Be Excellent To Each Other

There wasn't much talk of it around where we are, even though there's a lot of Brits here. I put it on telly as I knew Lady T wanted to see it (she was really moved by the funerals, which I wasn't expecting then)

Im going to go a little against the flow here, i actually found it surprisingly enjoyable , I liked the marching bit and seeing all the pomp and ceremony. Maybe because it makes me feel a little more 'connected' to home, maybe just the cool looking orb and crown, and the historic nature of the event.

Penny Mordaunt also looked smashing (even my 10 year old son made a comment). I'm at the stage of life where as well as feeling envious of Malcs new washing machine, I can appreciate a middle aged lady in a pretty dress, despite the troubling political alignment.

I find I'm a bit fonder if the royal family than I was when I was younger. While the money stuff is certainly troubling to me when there's so many poor and struggling folk (I mean, just look at all those gold plates in the church and all that other golden and bejewelled shit) I do like the enduring nature of it all. Left or right government, modern times... still it's all grounded in this old fashioned and rigid, archaic, starchy protocol. I was surprised by these feelings, to be honest.

Someone posted this on IG and for about 15 thrilling seconds I thought the Bear Reaper had struck again and there was going to be quite the news cycle.

Is Paddington an actual member of the Royal Family now?

Fifth in line to the throne, I believe, instead of Harry.

No, he's in property

Paddington has transcended such mudane considerations and has become the manifestation of the entire British State, Culture and People. He accompanies us to the other side when we die, he gives advice to our political leaders and, legend has it, if Britain is ever in peril he will take his corpereal form and lead our armies to the final victory, holding his flaming sword aloft.

And the Home Secretary wants him deported.

The new Prince Of Wales' line about how his father has always supported every faith and background seemed like a very pointed comment in that direction,

I have observed this whole spectacle from a distance (via social media) and have two questions.

1) (and this is a general societal observation, too, as I’ve seen it in friend groups) why are people so shitty towards Camilla? Lots of ‘I’ll never call her ‘queen’ and nonsense about how it should have been Diana’s day. The word ‘home wrecker’ doesn’t seem far behind. But they are celebrating Charles’ coronation. Baking cakes, getting dressed up and waving their little flags. But it’s him who cheated on Diana, right? Why does he get a pass but Camilla is cast as some evil witch? That’s some toxic patriarchy nonsense.

Secondly, William’s wife Kate always looks like she’s chewing a wasp. Especially when she’s around her kids. She looks like she actively hates the youngest one. I do not understand why she is so beloved of the royal fans. She looks like the opposite of fun.

Also, somebody put a clip of William starting a concert and saying something about his dad, and I realised that I’d never heard him speak before.

The answer to your first question is because idiots nearly always blame the woman for any affair, and a lot of idiots are Royalists.

Also, I think a lot of people didn't like Prince Charles, but as they are Royalists they still have to like King Charles.

I think Kate is just one of those mums who does not want her kids to show her up and Louis seems to be the sort of kid that likes to get up to the sort of stuff that would show her up.

I've stayed distant from the Coronation but I did watch the concert, and spent a lot of time being shocked at Mark Owen's facial hair and the reasons why he would decide it was a good look!

But he’s not showing her up. He’s just being a four (or five, or six) year old. No wonder that family end up with all of the humanity and empathy of a house brick.

But a solid gold house brick.

But he is a prince, so he has to act princely. Even if he is only 4 (or whatever he is).

Some people are silly and have unrealistic expectations of children

It's almost like the divine specialness of the royal family is total horseshit and they're just normal people who were born into privilege

I’m pretty sure that this whole facade of perfection and hiding the real, very flawed (not the kid, he’s just the kid) human beings that make up that family is what’s going to be their downfall.

They look like a load of unnatural robots. It all does get a bit ‘Uncanny Valley’ when they are in front of cameras. There is all of this talk of ‘modernising’ them, but the ridiculousness at the weekend shows that actually, no, they still want to be lifted up by extreme shows of wealth and display of power. Acting like a bunch of strict Victorians around your own kids doesn’t seem very progressive.

I just wish they'd be left alone and allowed to just be kids, and grow up to make their choices about their life.

I didn't watch the coronation, preferring to get soaked in ["the Brecon Beacons" - Rishi Sunak] instead.

Other than the music * and the occasional shot of sweaty and bored-looking matelots it didn't have any appeal or meaning for me. Like being asked to sit through a video of a friend's kid's confirmation - meaningful to them but I'd rather pass.

*Zadok the Priest is an absolute banger but if you don't start losing interest during the intro before being walloped in the face by the force of the choir, the performance is a dud.

Live on BBC1 tomorrow, Charlie and Cams meet a pony in their Scottish summer special.

They'll be doing cosy train shows next.

Not a very flattering photo of King Wingnut.

Worst ABBA tribute act ever.

Shot of the week in the pub is "God Save the Ring":
Frangelico, Kahlua, and Jameson's.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68208157

King Charles has been diagnosed with Cancer. Hopefully nothing too serious.

Wouldn't mind another day off, though

Bet the Mail blames Megan.

I had a dream last night that I was working at a flashy advertising and PR company, and Prince William came in to ask how to best stage manage the news that his dad had cancer without looking like he was too excited to be king. We gave him advice and he interrupted me to make a speech. He stood beside me making some speech about how proud he was of himself when suddenly all of the laptops and TVs pinged on with a news flash to say his dad was dead.

It was well awkward.

Your premonition was in the right area:

Horse that led Queen's funeral procession to Windsor Castle dies (BBC)

There appears to be some sort of drama on the internet regarding Kate Middleton, not helped by a wonkily photoshopped picture of her and the kids. My current theory is that her evolution to the next stage of lizard person has stalled and the Elder Brain is panicing in case someone sees her true form.

This is useful context for me, as this morning my whatsapp friends group chat contained a meme-y pic of her and the kids, with Prince Andrew awkwardly photshopped peering through a window in the background; and I didn't really understand why it was a topical thing.

.

I thought the whole royal family were all alien lizards anyway and they're probably not very good with Photoshop.

It does all seem a bit suss. A badly photoshopped image coming out to either prove life or not seems very unlikely however you call it.

For me, it's a cry for help, it was the only way she could send a message while being watched so thoroughly.

She should have put up a perfectly normal, un-touched photograph of her and the kids, but with just the wedding ring badly photoshopped out. Maybe William and Charles poking out of a tunnel in the background, Angel-Diana being driven in a heavenly limousine across the sky.

Always funny

Heh.

I still have my copy of the (in)famous Private Eye Diana issue, which was full of complaints like that.

Current betting is that she's discovered William's mistress is up the duff. Frankly that just adds one more name to the inevitable bloody fratricide that Princess Charlotte will perform on her way to the throne.

Well, there it is

Do we get the day off?

I do. Dunno about the rest of you.

As do I, for now.

Penny Mordaunt and a pair of Charlies:

https://x.com/PennyMordaunt/status/1793257850501804048

Met with @bankofengland today to view the first banknotes with HM The King’s portrait. The new notes will be introduced gradually to replace those that are worn. pic.twitter.com/DyEDzFftCk

— Penny Mordaunt (@PennyMordaunt) May 22, 2024

They'll never fit in my wallet.

THEY'RE TOO BIG PENNY

A big poker hand.

You're all being very silly. Clearly those are actual size notes and Penny Mordaunt is actually a Borrower.

I like Camilla.

I don’t really know much (/anything) about the royals, but in the last few years everything I have seen of her seems to show she is gracious. If I had to meet with her or Charles, or the younger pair, I’d definitely meet with her.

Received and spent my first Charlies (prefer card but my car's parking change reserve was getting low).

Will take a while to get used to them, by which time we might be onto Bills.

But are they really taking the piss?

Another poor choice he made. He must believe he's the invisible man.

A much better choice of track for that T-Mobile ad that they released around the time of the royal wedding.

Labour to bring back supplementary vote for both mayoral and police commissioner elections after the Tories ditched it for first past the post

A good decision as someone with such a large mandate and possibly budget shouldn't get in on a plurality. Of course, cynics might say that they're doing it to shore up their own position, but that's exactly why the Tories switched in the first place and, more importantly, these roles were originally using SV in the first place.

Busy week for this thread!

Labour are pressing ahead with votes for 16 year olds, which I'm happy with.
If we can encourage people to vote in their first election, even a small parish by-election, hopefully they will get the bug and do it again*.

While Labour aren't ditching the ID rules, at least they're broadening them out to include a bank card so should widen access a bit (unless they only designate Amex).

I gave up my long-held antipathy to compulsory voting a while back, and while I'd like to see that and PR in any future reforms, this is a good alternative to getting the youth vote out.


*at the next election, obv.