Giveaway Winner!

Hello. Her Royal Highness the cat here. Exciting news -- we have a winner of my birthday giveaway! Huzzah, I say, huzzah! But before I announce the winner, please let me say a sincere thank you to everyone who entered my draw. I wish you all could have won!

So my person wrote everyone's name on individual slips of paper and put them all in a big kibble bowl. I closed my eyes, put my paw in the bowl, speared a single slip of paper with my razor-sharp claws and pulled it out. The winner is:

Magaly Guerrero of Pagan Culture!

Congratulations, Magaly! Please leave a comment on this post with your mailing address -- my person monitors all her comments and will not publish it. But she'll send you all my giveaway goodies right away!

And to all the kitties who entered my draw, I'll be in touch soon to plan the imminent uprising and revolution . . . oops . . . shhhhh, I've said too much.

Vimy Ridge Day

April 9th of each year is Vimy Ridge Day in Canada, designed to honour the special significance of this battle. Our country's grief at the terrible cost of Vimy Ridge and World War I is encapsulated by the central figure of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, she who stands at the front of the Memorial, framed between the twin pylons -- the statue called Canada Bereft.

She stands on the high parapet, looking down at the stone sarcophagus of the war dead found at its base. Before her stretches the battlefield of 1917. She is facing east, where each new day dawns.

She is designed to evoke the Mater Dolorosa, the grieving mother of Michaelangelo's Pieta.

Canada Bereft grieves for all time, on sunny days and in the rain, day and night, in summer, winter and all the other seasons of the turning year.

My father's namesake, Charles Walker, was mortally wounded at Vimy Ridge and died about a month after the battle. He is the only connection my family has to the Great War. I have written about him before (here and here) if you want to read his story.

[Photos borrowed from various sources on the internet.]

[Remember to enter HRH's Birthday Giveaway if you haven't yet -- click here to do so!]

Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Today, Vimy Ridge is dominated by a huge Canadian war memorial. Designed by Canadian sculptor Walter Allward, the Memorial is constructed of white limestone bonded to a cast concrete frame and features 20 sculpted figures. Its towering twin pylons represent Canada and its ally France.

The Memorial took many years to design and build after World War I. It was officially dedicated in 1936 by King Edward VIII. Recently, the Memorial has been extensively restored and refurbished. It was rededicated by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is dedicated (in French and English) to all Canadian soldiers killed in World War I --

While the Memorial was being constructed, some of the extensive trenches on the battlefield were also cast in concrete by the same workers. Vimy Ridge is one of the very few places on the former Western Front where trench lines and war ravaged terrain are preserved.

Tomorrow -- Vimy Ridge Day, the statue of Canada Bereft and my family's connection to Vimy Ridge.

[Photos borrowed from various sources on the internet.]

[Remember to enter HRH's Birthday Giveaway if you haven't yet -- click here to do so!]

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

In Canada, this Saturday is Vimy Ridge Day. It commemorates a First World War battle that has become a Canadian symbol of achievement, nationhood and sacrifice. Mainstream historical interpretation holds that Canada became a truly independent nation at Vimy Ridge, no longer viewed as simply part of the British Empire.

Vimy Ridge is an escarpment in France near Arras. The German army captured it at the beginning of the war in 1914. Neither the French nor the British succeeded in taking it back and, as a result, they believed Vimy Ridge to be untakeable.

But on April 9-12, 1917, the Canadian Expeditionary Force captured Vimy Ridge, thanks to "a mixture of technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support, and extensive training, as well as the failure of the German Sixth Army to properly apply the German defensive doctrine." (Wikipedia)

But, like all such victories, Vimy Ridge came at a terrible price -- 3598 Canadian soldiers killed and 7004 wounded. German casualties are unknown but 4000 prisoners of war were taken.

Today, the landscape around Vimy Ridge is still heavily scarred from that wartime period, scars which are easily visible under the fresh green grass. The whole area remains honeycombed with tunnels, trenches, craters and unexploded munitions. As a result, much of the site is closed off for public safety. Only sheep are allowed to wander these spots. Their job is to graze and keep the grass short.

And, of course, Vimy Ridge is also surrounded by Canadian war graves.

Tomorrow -- the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge.

[Photos borrowed from various sources on the internet.]

[Remember to enter HRH's Birthday Giveaway if you haven't yet -- click here to do so!]

HRH's Birthday Giveaway

Hello. Her Royal Highness the cat here. Guess what? I'm having a giveaway to celebrate my birthday!!! Okay, yes, so I did take my person's credit card without her permission when she wasn't looking and went shopping at the mall. But she owes me. Big time.

Anyway, this fabulous cat lover's gift package could be yours! It consists of the following 4 items --

1. A book of stories called on cats by Nobel laureate Doris Lessing.

2. An Emily the Strange journal featuring Emily and her mysterious black kitties, with plenty of room for your own dark musings.

3. A music CD called Orange Cats Make the Very Best Friends by the late Canadian singer-songwriter Norm Hacking and instrumentalist Kirk Elliott. Many of Norm's delightful songs are about cats. His biggest hit "When Cats Go Wrong" is included.

4. A big bag of assorted cat toys for the special cat(s) in your life.

So here are my person's rules for entering this giveaway (I know, I know, she's not spontaneous and free like cats are. I pity her, really):

1. You must be an official Follower to enter. Old, new or just signed up in order to enter the contest, it's all good. And it doesn't matter where you're from in the world, my person will mail this gift package anywhere!

2. In addition to being a Follower, you must leave a comment on this post. If you leave a comment but don't want to be entered, just say so.

3. One entry per person (leaving 10 comments will still only result in 1 entry!)

4. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Savings Time) on Sunday, April 10, 2011.

5. The winner will be chosen by a random draw made on Monday, April 11 and the results posted here on Tuesday, April 12.

Good luck, everyone!

Sweet Sixteen

Hello. Her Royal Highness the cat here. I have some exciting news -- it's my birthday!!!!!

Yes, sixteen years ago at the beginning of April, 1995, I was born in the fabled North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba as part of an unwanted litter of kittens. We all wound up at the Winnipeg Humane Society. Nine weeks later when I was ready to be adopted, my person found me there and took me home. I have graced her with My Royal Presence ever since.

Here's my baby picture -- I know, cuteness personified!

And of course, here I am today -- the Queen of All and Everything!

Be sure to come back tomorrow -- I have a surprise to celebrate my birthday!

Be Careful Out There Today!