Balmoral is fucking gorgeous. But you can’t stop on a lot of the roads and admire - they have no stop signs. I went to saty nearby at the Linn O’Dee and Marr Lodge next door - amazing scenery. It’s very different now because of last winters terrible floods ruined many places and destroyed a lot of riverbanks though.

I know right? I see more discussion for the “validity” of Royals from people overseas. They never though seem to ask Japan or Sweden or Thailand or Spain why they have rulers. Funny that.

Grand Duchess Ivanka for Secretary of State!

They are useless but they are OUR form of useless. British people, we just muddle along and hope for the best. As we have for thousands and thousands of years. We don’t get your country either probably, wherever that is. So c’est la vie. I do however think a lot of the Royals should be self funded. They have shit…

I am a British person. They don’t bring joy to all, just some - they bring revenue. And entertainment. And stability. Just like a figurehead. I am not a Royalist but i accept the system for now. Mainly because what would we have in place? Look at the disaster from Brexit. We can’t change ANYTHING really. They…

They look like walking coronaries.

He looks like a drunk Christopher Hitchens and not in a good way. Jeezus, is that a massive stroke waiting to happen. Old doughy white guys who like booze and rich meals - you are not supreme in the mortality rates!

Trump and others have pissed all over my culture for too too long. They appropriate harmless and peaceful symbols of meaning from our culture and history (meaning people from actual Ireland and Scotland, our culture not theirs). They use the Celtic cross and the Saltire for nutjob fuckwit hate. The Cross of Iona is a…

Whatever makes this girl content with her fate, it should be done for her sake. However the people making promises about cryogenic technology are poor form and charging that much money for stuff that is unproven and full of hope and fingers crossed is kinda dubious. The people doing the transport end in the UK are…

She was in a ton of wonderful movies in the 70s and 80s. Thieves like Us is great and Shelley was always the best thing in a Robert Altman movie. And in Time Bandits. She was a scene stealer of the highest order.

A product that got protected status from the EU. Doh.

This is very much a Hollywood story line post Schindler’s List. It sells tickets. They all want to copy that movie and show Righteous Gentiles to make us feel better. Same for the Handsome Nazi trope. But there are many good non-English language films that show more balance and active resistance and Jewish agency. …

That’s why you don’t hear France fight the “surrender monkey” stereotype.

I was thinking the same. It has become a cliche and one associated with our current era.

I said upthread NW is now a 90 min BBC film just broadcast this week and well worth your time.

BBC recently made NW into a drama and it was really good. And it has OT Fagbenle in it who is a great actor and dreamboat.

They are all blowing Vladimir. All of them. He has the money and the time. Forget cold war - we now have a cozy war.

I thought of Neverwhere too. Great book.

No probs. :) Several of my family have Irish names with fadas (those wee lines indicating pronunciation of vowel) so ... helping hand there. Also, this guy is a rising star so you will probably see more of him in the years to come.

I wonder if a person dies from a preventable diseases caught from an unvaccinated child, could the parents sue those parents for endangerment? People sue over drink driving and passive smoking. Just curious more than anything.