The message

Every now and then one is reminded of British imperial swagger, mostly symbolical but invariably sentimental, even nostalgic. Yesterday, for example, from Buckingham Palace the Queen transmitted the following message to the International Space Station—naturally in French as well as in English:

Le 13 mars 2013

Je suis heureuse de transmettre mes vœux les plus chaleureux ainsi que ceux de tous les Canadiens et Canadiennes au Colonel Christopher Hadfield, qui prend aujourd’hui le commandement de la Station spatiale internationale. Nos pensées et nos meilleurs souhaits accompagnent le Colonel Hadfield et tout son équipage, et nous prions pour qu’ils rentrent en toute sécurité auprès de leurs familles, amis et concitoyens.

ELIZABETH R.

No doubt we would be foolish to allow ourselves too readily to think of Scott, Shackleton, Mawson, or Hillary, but the gallant imagery is plainly there for those of us who choose to take note of it.