The "Today in History" module tells me that this day marks the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1953. Coincidentally, my trivia calendar says all the swans in England are property of the Queen.
I don't trust this trivia calendar because I've researched some of the entries and found they weren't exactly true. So, I checked and found out on the official site of the British Monarchy that the Crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but The Queen only exercises her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries. The article goes on to say swans used to be considered a delicacy.
Not long ago, the Amarillo Globe-News Facebook page linked to a letter from someone complaining the city wasn't doing enough to protect the geese, ducks and swans on the Medi-Park lake, saying that there wasn't nearly as many as there used to be. Someone said they probably migrated, but I suspect people were catching the ducks and geese and eating them. That reminded me of an old movie: John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! where American oil executives were served peacock tongues at a lavish banquet.
I'd hate to think someone had eaten those swans; even if they were stolen and cleaned and cooked, they could have bought quite a few steak dinners selling them for a fraction of what they were worth.
I don't trust this trivia calendar because I've researched some of the entries and found they weren't exactly true. So, I checked and found out on the official site of the British Monarchy that the Crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but The Queen only exercises her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its surrounding tributaries. The article goes on to say swans used to be considered a delicacy.
Not long ago, the Amarillo Globe-News Facebook page linked to a letter from someone complaining the city wasn't doing enough to protect the geese, ducks and swans on the Medi-Park lake, saying that there wasn't nearly as many as there used to be. Someone said they probably migrated, but I suspect people were catching the ducks and geese and eating them. That reminded me of an old movie: John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! where American oil executives were served peacock tongues at a lavish banquet.
| I'm surprised I remembered that esoteric bit of movie trivia; what I most remember about the movie was Shirley MacLaine dressed in a revealing harem outfit. |
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I'd hate to think someone had eaten those swans; even if they were stolen and cleaned and cooked, they could have bought quite a few steak dinners selling them for a fraction of what they were worth.
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