The Royal Family - Britain's ultimate trademark

News Flash: According to Alikabok, GMA and her family allegedly fled for the US last Wednesday night. At around 6 pm, three cars arrived at NAIA I entering thru the VIP tarmac where they were held for 30 minutes for clearing purposes. GMA claims she left for a speaking engagement. But why bring the whole family and not pass through immigration? Why through the backdoor? Was there a deal between the Palace and GMA? Who brokered the deal? Was it initiated by GMA cronies or the Americans? If there was no deal as Ricky Carandang claims, who was responsible for GMA’s easy exit? Was it the airport officials who assisted them in an unofficial capacity? GMA may have pulled a fast one over P-Noy again! I am pretty sure GMA had an advanced knowledge of Mercy’s resignation. She was way ahead of us. In fact, we were all too preoccupied with the Royal Wedding the press didn’t even bother to investigate whether the rumor was true or not. The question is where is GMA? Did she really leave the country with her family? And a follow-up question would be: Did Malacañang strike a deal with GMA? Or even with Mercy Gutierrez for that matter? Abangan!

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Last Friday, the world witnessed London’s biggest royal wedding in three decades with an estimate global audience of two billion. It was a magnificent display of tradition, dignity, protocol and glory.

It was a very momentous occasion for the Englishmen, known for their formalities and promptness in showing gallantry at a time when chivalry, valor and heroism have declined.

As the Royal Articles put it, “The Royal Household is one of the last bastions of good form, etiquette, and protocol. No other institution prides itself quite so much on its ability to ensure that at all times people are addressed correctly, orders and decorations are worn correctly, and umbrellas are carried as in times gone by on Whitehall. The Old Guard still reigns at Buckingham Palace.”

The wedding of the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge is the first marriage of a senior royal prince and a commoner in 350 years. Royal marriages had long been arranged for diplomatic and political reasons. In 1420, Henry V married Catherine of Valois in an attempt at peace with France during the Hundred Years’ War; in 1589; James I married Anne of Denmark to establish a strong Protestant alliance in Europe. Prince William is a modern-day prince who followed his heart’s desire by marrying Kate. Let’s hope they live happily ever after.

With Britain’s royal wedding breaking records for live streaming, causing internet/ online traffic worldwide, selling millions of radio and television airtime on different parts of the globe and retail sales soaring — how can they ever go wrong! Surely this event has boosted UK’s economy in one way or the other.

There is no doubt about it. The Royal Family is the ultimate “destination” of every traveler to England. As the nursery rhyme suggests, “pussy cat, pussy cat where have you been? I’ve been to London to visit the Queen”.

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By the way, as the world noticed every move, every gesture and every little detail of the Duke, the Duchess and their guests – they didn’t fail to acknowledge the presence of the maple trees inside the Abbey. Kate Middleton had ordered four tons of foliage – including eight, 20-feet high trees to recreate a lavish English country garden inside Westminster Abbey.

We must take a cue from this, noting how plants can turn a drab looking environment into one that gives a happy, refreshing and a spring-like feel.

The Philippines is very rich in flora and fauna. Unfortunately, we do not know how to flaunt these gifts of biodiversity that God has given us. We just take them for granted. Take for instance the contrast of the lush green plants and beautiful colored flowers (orchids) at Changi Airport, Singapore that creates a beautiful atmosphere of welcome and respite for recreation to the thin, short almost lifeless ficus trees in huge plant boxes welcoming the visitors as they land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. After getting a high in Singapore (Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangkok for that matter) from all the colorful flowers and luscious plants – one would feel pitiful, miserable, low spirited and unhappy. What a shame! Our beloved country, rich in exotic plants but cannot produce a beautiful landscape to be proud of! How pathetic can we be! Sanamagan! This is not really a good way to welcome visitors and even the balikbayans to the country. Our airports as the first stop of tourists should mirror what is in store for them during their stay in the Philippines. Therefore, it is important that we take extra care in making this a show window to the rest of the world. As a matter of fact it is not only the environment that needs transformation but also the airport personnel – from the guards, ground staff, immigration and custom officials.

I’m not quite sure who is in-charge of landscaping in this country but may I suggest we work on this right away? For a start, I think NAIA 1 and the other airports can put a combination of orchids and colorful bromeliads in big pots. The flowers of these plants can last for two months. They can be alternately replaced with another set while they are being maintained in a nursery. Then in the highways like EDSA and Roxas Boulevard you can put philodendrons, bachias and palmeras for shady areas. For areas with direct sunlight, you can put bougainvilleas, mayanas, caballeros, santan, ficus and eugenias. It would also be a sight to see a cathedral of trees (at the SLEX or the NLEX) as we travel to the provinces. Flowering trees like narra, acacia, fire trees, and banaba trees would be a lovely sight especially during summer time when all the flowers are in bloom.

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Last Friday, my very dear friend and mentor Director Gus Aldeguer entered the gates of heaven. Gus comes from a family of creative genius and talents in both the arts and business. His older brothers are successful businessmen; one in the RTW in Cebu (Islands Souvenir) while the other in business machines in Makati. Sisters Terry and Laly became famous as the Aldeguer Sisters, exponents of modern dance in the country.

Gus became known as the Folk Song King of the Philippines, pioneering the establishment of the Butterfly Singers’ Guild in the early ’70s. His dream was to be a stage actor. He became the leading man in various successful dinner theater presentations, again pioneering this genre with Lotis Key as his leading lady.

He established the G.A. Productions and soon after Gus saw himself trying his hand at directing various musical productions. Gus was very close to the OB Montessori family. He was our in-house director for 25 years bringing out the best talents of the children and developing them into self-confident and creative individuals. He mentored Lea Salonga, Gerard Salonga, Aiza Seguerra, Geneva Cruz, Isabel Granada, Ciarra Sotto, Karylle Tatlonghari, Gabby Eigemann, Carla Abellana, Carlo Agassi and many more OB students. I remember him saying, “My greatest love is working with young people. And perhaps, my greatest satisfaction is when I am able to draw out the God-given artistic talent of a person, which I believe God has bestowed in each and everyone, of us, and see that the talent blossoms and is shared to others.”

Farewell my dear Gus. Thank you for bringing us into the world of enchantment, magic and color. May you continue to watch over us as we carry on the task of entertaining, educating and living life to the fullest! Rest now…until we meet again.