We’ve just finished watching “Windsor Castle, A Royal Year” which was produced for the BBC, seen on PBS, and was loaned to us in DVD form by our friend Kenny Tam.  Through the magic of technology, we spent several evenings behind the scenes at Windsor Castle, the largest (13.5 acres) inhabited castle in the world and, of all her residences, the one that Queen Elizabeth II has called “home” since childhood.

I visited Windsor Castle years ago and loved every minute of the tour.  I think my biggest takeaway at the time was the the amazing sight of the state dining room which was set up for dinner for 150 people — and not just your usual place settings either.  Crystal wine glasses (5 at each place) for each course,  the silver-gilt place settings commissioned for George IV (1762–1830) when Prince of Wales, and on and on.  Watching the film, especially as some of the 300+ staff prepared for a banquet honoring former French president, Francois Mitterrand, was déjà vu all the way!

Kenny often shares movies with us.  It used to be that he would invite us over for a “movie evening” now and then or even come to our house with a favorite film to share.  Now, he drops off something “terrific” on our porch.  I think of him as “Kenny Tam, the Terrific Movie Man.”

But movies aren’t all Kenny shares with us.  He loves being on the go and, like all good travelers, enjoys the pre-planning and the post-sharing parts of his journeys almost as much as we enjoy hearing about them.  Through Kenny we have revisited the Southwest, have “seen” Australia and China for the first time and, on each recounting have always had a fabulous journey.  During these sheltering days, we miss our adventures with  “Kenny Tam, the Terrific Traveling Man” — but probably not half as much as Kenny does!