebration of the Queen’s Birthday ( or King’s)  is not based on the actual date of birth of the reigning monarch, but is usually in late May or June.

First, here are a few more pictures of Queen Elizabeth and then I will reveal why the celebration date is different in Western Australia.

Queen Elizabeth II - Prince Phillip - Queen's Birthday - Western Australia - Royal Couple

My Grandma’s scrapbooks have several images of Queen Elizabeth II in them. This picture of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip is from the time of the Canadian Royal Tour of 1959.

The baby picture shown at the beginning of the post was used in my post: A Little Prince

Queen Elizabeth II - Prince Philip - Formal Wear - Queen's Birthday - Western Australia

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip look quite elegant in formal wear. An interesting contrast to the earlier picture where they appear in royal dress.

I found out that for most of Australia the date for the Queen’s Birthday is the second Monday in June. In Western Australia, they celebrate the founding of their state on the first Monday of June, so they moved the celebration of the Queen’s Birthday to September or October. This is nice for them as they get an extra holiday.

You never know what you might learn by looking up the different holidays that are noted on your calendar.

Steven

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Changing Face

Posted on September 25, 2021 by vanbraman

Las week my face changed a bit.

full beard - pre hair cut - face changeLast week I had an appointment to get my hair cut. Here I am before I started shedding some of my hair.

hair cut time, shaving off beard, less hairThe first step was to cut back the beard. It looks a bit scruffy, but this was only the start.

shaving off beard, bare face, wavy hairHere I am after removing the rest of the beard and a rough shave.

hair salon, hair trimmings, hair cutThe next step took a professional. I went to the salon for my hair cut. The pile of trimmings is not a big as the last several cuts.

clean shaven, hair cut, shorter hairNow you know what I have been hiding 🙂  The change was a topic of conversation in several of my on-line meetings last week. Several of my colleagues had never seen me without a beard.

Now, how long will it stay off?

Steven

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