Thursday 10 February 2005

A Tribute to my friend Diana...

So, he IS getting married again, after all this time, eh? The news splashed across the screen, a friend from Singapore called for confirmation after receiving a text message and by noon everyone was already talking about it. How could he? I am so upset.

Well, I was there when he married the first one. Such a lovely girl, English rose and all. I remember tripping all over the campers camping all along Fleet Street leading to St Pauls, to catch a glimpse of what was hailed a Fairy tale wedding. The world and her grandmother came, and those who couldn't, stayed home and watched TV.

This time, even if I am in town, I will not go. I will even unplug the TV on April 8th.

My memories and loyalty to the first one is still very strong. Reminds me of my Tok Su. When he took on a second one, I couldn't forgive him. I am always loyal to the first one.

Apparently, their marriage (not my Tok Su's) was doomed from the beginning. Well, I read somewhere that while the first one was still blissfully ignorant of the threat of the other woman, he was constantly on the phone to her...and at one point even admitting that he wished he was the tampon in her er...small things! Yearggghhh!

How can a woman take so much from her husband and at the same time try to put on a public face? I really admired her. Still blooming in the face of all these terrible things happening to her and publicly too!

When their first baby was born, mine was only a year old. But in my mind, I imagine us sharing bringing-up baby tips together. You know, she was the kind of person who can be anyone's friend. It's difficult not to imagine otherwise when she was in your front room day and night, staring at you from the glossy covers of magazine in bookshops, and smiling coyly from everything from postcards to mugs at souveiner shops.

I imagine telling her how to change nappies and deal with nappy rash on the royal bottom. I imagine we'd meet at the Mothers and Tots for coffee, before her chauffeur whizzes her off to another ribbon cutting ceremony. And I imagine she'd confide in me about the other woman that we were all reading about in the tabloids. And I'd hear her giggle over my dress sense!

The closest I got to her was of course via the man whose hands touched her royal feet to make her shoes. He used to make me laugh with his impersonation of her - looking coyly from underneath those lashes, with that tilt of her head at a certain angle.

Their separation was announced on my wedding annivesary and I remember feeling so sad. We who have nothing yet have everything (that matters).

Anyway, I lied when I said the closest I got to her was through her shoe maker. I actually saw her at close distance at the annual garden party in Buckingham Palace. Oh, no, I lied again...I only saw her nose - such a big nose too. At these garden parties, for shorties like us from Malaysia, its difficult to get a good view of the royals doing their rounds because people tend to wear big, funny hats. So, in between those feathers and wide hats - I caught a glimpse of her nose, before I was flapped sideways by a giant hat, pushing her way to the front.

Back to he who made her shoes. He was of course devastated when she was killed in the crash. He had just received a fax for another order of her favourite design. I had to counsel him on what black shirt to wear.

I remember that day very well. I was on the way to a Merdeka celebration, in my bright red kebaya!! And when I got there, the women were all crying having heard the morning news. Rushed to Buckingham Palace and got some verbal abuse from the mourners there. What with me in glaring red on a day of mourning and pointing my camera everywhere! Such audacity, and from a Malaysian paparazzi pulak tu!

Anyway, I spent the next few days joining the mourners and looking at the sea of flowers, reading those heartfelt messages, outside her residence in Kensington Gardens. I really felt the loss. Every woman, who is a wife felt for her and felt her loss.

And now on my trips to Paris, I never failed to visit the place where she met her tragic fate. Its like paying respects to an old friend who went before her time, before she could share tips with me on how to dress well.

So, okay Charles - go on then and marry Camilla. At your age, you can do with the companionship. A blogger buddy and I were bitching just now and we came up with several advise for them. It was suggested that Charles go for some traditional urut and Camilla for mandi bunga.

Personally, I think, Diana could have done a Bobbit!






24 comments:

Honeytar said...

Woaaahh...woaahh... woaahhh... you hear that, Awang Goneng ? ;-)

Kak Teh said...

Hahaha! Honeytar, nanti tak bergoneng pulak!

Anonymous said...

kak teh...biar la dier nak kawin..btw i miss lady diana :( *sob*sob*

atenah said...

to me marriage after the death of the 1st one is ok, after all they are already shagging each other. but second marriages, while the 1st is still around, i dont know how one can inflict such pain to another person that has shared yr life with.
btw, goneng tu bukan dirty word ke? always wondered why he chose that name.

Kak Teh said...

atenah, ish masa dia tu dok hidup lagi pun depa dah dok beromen!!!
anyway, as awang goneng is my abang teh, it still sounds sweet to my ears! hehe... He is still searchingfor the origins of it!

atenah said...

LOL mahap kak teh, i thought he was being clever with his nick...goneng. i thought in the north we have a similar sounding word for little boy's punai?
re: yr friend's hubby, i read that he was told by his parents to marry d. men..why cant they make up their own mind and stick to it.
re: yr hubby..wah a *couple* blogger. hafta check out his blog now to see if he has tried his scary tricks there too :)

iJun said...

I still remembered when Elton John remade the song "Candle in the Wind" in tribute to Lady Diana Spencer:

Goodbye England's rose;
may you ever grow in our hearts.
You were the grace that placed itself
where lives were torn apart.
You called out to our country,
and you whispered to those in pain.
Now you belong to heaven,
and the stars spell out your name.

UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *sob* *sob*

The Saturnyne said...

Completely off topic here, from me i'm afraid.

Kak Teh, i really must apologize. You and i both posted recently on http://yesmydear.blogspot.com/ "Woman At The Well". I just wanted to say that my comment after yours wasn't aimed at you at all. I'd never make an attack on another blogger or person like that at all. I'd consider it most dishonourable of me. So i hope you'll forgive me for any unintended slight, or discomfort i caused. =]

with love
S.x

PS. Great post by the way! I grinned a lot at the end.

Jason said...

intense!

love,
jason mulgrew
internet quasi-celebrity

Kampong_Boy said...

tak pa lah kak teh... esok charles nyanuk sapa nak basuh his royal bottom. but if i were charles kan i would have gottn myself a nice beautiful model. tak mencontohi sultan selangor (Sultan Salahuddin Abd Aziz) dulu ni.

Kampong_Boy said...

btw its nyanyuk

Kak Teh said...

iJun: I cried buckets when she died. She touched everyone's heart. A friend was with her children in the park when a lady came to play with them. It took her a while to realise that was Diana.
che ngah: yes, it must be a case of true love, but i still feel that Diana would have stuck by him and loved him and everything - ish, tak tau untung punya orang!
the saturnyne: hey, don't worry!! may be i over-reacted? It's forgtten now - and do visit my site again. I like your pumpkins!!
Jason Mulgrew: Thanks for visiting - my first reaction on hearing the news - thus, it was a bit raw.
tynn: I don't think she will be queen. I saw the reaction. I thought I over reacted by writing abt Diana, but the news cannot be conveyed without references to his marriage to Diana. She is very much alive...People still feel stroongly abt her.
Orang Darat: yes, kak teh pun tak terpikiark macam tu...betoi juga. Ada jugak orang nak picit kepala, nak urut belakang.
artiyail: now you know what 'doing a bobbit' is? hehe!

Ruby M. said...

Good morning kak teh,
So you pun Diana fan ye? I remembered one of my aunts also crazy over her. She will buy every tabloid magazine local and overseas when the story is abt Diana. I'd say, let Charles kawin lah.. was his marraige to Diana something he wanted in the first place? I'm sure its protocal and all. And after Diana found out, she wasn't doing any better either.. with rumours going around abt her with people working in the palace and yeah..if we remember, who was she with in that accident.. I don't think they were on the way to shop at Harrods?

And the impact all these must have had on their children. Especially Harry...

Neways, Camelia kalau tak dapat jadi English Rose, jadi Sirap Rose pun boleh lahhhh

Kak Teh said...

maknenek, since my friend Diana is not here to defend herself, i take it upon myself to do it. If and that is a big IF, Charles had been faithful from the start - from the beginning of the marriage, do you think she would have strayed? She was loyal until she too wanted companionship and love and that is when she sought other relationships. People are harsh on women who seek attention even when the spouse flaunt to the world that he is doing so. And as for her and Dodi - well that was after the divorce, kan?
haha - i Like that abt the sirap - nice - Minumlah Sirap Camilla

Hazelinesnow said...

Hi Kak Teh .... I know how you feel. And for her to get 'Her Royal Highness' infront of her name too! Tapi mujur Princess Consort saja. Walaubagaimanapun, tak happy ... tak happy .... dengan ini news!

atiza said...

I second you on the bobbit thing!

Blabarella said...

Comment ku amatlah lambat, apologies Kak Teh!

Yes, I felt EXACTLY the same way as you when I saw the horse's face splashed on all the TV screens and print media with the headline that she would marry the camel!

That wedding was, by far, the most BEAUTIFUL and fairy-tale like wedding, ever! I was just a little 9-year old tot then, but oh, I was SO caught up in the ceremony which was broadcast LIVE over RTM (imagine, at that time!).

And when she died, oh yes, I too, cried my eyeballs out. I remember being glued in front of the TV watching CNN the entire few days, not really believing what had happened and the way it happened! I remember crying my eyesockets out (eyeballs gone already kan?) when there was that little white envelope on top of her casket, perched on a wreath of flowers, with Harry's scribblings of "Mommy" .. *sobs*. And oh! I remembered how I committed a BIG sin on that day too .. I completely forgot hubadub's (tho he was still only boyfriend then) birthday because I wqas so engrossed in the whole thing and only remembered a WEEK later!! :p

And, and, and, ... THE shoemaker is your FRIEND?!?!?!?!!! *I'm SO not worthy to be in your esteemed company!!*

Lollies said...

Baru nak tanya Kak Teh pun pakai kasut Jimmy Choo ke?

Kena tunggule rupa nak dia orang macam mana agaknya..

Kak Teh said...

LOL!!! I guessed as much - mesti ramai yang emotional over this issue!
Yes atiza, he shld have been bobbitted!!!
Blabs: sounds like me in front of the telly!!! boxes of tissue! anyway abt the friendship with shoemaker - oh that went back years, and years...and in london ni the community is such that u tend to know one anotherlah!
Lollies - yes, i do own some rejected pairs.

Lollies said...

The next time I make a trip there I will get them but he has sold off the business..yes?

About Blogreader said...

i'm against multiple wives in a marriage because i think it's just plain rude. on both the husband's part and the second wife's part. sorry second wives out there - but that's that.

however, charles and diana were as good as divorced prior to her death. he then respectfully maintained a 5-year gap between her death and his second marriage. so he was 'polite' about it all, as far as i'm concerned. this somehow makes things okay for me.

Kak Teh said...

dear blogreader, he respectfully maintained a five year gap between her death and second marriage??? Did he respect her when she was alive?

shidah said...

kak teh: and i'm still thinking what carmilla has that diana hasn't. maybe wrinkles kot.....

Kak Teh said...

yes, yes, wrinkles...kak teh pun ada!