The Duchess Cake
Like many girls of my generation, when I was a child, I loved to listen to stories set in a fairy tale world full of happy kings and princesses living in white castles surrounded by huge parks, or built on top of high mountain peaks. If I close my eyes I can still recall their life at court: the king was busy with his ministers; the queen and her daughters, there was always more than one, spent their time brushing their hair, choosing the best dress for the next ball and in some cases singing or doing some embroidery work; the prince was riding a white horse or crossing his future
kingdom on a horse drawn coach. Life was timeless, a stroll in the park or a ball could last for days in my imagination. My mum’s voice sounded kind of remote and I got lost in the book pictures illustrating the ball room or the ride on a coach until a pitch of her voice announced an impeding tragedy. I startled and, holding my breath, I waited for the fairies to appear and magically restore serenity. Those were the years of the first Disney films on Tv and there were no monsters or robots in the stories! I had my happy imaginary hideaway far from the adults’ world... a secret place in my mind.
Song: Do you want to know a secret
We all have a secret to tell, don't we?
