Tag Archives: The Queen

My Pantheon Of Heroes.

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by Anura Guruge
on April 7, 2024

Click to ENLARGE.

It was “Donald Trump’s” claim this morning that he was a modern day ‘Nelson Mandela‘ that got me thinking about MY PANTHEON — where dear Mandela has always been in the top tier. [I will do a post on the Trump claim later.]

If you follow this blog you must have heard me mention that ‘Winston‘ was always my TOP DOG. Smile.

So this pantheon should explain why it is not easy being I. SMILE.

Do you KNOW the one female in this pantheon — & she was not a TOKEN entry. She actually is the ONLY ONE I have met. Great lady. Deserved to be in this pantheon. Yes, I called her ‘Aunty’ though, alas, we were not related by blood. But, a close, a very close, family friend.

Three (of my many) Goldens have been: ‘Winston’, ‘Monty’ & ‘Ulysses’. That is the ultimate honor I can bestow. Alas we have had a series of female dogs and I haven’t been given a chance to name a dog in decades. SMILE.

Yes, I know that Winston was a racist & maybe even a poofter. But, most men of that era were that. SMILE.

Anywho …

The next tier down includes another lady. British, BUT not THE QUEEN! Not sure whether the Queen makes my list.

#NotMyKing, ‘Charles (Of ‘Tampongate’)’, Driving A German ‘Audi’ — Yet Another Strike Against Him.

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by Anura Guruge
on January 15, 2023

Click to ENLARGE. From today’s U.K. ‘Daily Mail’ (link).

Yes, this is one of my pet peeves. The Royal family (which the truth be known (& told) is really more GERMAN than British) favoring German bloody vehicles over OUR British heritage.

Yes, I understand & appreciate with deep sorrow that ALL of OUR iconic automotive brands, i.e., ‘Rolls Royce/Bentley’, ‘Jaguar‘, ‘Land Rover’, are now, alas & alak, foreign owned. But, these names & others, e.g., ‘Morris Garage’ (MG), ‘Triumph’, ‘Aston Martin’, are still very British & evoke pride & patriotism.

Self-centered, spoilt, arrogant, out-of-touch Charles of Tampongate has no business or right to be seen driving a damn German car. Disgrace, but then again he is nothing but a total, unmitigated disaster. #NotMyKind — for sure, for sure.

He used to ponce around in an ‘Aston Martin DB2‘. Now, that was class & that was before he became Charles of Tampongate.

Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google’.

I don’t get it. We are NOT (THANKFULLY) not a part of the EU anymore. There is no rationale or justification for his driving a German bloody car other than his stupidness. It is NOT right. It is a travesty. It is a disgrace. It just isn’t cricket.

The Queen, when in the U.K., was invariably in a ‘British’ vehicle — she particularly fond of Land- & Range-Rovers.

This was NOT right.

In 2018, after the ‘Harry & Meghan‘ wedding I wrote the The Palace to complain that the William & Harry had arrived in Windsor in the Mercedes van. I asked the Palace to make sure that this would not happen again. They did reply in a letter.

Click to ENLARGE.

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‘Netflix’ ‘The Crown’ Season 5 — Having Just Finished Watching It, I, For The 1st Time, Have MIXED Feelings.

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by Anura Guruge
on November 14, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Netflix‘.
Click to ENLARGE. ‘Google’ search.
Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia.

I definitely ENJOYED it — & that, alas, is part of the problem.

It is so well scripted & produced that you easily lose fact that 70% of what is being shown is SPECULATION! Yes, based on what happened — but imagined … fictionalized. We will never know what actually was said behind those walls. That is the problem. Just even take something simple: the private conversations between the Queen & then Prime Minister ‘John Major’. Of course they took place. That is a fact. Yes, they must have discussed the issues portrayed by Netflix. The problem is that we don’t know what was really said. What is shown is MADE UP. But, it is so cleverly done that you can easily lose sight of that.

This applies to everything. Yes, we have all heard the ‘Tampongate’ tape. But, all the talk that went before that & after — is all make believe. YIKES. That is the problem. I not really complaining. Just concerned that too many of us may have got lulled into thinking that all this dialogue is based on reality.

I don’t know how to fix that.

I am a HUGE fan of the series. Of that there is no debate.

I have learned a LOT from the Series — & for that I am grateful.

This was also the case with Season 5. I knew very little about the ‘Fayed’ family. Also the details of the ‘Martin Bashir’ deception! Wow. I knew the broad-brush version of the events, but not the EXTENT of the fraud. I was shocked & disappointed. Not worthy of MY BBC!

I loved the portrayal of P.M. ‘John Major‘. I always liked John. I think he got star billing.

So, the bottom line is that I loved Season 5, but am concerned that too much ‘faction‘ got woven in, very cleverly, as fact rather than possible fiction.

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‘Netflix’ ‘The Crown’ Season 5 Is Turning Me Into The Anti-Monarchist I Was 30-Years Ago.

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by Anura Guruge
on November 10, 2022

Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia.

It doesn’t surprise me. I was tethering on the brink ever since the passing of MY Queen. just over 2-months ago.

I was an anti-monarchist for a fair chunk of my life! That is no secret. I mentioned that in the post I did to mark the Queen’s passing. I only got around to appreciating the Queen & become an ardent fan as we both got older, i.e., the Queen & I.

But the Queen is now gone & we are left with her profligate progeny & a large extended family. This season of ‘The Crown’ makes you fully realize what a privileged, thoroughly spoilt & entitled bunch they are. I was never a fan of ‘Charles’. ‘Tampongate‘ (below) was the last straw & that was many decades ago.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Yvn6Ok6MdFk

** ** ** ** **

It was so CRUDE. Not becoming of ANY man — let alone a future king. I can be very crude & vulgar but I would never go that far. So, with Charles on the throne I feel very differently about the monarchy.

They are too expensive a luxury. We don’t need them! Come on. We can manage without them. I think Netflix has done US a huge favor. Thank YOU, Netflix.

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The Queen’s Final Trip To Windsor Was In A Fine ‘Jaguar’ Hearse, APPROVED By Her — To My Relief.

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by Anura Guruge
on September 19, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. From ‘MyLondon‘ (click to access post).
Click to ENLARGE. The ‘Jaguar XJ’ based hearse — from ‘Google Images’ via the U.K. ‘The Independent‘.
Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia link.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I am SO RELIEVED. I was so worried that they would screw up again and use a bloody German hearse as they had done — inexcusably — in Scotland. I was glad to see in the Wikipedia entry above, for the ‘Royal Hearse’ that I was NOT the only one that had taken umbrage to this utter travesty.

It was good to see that a ‘Jaguar‘ XJ-based hearse was used (as was proper) — and, moreover, that the Queen had pre-approved of this hearse. Way to go. The right way that things should have been done. She liked Jags. I am glad.

OK, I will admit that I would have liked to have seen a sleeker design. Not sure why it has to be so bulky & have that awkward sloping design. No doubt someone must have put up some v. persuasive arguments. C’est la vie. At least it was a Jag. To I, & I am sure to many other Brits, that is what mattered most in the end. It was a Jag. Yes, I know & grieve OFTEN, that Jaguar is no longer a British company. To I that is so sacrilegious. That, however, alas, is a different matter. For now I am just glad & relieved that a British make hearse, rather than a bloody German one, was used for the Queen’s last trip. Enough said.

The DISGRACE of having the Queen’s body conveyed in a German hearse — albeit in Scotland.

Click to ENLARGE. Image from the “New York Post“.

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Being Arrested For Heckling Disgraced ‘Andrew’ Is NOT British, NOT Cricket — Just Plain NOT RIGHT!

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by Anura Guruge
on September 12, 2022

Click to ENLARGE and read here.
Click here for the U.K. ‘Daily Mail’ article.

I, alas, am NOT that au fait with the details BUT we do (& I know that for a fact) still have a ‘Freedom of Expression RIGHT‘.

And, alas, we also have the catch-all ‘disturbing the peace’ — & in this case applied in connection with the ‘sacred’ ‘Royal Mile’.

But, I am sure it is NOT right. There will be an outcry (I hope) & there will be outrage.

We are a fiercely democratic nation; fiercely democratic people.

You should be able to expression your opinion. He didn’t say anything vulgar. Just an opinion.

I am distraught.

This is MY BRITAIN. Man, during my College days, IF this was the bar, I would still be in prison! I led a famous march through Swansea, with a poster of a topless Margaret Thatcher, sporting three boobs, with a caption ‘Margaret makes another boob‘. I was accompanied on the march by a police inspector. I thought he was a traffic warden. I called him as such. He never corrected me. He only said he would arrest me ‘if you or any of those behind you cause trouble‘. He didn’t define trouble. We were not arrested.

Come ON. This is Britain. Not Russia or Sri Lanka!

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It Is A DISGRACE That The Queen’s Coffin Was Transported From ‘Balmoral’ In A German Hearse.

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by Anura Guruge
on September 11, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. Image from the “New York Post“.
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google’.

That was NOT right. It was a travesty. It was a disgrace. It just wasn’t cricket.

We have British hearses — even Rolls-Royce hearses. Yes, I know that Rolls-Royce is now German owned, BUT the name, heritage & association will always be indelibly British.

Note that one of the Queen’s Rolls-Royces is following the hearse. So, wouldn’t it have been nice to have a British, i.e., Rolls-Royce, hearse.

The Queen, when in the U.K., was invariably in a ‘British’ vehicle — she particularly fond of Land- & Range-Rovers.

This was NOT right.

In 2018, after the ‘Harry & Meghan‘ wedding I wrote the The Palace to complain that the William & Harry had arrived in Windsor in the Mercedes van. I asked the Palace to make sure that this would not happen again. They did reply in a letter.

Click to ENLARGE.

Well, I am disappointed & annoyed. We are supposed to excel in the DETAIL when it comes to pomp & ceremony. This was a POOR SHOW.

No doubt, some of the blame must be placed with the SHAMELESS undertaker ‘William Purves’. See below. No class.

Click to ENLARGE. For full story from the U.K. ‘Daily Mail’.

Yes, I appreciate that a FEW of you may want to point out that the Queen is of German ancestry! That is true. But, that was few generations ago.

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I Am Sobered By The Passing Of MY Queen.

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by Anura Guruge
on September 8, 2022

Click images to ENLARGE. Image from “The Royal Family” Website.

Certainly an end to an era.

She was Queen for the totality of my life. She was the only British monarch in my life until today.

I will miss her. Over the last two, maybe three, decades I became quite fond of her. She became MY Queen. That was what made her extra special to I. She WON me over — & that (as some of you know) is no mean task.

I was an anti-monarchist for a fair chunk of my life! That is no secret. There is a good chance I will revert back to being one SOON!

But as we both got older, i.e., the Queen & I, I started to appreciate her more, respect her & become fond of her.

As many of you know from my blog, I have insisted (of late) that my Christmas is NOT done until I have heard the Queen’s speech. There will not be a Queen’s speech this Christmas. A King will give a speech instead. The problem is that I am NOT sure whether he will be MY King. That is a problem. That is a dilemma. Last Christmas I did say that I sure hope that this would NOT be her last speech. Alas, it was.

** ** ** ** **

Some of you may have noticed that I used ‘sobered’ as opposed to ‘saddened’. That was after due consideration. The v. very few that know me know that I have a strange & ambivalent attitude towards death. I do not attend funerals & I rarely mourn. The Queen had a good innings. Yes, it would have been great if she had managed to score a century. Plus, given that I have now been in exile over here for 38-years, the Queen has not been a constant presence in my life for a very long time. So, while I will, of course, miss her, I can’t genuinely claim that I was shocked or markedly distressed. I was sorry. I will miss. I don’t think I will ever be able to sing the National Anthem with “God save the King”! Let’s leave it at that.

I sure will MISS not being able to say
“Long Live Our Glorious Queen”.

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‘Platinum Jubilee Celebrations’, June 2: This ‘Washington Post’ YouTube Video Has It All.

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by Anura Guruge
on June 2, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. From YouTube.

YouTube videos.

There was over three hours of coverage. Most of us did NOT, alas, get a chance to see all of that, LIVE, this morning.

As ever, YouTube to the rescue.

The two videos shown above appears to have the most & best coverage. I could be wrong. Just trying to help.

Bottom-line, however, is head to YouTube and poke around. OK?

Long Live Our Glorious Queen.

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Queen’s ‘Platinum Jubilee Celebrations’: Images Of The Queen Projected Onto The Stones At ‘Stonehenge’.

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by Anura Guruge
on June 1, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. Image from “The Royal Family Channel“.

YouTube videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7U64dM90fA

As with the ‘LegoLand (UK)’ display this is also MEGA-COOL. Wow.

That YOU ‘English Heritage’.

OK, I will confess. When I first saw this I had a SECOND of hesitation. MY STONEHENGE had been … ‘compromised’? I got over it QUICK. It is OK. It is temporary, and she, MY QUEEN, deserves it.

Stonehenge is special to I.

I first visited it, c. 1972, with our then brand new puppy, ‘Rousseau’ — a border collie mix with one ear up & the other down. These were the good ol’ days before the henge was fenced off. You could walk all around it, amongst the stones. You could touch the stones & even sit on the ones on the ground. Rousseau peed on every stone!

When I lived in Hampshire we would visit at night at Full Moon! It is a pagan thing. All of this before it was fenced off. I don’t like it being fenced off. I miss walking inside the stones. Feel privileged that I was able to do it so many times & that Rousseau got to pee on the stones.

All of this is GREAT, so GREAT. We are GREAT BRITAIN. That is what we are. GREAT BRITAIN. I am SO proud.

Long Live Our Glorious Queen.

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