Are You Asleep?

Early era 'texting' in the Joseon Dynasty

"In the sleepless night, I stepped outside,

and only one thing shines in the dark night sky.

I thought it was the moon, 

but it turns out to be my mate."

"Sometimes I am distracted,

I can drown by sinking into the thoughts of you.

So please come rowing to me,

I have never sent you away."

"I might die from calling your name!

I might think of you, because I can't forget you!"

"There's no way to forgive estranged hearts.

Is there a path for us to walk together?

I hope that we can walk on the same path next time, though it is a path in our dreams."

* Information taken from episode 11 of Mr Queen / 철인왕후 *

Their Majesties

 "...And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the Realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life." (King Charles III)

An Unexpected Guest

featuring Samuel Pepys

She’s treated herself to new shoes, a window seat

on the fast train, a hotel for a night.

She’s been to the capital twice before,

once to see Tutankhamun when she was nine

and once when it rained. Crossing The Mall

she’s just a person like everyone else

but her hand keeps checking the invitation,

her thumb strumming the gilded edge of the card,

her finger tracing the thread of embossed leaves.

In sight of the great porch she can’t believe

the police just step aside, that doors shaped

for God and giants should open to let her in.

She’s taken her place with ambulance drivers

and nurses and carers and charity workers,

a man who alchemised hand sanitiser

from gin, a woman who walked for sponsored miles,

the boy in the tent. The heads of heads of state

float down the aisle, she knows the names

of seven or eight. But the music’s the thing:

a choir transmuting psalms into sonorous light,

the cavernous sleepwalking dreams

of the organ making the air vibrate,

chords coming up through the soles of her feet.

Somewhere further along and deeper in

there are golden and sacred things going on:

glimpses of crimson, flashes of jewels

like flames, high priests in their best bling,

the solemn wording of incantations and spells,

till the part where promise and prayer become fused:

the moment is struck, a pact is sworn.

And got to the abby . . . raised in the middle . . .

Bishops in cloth-of-gold Copes . . .

nobility all in their parliament-robes . . .

The Crowne being put on his head

a great shout begun. And he came forth . . .

taking the oath . . . And Bishops . . . kneeled

. . . and proclaimed . . . if any could show

any reason why Ch. . . . should not be the King . . .

that now he should come and speak . . .

The ground covered with blue cloth . . .

And the King came in with his Crowne . . .

and mond . . . and his sceptre in hand . . .

She’ll watch it again on the ten o’clock news

from the armchair throne in her living room:

did the cameras notice her coral pink hat

or her best coat pinned with the hero’s medal she got

for being herself? The invitation is propped

on the mantelpiece by the carriage clock.

She adorned the day with ordinariness;

she is blessed to have brought the extraordinary home.

And now she’ll remember the house sparrow

she thought she’d seen in the abbey roof

arcing from eave to eave, beyond and above.

Written by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage

Royally approved dishes for the Coronation Lunch

~ Coronation Quiche

A vegetarian quiche made with spinach, broad beans and tarrogan. Created by royal head chef Mark Flanagan. This combines two of the King's favourite ingredients: egg and cheese.

~ Coronation Aubergine

A spiced aubergine dish topped with a yoghurt dressing created by the 2015 Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain.

~ Coronation Roast Rack of Lamb 

 Marinated with sesame oil, mustard and soy sauce.  Created by Ken Hom CBE and showcasing the fusion of cultures and flavours that represents the hallmark of modern Great Britain. Served with roast potatoes and green salad.

~ Coronation Strawberry and Ginger Trifle

Created by Michelin-starred chef owner Adam Handling and showcasing some of Britain's best ingredients: ginger custard, parkin, strawberries and whipped cream.

God Save King Charles!

King Cheoljong's Banquet

First course: Dragon Whisker's Potato (Yongsu Potato)

Even if the intentions are great, I cannot treat valuable guests too simply. So we prepared new dishes with simple ingredients. 

The first dish for the banquet is made with potatoes. It is not just a potato. It is called Dragon's Whiskers Potato, because it looks like dragon's whiskers. 

It is a lucky food you eat on a lucky day. If not for these potatoes, even more lives would have been lost each year. Rough-looking potatoes are easy to store and grow well in barren lands, so they are a staple food for the subjects during a famine. I do not think you can call this sacred crop that saves lives just a potato. 

Of the three condiments, the green powder is pine salt made with sun-dried salt and the needle of a pine tree at Hwaseong temporary palace, where the Namyang Hong family is from.

The soft red-coloured powder is wild grape sugar. It is made by crushing taffy sticks, which the subjects enjoy. It is mixed with wild grapes of Gamaksan Mountain, where the Papyeong Yoon family has taken root, to add beautiful colour and aroma.

The yellow sauce is peach syrup. It is made with top-quality peaches from Yeoju, the hometown of the Yeoheung Min family.

The theme of today's banquet is harmony. Politics separates people, but delicious food bring people together. Please enjoy the harmony of the three great families who are here as honourable guests through the flavours.

Main course: A whole tomato stew with a vegan hamburger steak - (Macdunaldu M)

It is an edible lucky pouch. The redness of this crop called one-year persimmon, which is red all year long, banishes bad omen on Dano. 

A Qing proverb says, "Dragon meat for heaven, and donkey meat for the land." 

Now I must add, "Barley and bean meat for a famine."

Mac, meaning 'barley'. Du meaning 'bean'. Nal, meaning 'putting on weight'. And Du, meaning 'stomach'.

It is as delicious as real meat, and it fills your stomach nicely.

Dessert course: Fochune Sweet Bean Jelly

The stick not only makes it easy to eat, but also tells your fortune. 

Fo, meaning 'embrace'. Chune, meaning 'spring'. Fochune Sweet Bean Jelly.

It means that we want spring to come to your future.

Check your fortune as the banquet ends.

===

Announcement made by King Cheoljong

As you served as examples of scholars by eating modestly to understand the hunger of the subjects. We now begin a gamseon, starting with todays banquet. 

Gamseon: reduce dishes in the royal meal to be exemplary for the people.

The kings of the past shared the pain with the subjects in difficult times by reducing the number of dishes that come in a royal meal.

Gamseon is for everyone to share the difficulties of the country and overcome them together. It is a sin during times like this to have grain that can save dozens of subjects, be spent on a piece of meat to indulge the palate of the rich. 

So anyone who puts meat on the table in this palace will be punished. 

Not only meat, but also big feasts are prohibited. The officials aren't allowed to drink, sing and dance, and must stop the conflict between factions. 

If you violate these prohibitions, I will take it as you will take any punishment.

===

* Information taken from Episode 12 of Mr Queen /철인왕후 (Netflix) *