Orange Pyramid in ruins after storm
The Orange Pyramid has been ruined after a heavy storm. The pyramid, situated in Wrythe Public Park, was noted at the end of last year to have been damaged by a bush growing over it. Strong winds of up to 80 mph during a storm on the evening of 14 February are thought to have pushed the bush against the monument violently enough to severely damage it. Some of the bricks out of which the pyramid is built have fallen off, and most of the others have become dislodged. Wrythe Genocide Memorial, an unrelated monument situated next to the pyramid, is undamaged. The Emperor has so far given no indication as to whether the ruined pyramid will be rebuilt, dismantled, or left as it is.
Orange Pyramid damaged by shrub
The Orange Pyramid has been damaged by a Buddleia davidii plant. The pyramid, located in Wrythe Public Park, was built in April 2011 as a monument to cultural diversity and rebuilt in May 2012 in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Declan I becoming king of what is now New Wessex. By October 2013, the Buddleia plant had been noticed growing over the top of the pyramid, almost completely obscuring it by the end of the month. The plant was pulled back today to reveal that the pyramid has been slightly shifted to one side and had its cap-stone knocked off by the shrub pushing against it. A plank of wood and metal pole have been placed in the ground as a temporary measure to hold the shrub back from damaging the pyramid further.
Report on archaeological dig published
The Imperial Geographical Society has published a report on its findings from the archaeological dig which took place under the patio in Wrythe Public Park between August and November last year. The report, which can be found here, is in PowerPoint format, and contains photographs of several of the findings.
Potato crop harvested
His Imperial Highness Emperor Father Terry has harvested several dozen potatoes which were planted in Wrythe Public Park earlier this year. The Imperial Family ate some of the potatoes with their evening meal tonight. Crown Princess Caroline called them “normal” and “potatoey”. The now Emperor Father also grew a crop of potatoes in August 2009 while still Emperor. Some tomato plants have also been planted in Wrythe Public Park. While the Empire is far from self-sufficient, growing some of our own food is a small step towards decreasing our reliance on the neighbouring United Kingdom.
Pets Day commemorated
Emperor Jonathan I laid flowers on the graves in Wrythe Pet Cemetery this afternoon during an annual ceremony of remembrance for the departed pets of the Imperial Family. Pets Day has been held on 17 May each year since 2010. Minor repairs are made to Wrythe Pet Cemetery, the final resting place of four fish, a crab, and a stillborn bullmastiff puppy, before flowers are placed on the graves. Said repairs usually entail reinscribing the names on the headstones and cleaning the decorative shells which mark out the graves, but maintenance work went beyond that this year. The need for spaces for pet bullmastiffs Rose and Edd – either to bury their ashes or to build a memorial – was made apparent by Rose’s recent health scare. Space has been made by translating two of the coffins, those of fishes Daah and Flower, into the grave of goldfish Lovehearty II, reburying all three coffins inside a larger box. The coffin of still-born puppy Alpha Primus and the already shared coffin of crab Rodney and goldfish Woo-Woo were also reburied, translated closer together so as to make room for future burials. The Emperor stated that while it was “unfortunate that we had to actually move the coffins, this was done with the utmost respect. All the pets are now reburied, with their graves decorated by shiny shells and freshly picked flowers. Let us hope that the vacant space freed up shall not have to be used for a long time”.
Wrythe’s border defences upgraded
The border defences of the capital have been improved with the installation of a new gate at the north-eastern border of Wrythe. HIH Emperor Father Terry installed the new oak door earlier this week. It replaces an old door which was quite literally falling apart and offered minimal obstruction to invaders, which had been in place since the Imperial Family moved to what is now the Imperial Residence in 2004. Old rusting locks have also been replaced. The gate does not actually lie on the border between Austenasia and the United Kingdom, but is between Commius Flats and a path which runs down the side of 2 Imperial Road. Nevertheless, the small and featureless Commius Flats has no boundary marks or border controls whatsoever, and so this gate is the first obstacle which would be faced by an attacker invading Austenasia from the north-east. The need for the old gate to be replaced was noted as long ago as July 2009 during Operation Fulcio, an initiative by the Ministry of Defence to strengthen the defences of the Empire.
Rose’s swelling not a tumour
There was relief today in the Imperial Residence as a swelling found on pet bullmastiff Rose was confirmed not to be a tumour. There had been fears that the swelling, found last week, was a mammary tumour – the equivalent to breast cancer in dogs. However, the swelling has gone down in size after Rose, Mascot of the Order of the Bullmastiff, took antibiotics over the past week. This, along with a formal diagnosis from a local vet, has confirmed that the swelling is only an infection, from which Rose should have recovered within a few weeks.
Health concerns for Rose
HIH Emperor Father Terry arrived back at the Imperial Residence at 17:55 today with pet bullmastiff Rose, who is suffering from a swelling feared to be a mammary tumour. Rose – whose pedigree name is Bramarley Paloma of Carothan – had spent the past few hours at a veterinary surgeon’s in Carshalton, where a swelling on one of her mammary glands was inspected. According to the vet, there is an 80% chance that Rose has a tumour, and a 20% chance that the swelling has been caused by an infection. Medicine has been given to the Emperor Father to give Rose in case the swelling is the result of an infection. Rose will be brought back to the vet’s in a week’s time to be assessed again. If the swelling has not reduced, then it will be clear that it is a tumour. There is, unfortunately, little chance that she would recover from a mammary tumour. Rose will be seven years old this June – the average age of bullmastiffs is seven or eight years. She is also the last of her litter known to still be alive. Rose has been Mascot of the Order of the Bullmastiff – effectively the symbolic embodiement of the Empire’s national animal – since January 2009. An Imperial Edict passed last month states that in the case of Rose’s death, her sixth cousin Edd (also a pet of the Imperial Family) will automatically and immediately succeed her as Mascot.
Observation balloon successfully launched
Britons living in the United Kingdom around the Austenasian capital of Wrythe had a strange sight early this afternoon as a large bunch of balloons went floating over their gardens with a camera phone attached. His Imperial Majesty’s Observation Balloon (HIMOB) Ascension was launched by the Emperor and Crown Princess Caroline from the back patio of the Imperial Residence. Constructed by attaching helium balloons to a camera phone, the Ascension had fishing line tied to the balloons with which to guide the craft and pull it back to the ground. The launch, codenamed Operation Roy in honour of the late Prince of Sealand who passed away last year, is the first time that the Empire of Austenasia has constructed and launched any form of aircraft. Developed by the Austenasian Army (with the Emperor overseeing the launch in his capacity as Dux Britanniarum), the designs of the Ascension and a report on Operation Roy will be given to the Imperial Air Force later this week, with an intention for more sophisticated craft to be built in the future. The Ascension rose far into the air before drifting north due to wind, recording an aerial view of not only Wrythe but several nearby British residences. The fishing line used to guide it got caught around a chimney for some minutes, but the craft floated back around it and was able to be reeled in and the recorded footage uploaded. A film of the launch of the Ascension can be seen here. Readers who suffer from vertigo or related conditions are warned that the footage is jerky and the camera rotates several times due to the way in which it was attached to the balloons.
