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| The Kingdom of
Redonda |
| On May
31st 1998, with sixty-one loyal subjects,
King Robert the Bald landed on the south
west corner of Redonda. It was a
beautiful day and a rare one - landing on
the island is normally extremely
difficult with heavy surf and swells
making a maelstrom of the boulder-strewn
beach. The "Sir Robert
Baden-Powell" a 130' square-rigged
topsail schooner, seconded to the Royal
Redondan Navy, dropped anchor in the only
possible place, a ledge near the site of
the broken-down jetty with forty feet of
water under her keel. |
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| With
the new flag cracking in the breeze, the landing
party, including the crack Alpine Brigade lead by
Sir Timothy de Gavre, was taken ashore in several
waves by the ship's assault craft. Resistance
melted away at the sight of such a determined
commando as they made their way along the beach
boulders to begin the ascent of the 60 degree 600
foot gully to the plateau. |
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| Remnants of a
past civilisation met their eyes at every turn:
the sad wreck of the post office, barracks for
the 200 miners who had worked the guano and
phosphate deposits until early this century,
broken down cisterns, a bakery, occasional
sun-bleached skeletons from a once-proud army of
goats, manager's house and one tiny perfectly
preserved building, still with its stone roof,
but without doors or windows. Rusting machinery,
and large buckets from the two counterweighted
cable lift systems were strewn here and there. |
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Royal
Stampage
Queen Elizabeth (left)
King Robert The Bald (right)
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The
Kingdom
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King Robert and
His very own Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by the
ferocious Lord Howling of Sundance, sword always
at the ready, and the King's personal cleric
Cardinal Sin of Redonda, wisely stayed on the
beach drinking beer in a cave, directing the
assault. Dame Saliva McGill, the well-known diva
(she teaches diving too) gave a spirited
rendition of the Redondan National Anthem
"Simply because" as King Robert so
wisely remarked, "There is nothing like a
Dame". Thirteen stalwart members of the
Brigade clambered up the dangerous gully and made
it to the top of the 970 foot King Juan's Peak,
there gloriously to plant the flag. By this one
simple but valiant act our beloved King Robert
the Bald's Kingdom of Redonda was assured well
into the next century, He should live so long
already. To
sum up the memorable nine-hour return passage to
Falmouth Bay Lady de Knees was heard endearingly
to say "Dogs Save the King".
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