BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 May 22 - 04:09 PM

It's great to have increased transit capacity in the country's capital with the Elizabeth line!!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 May 22 - 04:20 PM

As it happens, Elizabeth Windsor has been quite a good public speaker BUT, according to monarchism, if useless she would have the job anyway, for which she is extremely overpaid. We want FAIR competition NOT the ridiculous inhumane inequality that monarchism & capitalism produce.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Donuel
Date: 28 May 22 - 05:13 PM

ha ha ha ha ha HE HE HEE
Confidentially Big Al that was great!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 May 22 - 06:07 PM

Well I agree, WAV. I'd go further and say that the royals have the rather vicious effect of perpetuating the pyramid of privilege that severely holds this country back. By the way, she doesn't write her own speeches.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 28 May 22 - 06:24 PM

Yes, Steve - "pyramid of privilege" is a good way of describing a bad thing.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 May 22 - 06:43 PM

Priviledge = lefty envy!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Raggytash
Date: 28 May 22 - 07:53 PM

"Priviledge = lefty envy!!!!!!!" Says Bonzo

............... however the Cambridge dictionary describes it as:


"an advantage that only one person or group of people has, usually because of their position or because they are rich"

I'm sure you good people can make your own judgement as to the veracity of these two statements.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 29 May 22 - 05:03 AM

It is very rare that I indulge in ad hominem attacks but when people talk through their arse it is difficult to argue against their position. Bonzo, do you post tripe just to wind people up, in which case you are trolling, or do you really have no idea that what you post is nonsense?

Either way, you need either removing from grown up conversation or expect to be ignored by everyone else.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 29 May 22 - 05:29 AM

Trouble is that you lefties cannot handle any views other than your own!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 29 May 22 - 06:13 AM

”Trouble is that you lefties cannot handle any views other than your own!!!!!”

But at least we know how to spell ‘privilege’!!!!!!!!

Didn’t they teach English at your Secondary Modern, Bonz?????????

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 29 May 22 - 06:25 AM

Thank you Donuel.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 29 May 22 - 06:28 AM

spelling - B for bad, blame my iphone!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 29 May 22 - 06:59 AM

Typical Tory-Righty deceitfulness - pass the blame on. Just what the Blond Buffoon does - he’d be proud of you Bonz.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 29 May 22 - 07:26 AM

that's your problem BWM - a pinko! You and Vladmir Ilyich Lenin!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Jack Campin
Date: 29 May 22 - 07:30 AM

Are there any suitable songs for the 282nd birthday of the Marquis de Sade?

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 May 22 - 07:35 AM

I bet Methuselah's family got pissed off having to celebrate all those birthdays.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Raggytash
Date: 29 May 22 - 07:43 AM

Masochism Tango perchance Jack?

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 29 May 22 - 08:38 AM

”that's your problem BWM - a pinko! You and Vladmir Ilyich Lenin!

Ha! I’ve always understood the epithet ‘Pinko’ to be a euphemism meaning a homosexual man! I certainly don’t fall into that category - anyone who knows me can confirm!

I also regard myself as politically slightly left of centre, so I don’t really think I fall into Lenin’s category either.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 29 May 22 - 04:04 PM

"We share the same world but not the same opportunities" (Elizabeth Windsor)...so end monarchism.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 29 May 22 - 04:10 PM

Absolutely no no no no no.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 May 22 - 06:03 PM

If she thinks she shares the same world as the mass of ordinary people, I'm afraid she's seriously deluded. No zero hours for her, no worries about energy bills doubling, no waiting for years for your crucial operation, no food banks, no sending your kids to crumbling schools with outsize classes, huge country estates which see off the riffraff...

Just tell her that you're from Croydon, Bonzo. First, she'll ask where it is, second, she'll get her goons to see you off sharpish...

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 May 22 - 01:23 AM

Well, most of us in this village have put our flags up. Some people have giant flagpoles and huge Union Jacks, others strings of smaller flags.
I've got medium-sized ones sprouting out of the honeysuckles on either side of the front door, and smaller ones attached to the windowsills as well.
Husband is going to attend the Jubilee event with me on Thursday, in the grounds of the village hall, wearing one of his lovely, brightly-coloured traditional outfits (long tunic over narrow trousers).
I think the entire village will be delighted to see him!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: The Sandman
Date: 30 May 22 - 02:02 AM

thanK god i have left the UK

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 May 22 - 05:40 AM

Well as we live in the middle of nowhere I won't be seeing any flags round here. I suppose I'll have to venture into town at some point, however, and we're having a special-treat cream tea (done the Cornish way, cream on top) at the Memory Café on Friday. Generally speaking, there are two or three occasions every year when the locals know that Bude is best avoided, and this weekend will definitely be one of 'em!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 30 May 22 - 07:21 AM

Steve - a bit of thread-drift and apropos of nothing, but I did a voyage, back in my Tall-Ship-crew-days, with a guy from Bude. A very nice man indeed, and a great colleague working in the galley - a hard worker, and a source of quite a few laughs. Happy days!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 31 May 22 - 10:22 AM

Privilege:
............... however the Cambridge dictionary describes it as:
"an advantage that only one person or group of people has, usually because of their position or because they are rich"

So, along with the royals we can include union leaders etc. as 'privileged'.

Good to see it's available to both sides.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 31 May 22 - 10:40 AM

It is one thing to have earned privilege and an entirely different matter to have inherited it, Nigel. You are not comparing like with like there.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 31 May 22 - 11:55 AM

I wonder if Nigel actually believes that an elected Trade Union leader is privileged to the same extent that the RF are? Or is he just following what has become his rather boring obsession with parasite-eggs?

I also wonder what he does with all those nits he picks - eat them?

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 31 May 22 - 12:30 PM

You are not comparing like with like there.
No I was comparing to the dictionary definition, as provided.

I wonder if Nigel actually believes that an elected Trade Union leader is privileged to the same extent that the RF are?
Not to the same extent, but I see no-one claiming that the Union leaders are not privileged above those whom they claim to serve. How is this privilege 'earned'?

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: The Sandman
Date: 31 May 22 - 02:01 PM

Nigel, perhaps it is time to answer you with some four letter words and anglo saxon vocabulary

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: The Sandman
Date: 31 May 22 - 02:02 PM

are Nigel Parsons and Bonzo 3 legs the same people

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 31 May 22 - 02:54 PM

are Nigel Parsons and Bonzo 3 legs the same people

No.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 31 May 22 - 04:48 PM

Well, Nigel, I've been a member of my trade union for fifty years. In my union, and in all others (with extremely limited exceptions), leaders (presidents, general secretaries, members of the executive, etc.) are elected, typically via postal votes of union members. In contrast, I don't recall being asked to vote for any member of the royal family nor for any of their extensive entourage, even though I have to contribute to their upkeep. Just thought I'd mention it.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 May 22 - 09:06 PM

True enough. But of course none of us had any chance to vote for Boris Johnson either, apart from those living Uxbridge.   And most people didn't even vote for the Tories either.

But imagine if he was Head of State…

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bill D
Date: 01 Jun 22 - 12:34 PM

I see both sides of the debate over the value of the monarchy.
When I think of the queen, I remember her as an ambulance driver in WWII and scaring some Arab potentate by driving him herself in her Landrover.
(He wasn't used to ANY woman driving).
But, sure..I see why many feel the the money and pomp attending the monarchy is antiquated and needs to be converted into something simpler. I'll bet it would make Brexit seem simple to adopt by comparison.

Anyway, it is all 'interesting' from an outsiders viewpoint... and my own ancestry is rooted in English & Scottish history.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 02:03 AM

The stuffy establishment did not want TV cameras inside Westminster Abbey during the Coronation. Luckily when Elizabeth was told, she was having none of that and insisted it was broadcast to the nation. Peter Dimmock made sure that we had the best views on our tiny 9" black and white televisions!!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 02:39 AM

I still feel that the monarchy is an anachronism, and ought to be 'disbanded' after this Jubilee doo-dah.
I well remember watching the queen's coronation on a tiny black-and-white TV set (neighbour's house, we didn't have a TV then) But my attitude has changed, and I think the enormous privilege the royals enjoy, merely because of their birth, is antiquated nowadays. Our leaders/representatives etc should be democratically elected.
The weather is glorious this morning, and I am looking forward to our village hall activities, plus seeing my husband again, in his African outfit. (He's coming over at 10am) There will apparently be a 'Scone Pop-Up Stall' (why no crumpets eh?) and the much-publicised Decorated Wheelbarrow competition.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: BobL
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 04:06 AM

What disturbs me is that anti-monarchist arguments are, all too often, not concerned with making life better for anyone, but making it worse for a handful of people who for historical reasons, neither merit nor fault of their own, find themselves in a privileged position. Levelling down doesn't necessarily lead to levelling up.

Like Bill D, I can see both sides. However, for the last couple of centuries the monarchy has (mainly) worked well, and my inclination is to follow the principle of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:04 AM

In the long term, doing away with a privileged-by-accident elite would be for the good of everyone. When Jesus said that to them that have it shall be given, he wasn't advocating the continuation of unearned privilege: he was making bitter comment on the unfairness of life. He wasn't wrong all the time...

On another matter, I note that the Queen has made Arlene Foster a dame. Arlene Foster. Hard-right wrecker of any chance of harmonious politics in Northern Ireland. Opposer of the Good Friday agreement. Implacable opponent of same-sex marriage and civil partnerships for different-sex couples. A vicious anti-abortionist. Opportunistic propper-up of Theresa May's lame-duck government. Mired in what was quite likely corruption. As far as I'm concerned, her elevation brings the honours system into utter disrepute. I'd like to think that it could be another nail in the monarchy's coffin, but, sadly, that's just a pipe-dream.

Have a nice day, all you sycophants!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Howard Jones
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:13 AM

I agree the monarchy is an anachronism. It is a privileged life, but also one of extraordinary constraints. The Queen is personally wealthy (although not wealthy enough to appear in the Top 250 of the Sunday Times Rich List) but has comparatively little freedom to enjoy it. It seems a cruel thing to do to a family.

On the other hand, it is unclear whether republics fare any better than monarchies. There is an argument that monarchies provide greater stability, but probably there are too many other variables to draw any proper conclusions. What is certain is that an elected head of state, even one with a purely ceremonial role, is inevitably a political figure to some degree.

It is true the British monarch is not elected by the people. Nevertheless her powers are mostly exercised through the elected parliament.

The impact of the cost of the monarchy is exaggerated. The Sovereign Grant in 2020-21 was £85.9m, equivalent to £1.29 per person. Of that, £34.4m was for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, which is owned by the Crown ie the state, not the Queen personally. It is a publicly-owned asset. The core cost is equivalent to 77p per person. The Sovereign Grant is paid from income from the Crown Estate (with the remainder going to the Treasury), not from general taxation.

Of course a stripped-down head of state could cost less to run. The Irish presidency costs only €5m, on the other hand Denmark's costs €80m and Poland's €115m. It is difficult to know if this is comparing like with like. £85.9m is a large sum, but compared with total public expenditure of over £1 trillion it is a drop in the ocean. It is legitimate to debate how public money is spent, but it is naïve to think that saving a few million here or there will make any difference to anything.

Of course it is entirely legitimate to want a republic, but polls have consistently shown that the overwhelming majority don't support it. Personally I am content with what we have. That may be in part due to the current Queen, who on the whole has done a remarkably good job of adapting the role to changes in society. It remains to be seen how well Charles will do (I suspect better than his critics believe) but the institution is greater the than the individual holding it. Nevertheless it must continue to adapt, and that probably means reducing the roles of the wider Royal Family.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:17 AM

But of course, Steve, the ‘Queen’s Birthday Honours List’ is nothing of the sort - the list is determined by the Honours Committee and the Prime Minister, not by HMQ, so she hasn’t really ‘made’ anybody anything.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:25 AM

RE Trooping The Colour, the saying "champing at the bit" is ridiculous as what the horse is keen on is trying to get the damn thing out of its mouth.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:26 AM

I'm not bothered about the cost to all of us so much as the principle of giving extremely wealthy people even more money. It isn't true that they operate under huge restraints. The Queen has several vast and luxurious residences. She travel in cosseted luxury, hang the expense. She owns vast estates on which privileged men can catch the finest salmon or shoot at silly birds that are kept on carefully-manicured land in order to make sure that there are enough of them there to get shot at, an environmental disaster. She doesn't have to worry about a thing, apart from her disreputable, spoiled and dysfunctional family, who, to a large extent, are the way they are because of the privilege that embraces them as well.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:30 AM

It's called the QUEEN'S birthday honours, John. It has her name on it, her rubber stamp. She it would be who pats them all with a sword. She owns it. If you tried to tell me that she has absolutely no say, I wouldn't believe you!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:38 AM

WE are looking forward to start watching Trooping thr Colour this evening!!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:41 AM

Congratulations to Her Majesty The Queen, on this, her Platinum Jubilee.

Thank you for a lifetime of service.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 05:47 AM

The point I was making, Steve - the point which you neatly side-stepped - is that, no matter what it’s called, it’s not the Queen who decides who receives what, it’s a committee of senior civil-servants and others, plus the PM, who decide. Whether you believe it or not, that’s the fact of the matter. As you say, she rubber-stamps the list, nothing more.

How the British Honours System works…

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 06:03 AM

Congratulations to all on the Platinum Jubilee Honours List, especially those awarded the British Empire Medal!!

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 06:10 AM

Especially to James Milner, superb footballer, charity fundraiser and leader of men, a loyal servant of Liverpool FC.

Subject: RE: BS: HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 02 Jun 22 - 06:13 AM

Further to the above on Trooping the Colour, for what it's worth, I do like the marching music WITHOUT the horses - we can keep that going after our return to republicanism.