Victoria

Listen while you read: Victoria

Long ago, life was clean
Sex was bad and obscene
And the rich were so mean
Stately homes for the Lords
Croquet lawns, village greens
Victoria was my queen
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, 'toria

I was born, lucky me
In a land that I love
Though I am poor, I am free
When I grow, I shall fight
For this land I will die
Let her sun never set
Victoria . . .

Land of hope and gloria
Land of my Victoria
Land of hope and gloria
Land of my Victoria

Canada to India
Australia to Cornwall
Singapore to Hong Kong
From the West to the East
From the rich to the poor
Victoria loved them all
Victoria . . . 

~  Ray Davies (The Kinks)

The Kinks' album, Arthur, from 1968, was written as the soundtrack to a BBC TV movie which was never filmed, but the album, whose alternate title is The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, was still a hit for The Kinks. The song is obviously about Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. That's 63 years and seven months! "The Victorian Era." There were times she was disliked and times that she was very popular, but is there truth in the lines From the rich to the poor / Victoria loved them all? Probably not. I think there's a bit of sarcasm in this song, as if it were written about a current government leader whose name shall not be mentioned.

The British Empire, from Canada to India, is/was vast, and the name "Victoria" appears in many locations. For instance, Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, beginning as a settlement in 1843. It is located on Vancouver Island, a ferry ride away from Washington state. And guess where I am?

We caught an early morning ferry through the San Juan Islands to the port of Sidney on Vancouver Island. On our way to Victoria, we visited the famed Butchart Gardens. Fabulously beautiful! Then on to Craigdarroch Castle, built as a home for coal baron Robert Dunsmuir. The opulence is both awesome and disgusting, but such is our response to obscene wealth. We ended our day with an evening spent on the Inner Harbor, where high tea is held at the Empress Hotel. (We chose Rhino Pale Ale, tacos, and bar pizzas at Earl's on Government Street instead.) The weather was awesome, and we are resting up for another adventure tomorrow as we depart Vancouver Island for the City of Vancouver, again by ferry. O Canada!

At Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, BC