Tag Archives: 2020

‘Remembrance Sunday 2021’ Marred By Sudden Absence Of MY Queen.

by Anura Guruge
on November 14, 2021


Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google News’.

MY Queen from my post to mark the 2020 Remembrance Sunday.

Click image to access my post from last year.

Of course, her sad absence, is NOT an issue. We all understand. We know she planned to be there, she hoped to be there. Provided she was in the U.K. she has NOT missed a Remembrance Sunday other than the two times she was pregnant with her last two kids. She has been involved with this glorious & sacred British tradition for 69-years!

I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be 95. She is 27 years older than I, & folks call me old. We all, of course, wish her the best.

My only concern is whether she will be there next year. She will be 96. Does NOT matter if she can’t attend the ceremony. Provided that she is still around.


As is my wont let me please share some videos of our (i.e., London ‘Cenotaph’) Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

For those not familiar with our protocol let me explain why ‘Princess Anne‘ is NOT in one of the balconies. That is because she is at ground level, ready to lay a wreath. All of the senior members of the Royal Family lay wreaths, if they are not incapacitated. The Queen used to lay a wreath. Princess Anne walks in the second behind Prince Charles.

3:15 minute BBC video that captures the highlights.
A longer, 42 minute version, from ‘The Palace’ (so to speak).

The Queen laying a wreath, on Remembrance Day 1953. The year she was coronated (i.e., received the crown) — though she became Queen a year earlier.

From 1953. It was then called ‘Armistice Day‘.

in 1946, the year after the end of WW II, with her father, the then King.

Don’t forget that I have a dedicated ‘Red Poppy‘ page on my old blog.

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2022 U.S. ‘Labor Day’ On September 6 Is Late, But Earlier Than Last Year.

by Anura Guruge
on August 9, 2021

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Click to ENLARGE. Created by Anura Guruge.

It feels late BUT it is easy to forget that last year’s was on September 7. It was also on September 7th in 2015 & 2009.

September 7 is as late as it can be.

It is always the 1st Monday of September. So, it can fall between September 1 & September 7 — & as my table shows, it has.

Yes, if you study it you can see the pattern BETWEEN leap years. Look at 2000 to 2003. It was going down by a day: 4, 3, 2 & 1. Then came a leap year. That set it back to 6. Then it was 5, 4, 3 … & then another leap year. Got it?

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‘Major Grom’ (2021) & ‘Silver Skates’ (2020): Two NetFlix Movies, Both Set In ‘Leningrad’, 100-Years Apart, Are Well Worth Watching.

by Anura Guruge
on August 3, 2021

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ypd_-DLFLU

I have visited ‘Leningrad’ — albeit in 1970 as a callow schoolboy on an expensive field trip. We did visit the ‘Hermitage‘. I do recall, though not as vividly as I would like, that it was grandiloquent. These two movies, set 120-years apart, if nothing else make you realize that ‘Saint Petersburg‘ (today’s Leningrad) leaves many Western cities (especially those in the U.S.) in the dust when it comes to ostentatious grandeur, splendid elegance & just over-the-top glorification of wealth.

I think we all knew that the elite in pre-Revolution Russia enjoyed untold luxury at the expense of the peasants. ‘Silver Skates‘ deals with that.

What I was NOT prepared for was the supposed wealth in Saint Petersburg today — from the Oligarchy. I will confess I knew zilch about the Russian oligarchy. ‘Major Grom‘ deals with that. WOW. Have YOU ever thought about Russian high-tech entrepreneurs? They must have them. ‘Major Grom’ sets out to portray one — fictional though it maybe. We know about hugely successful Chinese high-tech ventures: e.g., Alibaba, JD.com, NIO, DIDI etc. When was the last time we heard about a Russian high-tech company — outside of ransomware. Does Russia have its own Facebook? Major Grom would like to you think so.

Both are good, eminently watchable movies. Parts of Major Grom are hilarious. Both are exquisitely produced. Beyond masterful. I recommend both, highly.

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