|
Post by kerouac2 on Sept 16, 2022 17:27:01 GMT
re: longest reigning monarchs ~ I don't see how those three could be at the top of the list. There have been quite a few who ascended their thrones while still children, so had very long reigns. Louis XIV, for instance, reigned for 72 years. I am only referring to the year 2022 and the current situation. Everybody knows that Louis XIV was the longest reigning monarch.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 16, 2022 20:44:25 GMT
Perhaps you should work on expressing yourself more clearly then -- as clearly as you do when being gratuitously bitchy.
|
|
|
Post by questa on Sept 16, 2022 22:11:35 GMT
In a similar vein, I was wondering whether all those embroidered outfits worn during the parades and ceremonies have been made recently or whether they are old clothes only brought out for special occasions. I mean that, from what I have seen, the average Briton is much heavier than people were even a few decades ago, so are these costumes adjusted? Made new just in case? I don't know for certain about the heralds, but there are specialist tailors making the uniforms, presumably they can turn out the fancy stuff. Somebody must be making the Beefeater uniforms and the clergy wear some ornate outfits. Other countries have fancy uniforms/ceremonial dress too. The style may not change but the materials pobably do. I watched an excellent doco bout the Tower of London. An older married couple live there and are in charge of the domestic aspect. He is a Beefeater and she still makes the costumes and does the repairs and alterations to all the uniforms. The 8 yo grand-daughter is staying with them and this gives the excuse for teaching us all the "behind the scenes" information. Amongst his duties he is the keeper of the Royal Ravens and has bred a good strong flock of (to me) horrible black birds. There are many uniforms coming in for repair...big event coming up and the troops must look immaculate. No loose buttons or stains "You've put on a bit of weight, Sir, I'll let it out a little." Phones fabric supplier for needed braid...out of stock...phones France... We are shown how the various troops have subtle differences in uniforms and how the current troops have light weight fabric to remain cool. The great furry head gear is not made from bear skin any more, it is made from [shudder] acrylic.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 16, 2022 23:05:43 GMT
That is super interesting, Questa. I believe throughout the history of the tower the family of whomever was the main keeper of the tower lived there, but I didn't know that was still true. And when the gates are locked and all the visitors have gone, the Tower embraces a thriving community within its walls. The Tower of London is still home to the Yeomen Warders and their families, the Resident Governor, and a garrison of soldiers. There is a doctor and a chaplain. And there is even a pub! source
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Sept 17, 2022 2:46:04 GMT
I love the photogragh of Jemima. It looks very scientific. Nonsense, she needs a white lab coat.
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Sept 17, 2022 2:49:21 GMT
That is super interesting, Questa. I believe throughout the history of the tower the family of whomever was the main keeper of the tower lived there, but I didn't know that was still true. And when the gates are locked and all the visitors have gone, the Tower embraces a thriving community within its walls. The Tower of London is still home to the Yeomen Warders and their families, the Resident Governor, and a garrison of soldiers. There is a doctor and a chaplain. And there is even a pub! sourceLooking at it, I'd never suspect. I like the lion sculpture in the once-lion and assorted beast enclosure. I took photos but they aren't very good.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 17, 2022 4:44:51 GMT
A fellow I've known for ages on another forum I frequent owns the outfit that made the tassels for the pillow you see the crown resting on I wonder if his company makes the ones I use in my work. I like the lion sculpture in the once-lion and assorted beast enclosure. I can't remember that sculpture. Went back to look at my thread on the Tower of London, only to see that I don't have a picture of the sculpture nor of the enclosure. I remember it as a rather cramped interior room -- is that right? I did find this, though: the Tower held the Royal menagerie and served as Englands first zoo. It was set up to house animals which had been given by foreign rulers. The animals were eventually transferred to Regents Park to form the basis of the present zoo.
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Sept 17, 2022 5:01:09 GMT
Here's my rather bad photo. [edit] The sculptures are made of steel mesh like a 3D fabric almost, although they appear solid, they are mostly air. This is the best I could do without paying the entry fee lol.
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Sept 17, 2022 5:08:54 GMT
If they are made in Egypt and are super expensive, probably yes.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 17, 2022 6:03:41 GMT
What other kind would I have?!
Thanks for the (quite good) photo. I got the baboons and the elephant head, but not the lions. I really like them, especially that male.
re: the entry fee ~ One of the reasons I visited the Tower was because it was included in the ticket I'd been talked into buying that covered all the sites that are part of Historic Royal Palaces (Tower of London, Hampton Court, Kew, & Kensington palaces, the Banqueting House, & Hillsborough Castle). I think at the time, 2016, it was £40 or £45. I visited all of them except for Hillsborough, which is in Northern Ireland. Also, I wasn't informed that in order to see Kew I had to pay separately to gain admission to Kew Gardens, so a little shock at the turnstile. It's a bunch of money, but I just looked & the adult price to visit the Tower now is £30. I'm glad I bought the bulk ticket, as who knows if I would have visited all those places otherwise. Stuff like that always turns out to be way more interesting than I'd imagined.
|
|
|
Post by questa on Sept 17, 2022 13:11:01 GMT
More factoids...there is (was?)a beefeater doing the guard/tour guide bit. He was at least a handspan taller than the others and had a parade ground gravelly voice and an incredible accent. He also had a line of jokes and funny stories that kept his group in stitches the whole time.
Now-a-days the Tower is converted into 40 family homes for the people who have family connections with the Tower. The younger ones don't like having to sign in and out. Pizza and other deliveries gave troubles until they declared Front gate only. They have a few ghosts but say "it is only to be expected, given the history" (don't you just love the Brits!)
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 17, 2022 20:42:58 GMT
Like a lot of Brits I visited Windsor Castle, The Tower of London, Greenwich maritime museum, the Commonwealth Centre, the London Museums and Galleries as a schoolchild. At the end of term we usually had a school trip and as I went to school in Bedfordshire it was relatively easy to visit London for the day. The best one included a river boat trip (with a stop for a picnic) from Richmond to Windsor and a jaunt around Windsor Castle. Queen Mary's dollhouse was amazing...I think I had just turned 12.
There were trips to the theatre as well...grand places like the Theatre Royal and the Young Vic...another of the perks of living near to the Capital. Incidentally we saw Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Young Vic in the early 70s.
*halcyon days
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Sept 18, 2022 6:19:04 GMT
Leaders not invited to the funeral: Russia, Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Belarus and Myanmar.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Sept 18, 2022 20:35:36 GMT
And former US POTUS DJT?
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Sept 18, 2022 20:39:57 GMT
That is not a leader.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Sept 18, 2022 23:19:07 GMT
He has plenty of followers, so he MUST be a leader.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 19, 2022 5:12:53 GMT
He is an influencer.
|
|
|
Post by casimira on Sept 19, 2022 12:47:05 GMT
Obama wasn't on the "list" either
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 19, 2022 14:27:28 GMT
OH recorded the funeral so that I could watch on fast forward. There's only so much pomp and circumstance a girl can take. it does feel like the authorities have gone completely over the top. Mind you my royalist sisters are absolutely loving it. My brother says that we are 'showing the world how well we do pagaentry' but that's rather arrogant imo.
Too much...they could have cut the whole thing down and just had the Windsor bit and still shown tremendous respect for the queen...they're not doing themselves any favours imo.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Sept 19, 2022 14:42:34 GMT
I watched a bit of it -- pulling the coffin from Westminster Hall to the abbey.Sure, they do pageantry well but I'm not sure most of the world cares and it will be .forgotten soon. After lunch I watched some of the procession through the streets but that was very slow and stately.
I also learned that the British say "mal" for what I always thought of as "mahl" (like a shopping mall". So it is Pal Mal or Pahl Mahl?
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 19, 2022 14:56:30 GMT
Depends on your class and/or accent. Southerners might call it 'The Mawl' in the midlands we call it the'mal' to rhyme with pal...
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Sept 19, 2022 16:22:23 GMT
re: former US presidents ~ www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a41245384/donald-trump-barack-obama-george-bush-queen-elizabeth-memorial/they could have cut the whole thing down and just had the Windsor bit and still shown tremendous respect for the queen Look at it this way -- if she had been granted one hour of public remembrance for each year of her reign, it still would have been a solid three days of memorials, etc. My brother says that we are 'showing the world how well we do pagaentry' but that's rather arrogant imo. Naaah ~ It's a pretty accurate statement! I watched the service at the chapel in Windsor. It was remarkably restrained in terms of eulogizing & of clergymen going on and on. Really, I felt it did a perfect job for a funeral in the sense of closing the book on a person's life.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Sept 19, 2022 18:33:02 GMT
I was amused to read that Biden, who didn't want to take the bus along with all the other important people, was late because his car got stuck in traffic on the way to the funeral. He and his wife had to stand outside and wait while some other group went in and then he was put in row 14, instead of closer to the front.
I also felt sorry for Harry not being allowed to wear his military uniform. His military service should count for something since it wasn't as a member of the royal family that he was a soldier in Afghanistan. To deprive Harry and put him on a level with Prince Andrew (both in suits) while Anne, who was never a soldier, was dressed like one is petty and malicious.
|
|
|
Post by patricklondon on Sept 19, 2022 18:58:37 GMT
on your class and/or accent. Southerners might call it 'The Mawl' in the midlands we call it the'mal' to rhyme with pal... This soft southern jessie was brought up to call it "mal" (likewise "Pal Mal'), and I haven't heard any different here. I always thought "mawl" was American for "shopping centre".
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 19, 2022 20:52:31 GMT
I stand corected Patrick maybe I'm recalling my Mother's telephone voice We moved from Leicester to a Bedfordshire village in 1968 and she thought that she would fit in better if she used her telephone voice and Anna Neagle laugh.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Sept 19, 2022 20:57:32 GMT
then he was put in row 14, instead of closer to the front Biden was never going to be near the front due to the protocol. All of the British royals and British VIPs were in front, and then all of the royalty of the world, which is still a lot of people when you consider that Liechtenstein and Monaco become more important than the United States.
|
|
|
Post by questa on Sept 20, 2022 2:16:58 GMT
In Oz we say Morl. The word was not known before shopping malls. After it became a "thing" the usual in-fighting between states decided on call it a morl so it reminded them of "Ball", only word in some Oz lexicons
Re HRH Anne She may not have seen military action like her brothers but she is
'"In New Zealand Princess Anne is Colonel in Chief of The Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals and The Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps. 25) In Australia The Princess Royal is Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Australian Corps of Signals and The Royal Australian Corps of Transport.
She knows the who. when and where etc of her troops and has a record for "not suffering fools gladly"
Surely her Olympic medals should count for military action...landing on her face in a pool of mud sounds about right.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Sept 20, 2022 6:20:03 GMT
Surely her Olympic medals should count for military action...landing on her face in a pool of mud sounds about right. Any kid can fall in the mud without getting a medal for it. Being an honorary officer should not trump real military action. It was just the royal family's snotty attitude to Harry.
|
|
|
Post by patricklondon on Sept 20, 2022 10:29:34 GMT
she thought that she would fit in better if she used her telephone voice and Anna Neagle laugh. Oh yes, the "telephone voice": my mother had that, though not the Anna Neagle laugh (nor yet Dame Anna's reputed unfortunate mishap with a stage microphone).
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Sept 20, 2022 14:33:52 GMT
I would post this in the Red Carpet thread, but Bixa would probably move it, even though several of the gowns ARE shown on red carpets. Kate has shown pretty good style instinct, though I don’t love her in patterned frocks. My favorite is still the lilac tulle frock. www.vogue.com/article/kate-middleton-life-in-dresses
|
|