Corporate power, lies about Leveson, and why the royals don’t deserve privacy

Claudia79 wrote:The basic difference I think is that we elect our own leeches and kick them out every four years or so.

We are blessed - we have them too.

We have three elements to our legislature:

1) Monarchy - hereditary.
2) House of Lords - appointed.
3) House of Commons - elected.

So as you see, we only ever get to vote out one third of the b*ggers!

That's British democracy for you!

I think it would help if the Queen opened the doors to the Palace on Christmas day to the homeless and served them tea and cakes.
Also i think Charles could go round all the hospitals dressed as father Christmas giving out presents to the kiddies though he would have to hide his ears somehow or they might get a bit frightened.

It would be good if the palace did a Nativity which could be televised on Xmas eve to cheer us all up.Camilla could play the donkey and Phillip and Charles would be the wise men and Catherine would have to be Mary.

All the others can stand outside selling the Big Issue.

That could work !

Excellent ideas there, Lioned.

And on the festive day, Her Maj could display an item from her fruit bowl on the telly at 3pm.


There should always be a Queen's Peach at Christmas ...


I'll get me coat ......

Chris wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:The basic difference I think is that we elect our own leeches and kick them out every four years or so.

We are blessed - we have them too.

But you can only elect some of them. The others can't be kicked out!

almostgothic wrote:Excellent ideas there, Lioned.

And on the festive day, Her Maj could display an item from her fruit bowl on the telly at 3pm.


There should always be a Queen's Peach at Christmas ...


I'll get me coat ......

Thats very good,made me laugh anyway.

Panda wrote:If there wasn't a history of royalty there would be no Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Coronations, Royal Weddings etc . I think the general public like the Queen, in fact she is very popular around the world , the Diamond Jubilee brought a lot of Tourists and my Friends in America watched the event and loved it.

I agree about the history bit Panda - it`s a remnant of an autocratic and often brutal past which happens to be our main attraction and one could say it needs to be promoted for that reason. But when one considers where all their wealth and so called privilege came from, it`s quite horrifying and personally turns my stomach. I agree the present queen and her father have done a lot to garner more respect from the public in recent generations. We all like performances of how " t`other `alf live" - bit like watching Downton Abbey on the tele !

Lioned wrote:

pennylane wrote:

Lioned wrote:I would put to the guillotine anyone who suggests Prince Charles has big ears.

You should all feel ashamed of yourselves you really should.I would give my last farthing to have the opportunity to wash the hard skin from my Regents feet.

You de-serf a promotion!

I am applying to be a 'footman' in the Royal household,i think i would be really good at it.

Better start getting in shape, oh loyal subject


The term footman is likely derived from the duties he performed. Employed to run alongside carriages and perform other livery duties as well as wait tables, open and close doors, or run errands, much of what a footman does is done while standing. Unlike a butler, whose primary job is to welcome guests, a footman could perform various duties within a household. In many cases, a footman would be duty bound to a specific person within a household acting as a private servant rather than a general household servant, thus adding to the lure of luxury and status.

If the British had a referendum on whether to keep the Royal Family, the Royal Family would win hands down. Besides, its not just the British. There are still some Commonwealth countries who support having a Royal Family. The Commonwealth has naturally shrunk, the Australians and Jamaicans are divided on it; however as far as Britian is concerned the Royals are a winner. The Americans envy us our castles, palaces and towers. They are a country without the history that Britain has and they are fascinated by how far back Britain's history actually goes. I am still trying to imagine America having a female President. Somehow the title President is so masculine. And having a First Man by a lady President's side definitely doesn't sound right. It may be democratic to vote for a President every four years, but its unstable imo. Our Royal Family is an anchor, no matter who else we vote in or out, they have a stabilising influence on our politics. It is often said that if we could ask any of the British Prime Ministers on their view of The Queen, they would reply very favourably. It is said our Prime Ministers have appreciated the guidance that she offers. It isn't just about tourism, I think its more about the stability they bring to the country. I would shudder to imagine how they live in other countries with their Dictator Presidents. If it works in France and America, fine, but there aren't that many countries where it works so well. It is something the British, on the whole, are proud of. Just thinking to the events surrounding the Diamond Jubilee this year, the few who protested were the smallest minority you had ever seen, completely drowned out by folk from all around the world. If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it, I say.

Oldartform wrote:

Panda wrote:If there wasn't a history of royalty there would be no Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Coronations, Royal Weddings etc . I think the general public like the Queen, in fact she is very popular around the world , the Diamond Jubilee brought a lot of Tourists and my Friends in America watched the event and loved it.

I agree about the history bit Panda - it`s a remnant of an autocratic and often brutal past which happens to be our main attraction and one could say it needs to be promoted for that reason. But when one considers where all their wealth and so called privilege came from, it`s quite horrifying and personally turns my stomach. I agree the present queen and her father have done a lot to garner more respect from the public in recent generations. We all like performances of how " t`other `alf live" - bit like watching Downton Abbey on the tele !

Don't you dare criticise Downtown Abbey as well oldartform.

What I find surprising on here is the level of criticism posters are showing !!! We can't alter History and I am obviously in the minority for saying the Queen has done a magnificent job as Ambassador for Britain and knows more about the Commonwealth than any Politician , brought in £ millions in Tourism and I don't subscribe to the "off with her Head" brigade. I don't envy her one bit , she does a lot of boring jobs I'm sure , can't go to her Local for a drink, dine out with friends etc, I wouldn't want her job.

Thank goodness we can discuss the monarchy without throwing the vilest of personal insults at each other! Now why can't the vociferous McCann supporters do likewise?

I don't have a problem with the monarchy as I feel that the alternatives are worse.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:Thank goodness we can discuss the monarchy without throwing the vilest of personal insults at each other! Now why can't the vociferous McCann supporters do likewise?

I don't have a problem with the monarchy as I feel that the alternatives are worse.

Not only worse but probably no cheaper either. We would still be funding the upkeep of all the trappings of heritage, paying for a "president" and all that goes with it and no doubt the cost of electing him/her too.

The last time we went for an appointed head of state it didn't work out too well either.

LJC wrote:If the British had a referendum on whether to keep the Royal Family, the Royal Family would win hands down. Besides, its not just the British. There are still some Commonwealth countries who support having a Royal Family. The Commonwealth has naturally shrunk, the Australians and Jamaicans are divided on it; however as far as Britian is concerned the Royals are a winner. The Americans envy us our castles, palaces and towers. They are a country without the history that Britain has and they are fascinated by how far back Britain's history actually goes. I am still trying to imagine America having a female President. Somehow the title President is so masculine. And having a First Man by a lady President's side definitely doesn't sound right. It may be democratic to vote for a President every four years, but its unstable imo. Our Royal Family is an anchor, no matter who else we vote in or out, they have a stabilising influence on our politics. It is often said that if we could ask any of the British Prime Ministers on their view of The Queen, they would reply very favourably. It is said our Prime Ministers have appreciated the guidance that she offers. It isn't just about tourism, I think its more about the stability they bring to the country. I would shudder to imagine how they live in other countries with their Dictator Presidents. If it works in France and America, fine, but there aren't that many countries where it works so well. It is something the British, on the whole, are proud of. Just thinking to the events surrounding the Diamond Jubilee this year, the few who protested were the smallest minority you had ever seen, completely drowned out by folk from all around the world. If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it, I say.

Well said LJC.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:Thank goodness we can discuss the monarchy without throwing the vilest of personal insults at each other! Now why can't the vociferous McCann supporters do likewise?

I don't have a problem with the monarchy as I feel that the alternatives are worse.

Exactly; can you imagine the Blairs in complete charge? Or Silvio Berlusconi!

Iris wrote:

Not Born Yesterday wrote:Thank goodness we can discuss the monarchy without throwing the vilest of personal insults at each other! Now why can't the vociferous McCann supporters do likewise?

I don't have a problem with the monarchy as I feel that the alternatives are worse.

Exactly; can you imagine the Blairs in complete charge? Or Silvio Berlusconi!

Oh jeez! The Blairs!!

Great Britain (England,Scotland N.Ireland,Wales and Cornwall) is without a doubt a million times better than any other country in the World.
We have the greatest history,culture,Architecture,Landscape music art and entertainment and most other things you can think of.

No one does pomp and ceremony better than we do and this years events prove my point precisely in particular we put on the best Olympic games ever seen and all our Athletes rose to the challenge as you now expect this great group of countries to do time after time we have always succeeded (apart from football but i'm saying no more about that).
Our Royal heritage plays an important part in that,the rest of the World is jealous if truth be told.

We also could win medals for moaning incessantly about just everything really.

Lioned wrote:Great Britain (England,Scotland N.Ireland,Wales and Cornwall) is without a doubt a million times better than any other country in the World.
We have the greatest history,culture,Architecture,Landscape music art and entertainment and most other things you can think of.

No one does pomp and ceremony better than we do and this years events prove my point precisely in particular we put on the best Olympic games ever seen and all our Athletes rose to the challenge as you now expect this great group of countries to do time after time we have always succeeded (apart from football but i'm saying no more about that).
Our Royal heritage plays an important part in that,the rest of the World is jealous if truth be told.

We also could win medals for moaning incessantly about just everything really.

Ahh bless! That's because you Brits prefer to have a hard time, so you can be inventive and win against the odds, no fun in having it easy!

This is true tigger and we have a great history of winning over the odds

Lioned wrote:Great Britain (England,Scotland N.Ireland,Wales and Cornwall) is without a doubt a million times better than any other country in the World.
We have the greatest history,culture,Architecture,Landscape music art and entertainment and most other things you can think of.

No one does pomp and ceremony better than we do and this years events prove my point precisely in particular we put on the best Olympic games ever seen and all our Athletes rose to the challenge as you now expect this great group of countries to do time after time we have always succeeded (apart from football but i'm saying no more about that).
Our Royal heritage plays an important part in that,the rest of the World is jealous if truth be told.

We also could win medals for moaning incessantly about just everything really.

I can assure you that there's no jealousy whatsoever here. A century ago we were also a Monarchy (until 1910) and we don't miss it one bit. We also have our own 'royal family' and they are quite useful. We use them a lot in jokes.

Panda wrote:

Oldartform wrote:

Panda wrote:If there wasn't a history of royalty there would be no Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Coronations, Royal Weddings etc . I think the general public like the Queen, in fact she is very popular around the world , the Diamond Jubilee brought a lot of Tourists and my Friends in America watched the event and loved it.

I agree about the history bit Panda - it`s a remnant of an autocratic and often brutal past which happens to be our main attraction and one could say it needs to be promoted for that reason. But when one considers where all their wealth and so called privilege came from, it`s quite horrifying and personally turns my stomach. I agree the present queen and her father have done a lot to garner more respect from the public in recent generations. We all like performances of how " t`other `alf live" - bit like watching Downton Abbey on the tele !

Don't you dare criticise Downtown Abbey as well oldartform.

What I find surprising on here is the level of criticism posters are showing !!! We can't alter History and I am obviously in the minority for saying the Queen has done a magnificent job as Ambassador for Britain and knows more about the Commonwealth than any Politician , brought in £ millions in Tourism and I don't subscribe to the "off with her Head" brigade. I don't envy her one bit , she does a lot of boring jobs I'm sure , can't go to her Local for a drink, dine out with friends etc, I wouldn't want her job.

Panda as I have said before I am with you and so are most of the British public. I also agree with LJC that if there was a referendum the queen would win hands down. No doubt at all. So we are actually in the majority in my book.

Someone mentioned about us having a brutal history, well the history of every country is brutal. Look at the history of every country in the world and it is there. A lot of them far worse than ours. it was the way of life then. We are all supposed to be civilised now! Well I suppose we don't run through the streets with sabres or swords hacking at peoples heads on a daily basis , well not in the Midlands anyway. Brutality is still with us though, just in another form.

lioned - Also i think Charles could go round all the hospitals dressed as father Christmas giving out presents to the kiddies



I think we may need to keep Charles away from the kiddies lioned

Yes it could be very dangerous,he needs to be kept in a cage really.

Infact i see a very worrying turn of events today as Her Maj has expressed an opinion regarding the banking crisis,though i am pleased to say normality returned when Prince Phillip told the bankers not to do it again.

God save the Queen.

Lioned wrote:Yes it could be very dangerous,he needs to be kept in a cage really.

Infact i see a very worrying turn of events today as Her Maj has expressed an opinion regarding the banking crisis,though i am pleased to say normality returned when Prince Phillip told the bankers not to do it again.

God save the Queen.

I would think that Prince Philip put them right in his own refreshingly direct way. Such as 'Get your d.... finger out, you moronic idiots' all practically without moving his lips.

tigger wrote:

Lioned wrote:Yes it could be very dangerous,he needs to be kept in a cage really.

Infact i see a very worrying turn of events today as Her Maj has expressed an opinion regarding the banking crisis,though i am pleased to say normality returned when Prince Phillip told the bankers not to do it again.

God save the Queen.

I would think that Prince Philip put them right in his own refreshingly direct way. Such as 'Get your d.... finger out, you moronic idiots' all practically without moving his lips.

My favourite quote from Prince Phillip was when he was asked if he'd like to visit Russia. He said he would "..though the bastards did kill half my family." Bless!

I am strongly of the view that our Monarchs should not express opinions in public as their inbreeding will inevitably mean they are almost certainly going to leave themselves exposed to completely unjustified critisism and that will just not do.