Summary of a number of articles in Billed Bladet #47, 2011.
All written by Anna Johannesen.
These articles cover the first two days of the visit. In Sydney.
Admiralty House.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1008659...rneIAustralien
Here M&F with their two twins stayed during their visit in Sydney and here they posed with Governor General Quentin Bryce and her husband, Michael Bryce.
In the afternoon The GG-couple and M&F and their twins posed at the terrace. They were supposed to have been posing on the lawn, but that had to be changed due to rain. Vincent had been issued a toy kangaroo and Josephine had been handed a similar toy koala. Presents from the GG-couple I understand.
Not that they were needed, Vincent and Josephine gazed back at the weird behaving adults with their cameras with aloof benevolence. Vincent made a gesture, which can be interpreted as a kind of wave to the press.
The twins appeared determined to be putting on their best behaviour. Even the flight was pretty easy. Mary had her LiW, Tanja Doky and a nanny to help her during the flight. (1) According to Mary the twins had handled the long flight very well.
Sailing in Sydney Bay.
M&F also met the vice admiral who is head of the Australian navy and they were offered a ride in his official barge to the Admiralty House, which offers a view over the Opera.
That was on the verge of being cancelled due to rain and wind. However M&F were adamant and umbrellas were requisitioned in hurry – just in time for the rain to stop.
Custom House.
Here M&F visited the stand CO2penhagen, which puts focus on what Copenhagen is doing to reduce CO2 emissions. And here Frederik was supposed to be put to work. An exercise bike connected to a mixer had been prepared for him. Not that it discouraged Frederik, who asked for the resistance setting on the bike to be put up. And if he pedalled hard enough he would get a reward in the shape of a fruit smoothie. (2) Mary, wearing a tight skirt, wasn’t expected to take physical part in this. But looking at her husband toiling away and since there were two bikes, she leaped on the other bike and tried as best as she could to bring some life into the blender, she had been hooked up to. Not with that much success because skirts and riding hard don’t really mix. But Frederik managed to make some fruit smoothies for both of them. Mary’s effort came as a delightful surprise.
Bondi beach.
Where the exhibition Sculpture by the Sea is located and from where M&F have fond memories from their first days together.
Frederik Said: “Yes, it’s a bit of a flashback and there are still many and lovely memories”.
I don’t know how much of the exhibition M&F actually saw, because the crowd craved Mary’s attention in particular. Not that it bothered Frederik: “I’m proud about it. I’m glad that my wife (3) is so popular. Then I can stay a bit in the background. I’m fine with that”.
Mary said about the way she had been received: “Fantastic. It has moved me so much”.
M&F then listened to speeches and presented awards. Among them to Simon McGrath, with his amusing sculpture, Who Left the Tap on.
The Hospital.
Formerly known as Cancer Center Westmeade, Mary revealed it’s new name: The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Center Westmead.
BB interviewed a Danish oncologist, Frede Donskov. He is consultant doctor at Aarhus University Hospital and he said: “The event is so big that I had to fly down here and take part. That a royal is adding her name to cancer hospital (4) has a huge significance, so Crown Princess Mary’s support is invaluable. By letting the hospital bear her name, she is helping to create hope for cancer-patients and we sure need that”.
He also said that Danish doctors could learn a lot from their Australian colleagues: “We are behind in Denmark”.
After unveiling the new name Mary had wished to meet a patient who had been cured. And that turned out to be Alicia Hopkins, who had brought along her family for the meeting with Mary.
Hotel Sofitel.
Wearing the same psychedelic patterned dress as she wore at the hospital, (the dress is from Heartmade) Mary helped two chefs with their cooking. One being the Danish Rasmus Kofoed (5) and the other being the Australian Matt Moran. And while they were working their magic Mary assisted as best as could. She finished Matt Moran’s shellfish salad and decorated Rasmus Kofoed’s dessert.
She also had a taste and exclaimed: “Yum, how delicious”.
However she confided to our reporter afterwards: “No, I’m not particularly good at cooking dinner, but I like to eat it”. (6)
Doltone House.
Here the last event in Sydney took place. A business-gala dinner hosted by the Danish guests. M&F welcomed the 600 guests who were seated at 60 tables. Mary was wearing a dress by Diane von Furstenberg.
ADDED: The earrings worn by Mary are from Ole Lynggaard.
Trivia and personal impression by the reporter. (7)
Mary’s hairdresser, Søren Hedegaard, is not accompanying Mary on this visit. He is preoccupied with the DK equivalent to So you Think you can Dance. It is at present unknown whether Mary does her hair herself or leaves it to an Australian hairdresser.
It’s summer I Australia and the blue flowers of the Jackaranda trees are blossoming all over the place, delighting Anna Johannesen.
Who also observes: “That the Crown Princess obviously has been looking forward to seeing Australia again. It certainly is a long time since we have seen her so happy and high-spirited as when she greeted her old countrymen in Sydney”. (8)
Our reporter also met a local lady who asked how to say hello in Danish. (9) The lady practised the greeting but alas, when Mary passed her, the lady became so perplexed she couldn’t even utter a hello, in English.
(1) I guess the other nanny is at home looking after and later accompanying Bella and Christian to Australia. – Perhaps with morfar Donaldson and honorary mormor Susan Moody in tow?
(2) Not much different from a hamster wheel, is it?
(3) Using the formal word for wife.
(4) The Anglo-American concept of naming hospitals after persons is practically unknown in DK. In fact I don’t know of any hospital named after a person. Here they are usually named after their location.
(5) I wonder if he is originally from the island of Bornholm? Kofoed is a very common name over there.
(6) That’s why women should leave cooking to their husbands. Women are way too preoccupied with calories, fat and putting all sorts of greenish plant-thingies in perfectly good food. While men cook for pleasure, for the anticipation, it is culinary lovemaking, an art, an exploration. Something women cannot comprehend.
Married women pay attention: Buy your husbands a class in cooking for gentleman and present him with a set of quality knives for Christmas.
Men are tool-users and when men compare knives, pans and cutting boards with other men it’s the culinary equivalent of kicking tires.
Before you know it you are barred from cooking and you will only handle the minor details, like the dishes.
(7) That has become my favourite part. Apart from lending authenticity to the articles it often provides a view of what goes on behind the scenes.
(8) Of course she must be homesick from time to time and she will no doubt have been looking very much forward to meeting her family and old friends again. Not to mention that the reception she has received has been very warm indeed. I can imagine she might have been a bit anxious due to the dreaded the tall poppy syndrome. – Which you Aussies are not alone in possessing. Here in DK, we call it “Janteloven = Jante’s Law”. – “Though shall not think you are better than anyone else”, etcetera. Fortunately it seems to have become less dominating within the last fifteen years or so.
(9) Pretty straightforward, at least for Australians. It’s goddag = good day = a formal greeting.
I certainly never intended that.
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