From "Busy social life and late-night TV left Queen ‘knackered’" (London Times).
100 budgerigars!
October 24, 2021
"After a morning of red boxes and paperwork, meetings and phone calls with courtiers, she walks her dogs, usually after lunch, and still rides regularly..."
"... though she no longer heads out in very cold or wet weather. Her collection of more than 100 budgerigars, which she keeps in an aviary near her private apartments at Windsor, are an enjoyable diversion and horse racing — either watching it on television, attending a meeting or studying the form — is still a big part of her life.
We may never know what, if anything, is wrong with the Queen beyond fatigue. The palace draws the line at giving a 'running commentary' on her health. Why stay so busy? Because, says a royal source who knows her well, 'she doesn’t want to be reminded of her age in any way.'"
From "Busy social life and late-night TV left Queen ‘knackered’" (London Times).
From "Busy social life and late-night TV left Queen ‘knackered’" (London Times).
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23 comments:
A habit obscene and unsavory
Holds the Bishop of Wessex in slavery
With maniacal howls
He deflowers young owls
Which he keeps in an underground aviary.
We have our problems with our oldster, Britain has theirs.
The queen, as queen, has enormous powers. Essentially ALL power in great Britain is in her hands. Hire and fier "her" prime Minister? Yup. Hire and fire the cabinet and all govt employees. Yup. Suspend parliament? Yup. CinC of the military? Yup.
And so on.
Most of those powers apply to Canada since she is their queen too.
She is stopped from exercising these powers only by her good will. What happens if she decides it's time to put the great back in Great Britain? Emulating pedjt, perhaps.
Who can stop her? Not the military. They have sworn allegiance to the queen, not the country.
The standard answer always seems to be that it would cause a "constitutional crisis" but since there is no constitution in any meaningful sense nobody ever wants to talk about what this crisis might mean.
I'd love to see her wake up one morning, declare "this shit has gone on too long, time to rule, not reign. Time to put the great back into Britain"
And then do it.
What has she got to lose?
I'd sign up for pay per view to see it.
John Henry
Almost forgot
LGBTQ!
John Henry
Sounds like a lot of greenhouse gas emissions to support the old gal's lifestyle.
That's according to her son and grandsons.
Best to convert all those palaces into shelters for homeless trans people and xir families.
Could we trade her for Biden?
We could throw in a Pelosi and a player to be named later.
She reminds me so much of my grandmother when she was that age. I admire her. Too bad about Charles and Harry.
She's hoping to out live Charles. Charles has turned into a climate change zealot. But, William, the next in line, is just a much a climate change zealot as his father. Maybe she can live to 135 to make sure a sane person inherits the crown?
Whenever I read anything about the Queen or Royal Family, I like to remember that they own land in England. Lots of land. Some with cities on top, with businesses paying rent to the royals. And their sole purpose in life is to perpetuate that ownership.
This also was the sole purpose in life of the kings in England before the Norman Invasion. Here's wondering when another change of ownership will occur.
I dabble in royal documentaries. One was about the Queen and animals. She has her cows up in Scotland: she is quite serious about entering them in local competitions, and trying to win. She has her thoroughbreds, and she is serious about winning. Those big horses that pull her carriage are a delight to her, especially when they switch from walking single time to double time. Then there are the famous Corgi dogs. Supposedly she has had as many as 40, running around all over. Friends and relatives would make the mistake of leaving their dogs for a visit, and the home dogs would sometimes become quite vicious. As the Queen got older, she apparently cut down on the number of dogs, partly because she didn't want a large number of them to survive her.
I'm American, so this is an amusing diversion; I am also a conservative so I like the traditional and do not think it should be lightly cast aside.
The Queen is nothing less than Magnificent, in almost every way.
Such non-stop quotidian busyness of the Queen, like many of the elderly I have known, a busyness like dozens of budgies flitting about, brings to mind Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” For those unfamiliar with this poem, it begins “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me – / The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality.”
Some view this poem with distaste, hearing despair and sadness at the futility of it all (Ozymandias’ curse). I prefer to see it as an admonition to go down fighting, to stay busy until the very end. My father, suffering from a bad heart and advancing dementia, was still planning his vegetable garden for the following Spring when Death kindly stopped for him.
That isn't "100 budgerigars." That's several hundred even in the frame.
>> I like to remember that they own land in England. Lots of land. Some with cities on top, with businesses paying rent to the royals. And their sole purpose in life is to perpetuate that ownership.
About 10 years ago, I was in London and happened to see an ad in real estate agent's office window. A very nice apartment, in a very posh part of town was listed for a mere six million pounds.
But it was a 99 year lease, not a purchase. The entire block was owned by the Duke or Earl of someplace or other.
Apparently the first word they learn as children is "mama". The second is "lease".
Aggie: "The Queen is nothing less than Magnificent, in almost every way."
She's "practically perfect"!
Mikey NTH: "I'm American, so this is an amusing diversion; I am also a conservative so I like the traditional and do not think it should be lightly cast aside."
If they hand the reins to Prince Chuck then the Monarchy ought to go the way of the dodo.
In the words of famed Monarchy Advisor Zazu:
"If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out!
Out of service, out of Africa - I wouldn't hang about... aagh!"
The Queen may be sovereign, but the power is in Parliament. And if Parliament wants to abolish the monarchy and even remove her head from her body -- as they have in the past -- they can do so.
There is a good play, King Charles III, that also ran on Masterpiece Theater. In it, Charlie refuses to give royal assent to a bill that has passed Parliament, and then when they are about to act against him, he uses his power of the royal prerogative to dissolve Parliament. Then bad things result.
A very nice apartment, in a very posh part of town was listed for a mere six million pounds.
But it was a 99 year lease, not a purchase.
So, an apartment rental for 5,000 pounds per month. More than I would pay, but some rich folks would find it reasonable.
I like to remember that they own land in England. Lots of land. Some with cities on top, with businesses paying rent to the royals. And their sole purpose in life is to perpetuate that ownership.
You think that our sovereign is any different? You think that you own the property that you live on?
Try not paying your property taxes.
My grandmother from Liverpool kept those noise-makers.
At her age, I don't think it's necessary to have a running commentary on her health either. She's going to die, sooner rather than later.
Our church leaders are all quite old; the only way you can leave is to die (or apostatize, which hasn't happened since the 40's). President Gordon B. Hinckley was 97 and didn't stop going to the office every morning until the week before he died. Our current leader, President Russell M. Nelson, is also 97 and appears in vigorous health, even through the pandemic. I think the Queen will be similar.
Bender,
You think that our sovereign is any different? You think that you own the property that you live on?
Try not paying your property taxes.
Exactly. Technically, all land in the UK belongs to the Crown, one way or another, but there is freehold as opposed to leasehold property, The apartment you mention is a leasehold. A freehold you (& your heirs) can hold onto in perpetuity.
In this country, you can have a paper filed in the land records office stating that you "own" the fee, but in fact, if you do not pay the sovereign, that is, THE GOVERNMENT, it will come and seize your land.
In the United States, THE GOVERNMENT owns all the property. You just rent from the government under the delusion that property taxes are not rent.
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