Hey Mary:

That's quite an honor for your dad and whole family,congratulations, do take pictures of ceremony and queen and post it on site, in our last visit to London we saw buckingham palace from outside, BTW I found London hard to manage with my limited walking, it became very tiring after walking for so long, I got tired of appreciating london and its museums, I guess we will have to go to London again sometime in few years.

Asha

This is SO cool!! It sounds like your dad really deserves this award, too. Twenty years of missing Christmas with the family---really your whole family deserves to get an honorary MBE for your understanding of his tradition.

I'm curious. What does "hired a hat" mean? Can you rent hats over there?

Jean

What a special honor for your dad..........and your whole family! He must be a very special person to give such a valuable part of Christmas to those that have so little. That truly is what Christmas should be about.

My husband and I were in London the latter part of September 2003. We were able to take a tour of Buckingham Palace and it was such a delight. I was one of the highlights of our trip to England and Scotland. Apparently the Palace is open to tours while the Queen is vacationing for two months up north in Scotland. We were lucky enough to be there during that time.

We loved your country and the friendliness of all the people. Have a great time at the ceremony for your dad!!

Tamara

Yes Dad ( and Mum) have done a fair bit of charity work over the years. Not with out sacrifices to the whole family.

Asha, we wont be doing much walking as friends have hired a rolls royce to take us all to the palace. Lucky us.

Jean it is like rent a hat..borrow a hat the occasion. It saves buying one which you would never use again. I find it reall useful. It is so much cheaper as well.

Tamara the castle in the north is Balmoral, it is about 30 minutes drive away from us. I will try and go and get some pictures and post them on the site. I am glad you enjoyed you visit to England.

Thanks for all your good wishes

Mary

Have you got your hat sorted out yet?

Hope you have a great time at the palace.

Take care of yourself,

love Sarah.

PS. I'll be around in July. Any chance of a meet up do you think?

Hi Mary.

Congradulations to your dad and family!!

Your dad must be a very special man.

I kinda know what your talking about.. My grandfather was knighted (invested) in the early 1970s at Buckingham for his charitable acts here in America. My mom and her sister got to attend the ceremony. It was during the Summer. They took a small entourage with them to England for the occasion. It's funny to see pictures of him in his top hat and tails. My mom had a photo portrait done and we have his medal and certificates nicely framed. I'll tell you more about it one of these days.

Post some pictures, especially of the hat!

Tom