22/08/2011

AUGUST 22nd - THE DAY OF MY RICHARD(S)

On 22nd August 1485 Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet kings of England died fighting at Bosworth. The last king of England to die in a battlefield. On 22nd August 1971 Mr John Armitage decided to call his son Richard after the king he so much admired despite Shakespeare's distorted portrait of him as  a deformed, awfully wicked tyrant. 
This is why today it is doubly special to me. Honour to the noble king defeated on the battlefield and scorned by his victor's historians and happy 40th birthday to a very special person, an incredibly gifted man and talented actor who was christened after him by his father. 



Happy birthday to Richard Armitage! 



There are blog parties, twitter-parties, facebook parties going on all over the Net and you can join the joyful cRAziness all over . I just wanted to make my best wishes briefly but truly,  deeply , heartily felt. I hope Richard can  deservedly celebrate his 40th birthday with his mates in the great adventure down there in Hobbitland and have a terrific time. A toast to years ahead full of health, satisfaction, joy and success!


  Buon compleanno, Richard!

18 comments:

Prue Batten said...

Let's raise a glass, MG!

Maria Grazia said...

A toast to a wonderful man, a prayer for a great king!

bccmee said...

Richard Armitage has definitely broadened my horizons. Now I am learning about this king.

Farah Khan said...

Sweet...he is so adorable. Happy Birthday Richard Armitage!

Maria Grazia said...

@bccmee
I must thank Richard Armitage for that too!
@Farah Khan
Thanks for dropping by and wishing Richard Happy Birthday from here!

Anonymous said...

Gosh! This quiz is really hard: I only got 7 out of 8! :-O
Well, I'll cheer up watching some b'day videos :D
Thank you MG for remembering RIII as well as our beloved RA,
xx K/V

Maria Grazia said...

@K/V
Since my Richards are two and this day is connected to both of them - though differently ... Dickon and RA. I really hope we can see/watch something with the two of them together somehow, one day. FX

Anonymous said...

What a super Richard III Richard A would be! Best wishes to him on his birthday.

bccmee, read Josephine Tey "The Daughter of Time". By a 1940s/50s Scottish mystery writer and playwright. She started me on the long hunt for the "real" last Plantagenet! :D

fitzg

Anonymous said...

UPS! I only got 62% :-(
Got to see more of Richard ;-)

Happy Armitage day:-)

Maria Grazia said...

@fitzg
It would be a dream come true for Richard and all of us! He risks playing Warwick, though. With his bearded look of these days, he would be just perfect!
I read The Daughter of Time, as well as The Sunne in Splendour and The Virgin Queen. But I want to read more. Any good suggestions?
@Alfie
See more of the lovely man? Not a big sacrifice, Alfie. You can do that! ;-)

Alexa Adams said...

I had no notion who RA's namesake was! Enjoy your birthday celebrations. By the way, I love the new banner. It's been so long since I have had time to check the blogs that I have no idea how belated this recognition is, so forgive me if the comment is super passe.

Maria Grazia said...

@AlexaAdams
Hello and welcome back! How's your lovely little one? Yes, Richard was named after the king his father so much admired and now he's grown into a talented actor and generous person, his dream is to make a series with a more positive portrait of Richard III. A Prequel to The Tudors - he likes to say. I'd love this dream of his to come true now that he has turned me too into a convinced Ricardian. I went all over Yorkshire with my white-rose badge on my jacket in July!
I'm so glad I've heard from you, Alexa. A huge hug!
P.S. The compliments to my new banner are much appreciated!

PoliCBA said...

As Bcc Mee said, "Richard Armitage has definitely broadened my horizons. Now I am learning about this king".
Thank you, Maria Grazia, for this sweet post.
Happy Armitage Day!

Maria Grazia said...

@PoliCBA
Thank YOU, for passing by!

Summer said...

A toast to this outstanding actor and wonderful person! ¡Salud! ¡Feliz CumpleaƱos Querido Richard!

Maria Grazia said...

@Summer
Feliz CumpleaƱos! Buon compleanno! By the way, does anybody know if Richard's got Calexora's book with all our messages in our many different languages?
I really hope so. And I hope he'll like it! Thanks for wishing our lovely man a happy birthday from here, Summer.

Phylly3 said...

Great post MG! I do hope he gets to play this role. It would be marvelous! I don't think he would be too old. People aged faster in olden times I think.
Good quiz too. I made 3 errors, One was a really silly one that I should have gotten right had I read the answers better.
It was a very happy day for us fans, I think. I hope his day was even better!!

Maria Grazia said...

@phylly3
Yes! We had fun all together virtually celebrating Richard's 40th birthday online. I'm sure he is living a satisfying moment in his life (being in a fantastic movie project) and has found a way to share his joy on his birthday, with friends if not with family. Thanks P. for sharing with us here on Fly High!