Apparently we now have a shortage of working royals https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/09/house-of-windsor-soft-regency-king-charles-prince-william There seems to be no shortage of chinless hangers-on at every fancy event where they can get free food but apparently no one is available when it comes to rolling your sleeves up for some serious royal waving. I assume the other royals won't get paid if they don't bother turning up for work? I hope Harry is milking this for all it's worth.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
We ordered two new kitchen chairs from a high end department store in town (Tottenham Ct Rd) there was a sale on and my OH had been looking for ages for replacements of our existing chairs. They arrived today, the finish on one of them is quite poor, there's a nasty crease in the leather on the back and some of the seams are twisted and puckered. After two phone calls to get correct department, I have now had to send an email with photos attached and they will "look into it". Again - does anyone do anything properly anymore?
Whilst I feel sorry for Charles as I do for anyone else with serious health conditions, I'm fed up with hearing about it and seeing every wretched "royal" event past and present endlessly rolled out in the media. I've long lost track of the numerous Princes, Princesses and Dukes that make up "The Royal Family". I've no doubt that some do good works but they are just people after all ( albeit extremely privileged ) and time to recognise them as such.
Princess Anne very wisely kept her children out of the titles system so they could live non-Royal private lives but still be part of the family. Andrew and his children are widely despised or disliked and no-one is going to want them as patrons or official visiters and openers. That leaves Edward and Sophie who seem to be OK but silly Charles did not elevate their children to titles which would allow them to be part of the "royal purse" and functions.
Harry has deliberately withdrawn himself but still wants the titles and priveleges and income. Doh!
That leaves William and Catherine and no-one to pick up the slack while Catherine is invalid. Time for a re-think on both personnel and commitments?
Having royal patronage does wonders for charities from income to visibility. I've often wondered why it's children get the NSPCC whilst animals get RSPCA and plants and gardens get RHS. Something else to think on.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I also feel sorry for Charles, and wish him a speedy recovery.
But, I can't help thinking about all the poor souls who've been told they have cancer and are waiting many weeks, and even months, to start treatment. Their outcomes may well be less favourable than they could have been.
Our waiting times in Scotland, for many specialties is hellish, and whilst we may have treatment "targets" for cancer they are not worth the paper they are written on.
Rant over .... Bee x
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
I have qualms with that fact. A honey bee worker can hold 40mg of nectar in its crop and it takes about an hour to fill the crop given a decent source of flowers. Nectar is about 80% water and honey is less than 18% water so assuming a 60% loss of volume during processing, the bee brings back 16mg of 'honey' per hour. 1/12 of a teaspoon is 416mg so a bee produces that much honey in 26 trips. Even assuming short working days of 4 hours the bee can make that 1/12 of a teaspoon in a week. I assume the bee consumes honey as it grows from larva to active nectar gatherer so some compensation is probably made for the loss there. Worker bees also don't spend all their life gathering nectar as they start off doing maintenance work in the hive so they might only spend 2-3 weeks on flower duty before retirement.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Royal patronage for various charities undoubtedly helps as does any Celebrity (?) doing exactly the same. I wouldn't dispute that - it's the reasoning behind it which baffles me in this day and age. If we have to persist with a monarchy then why not just King, Queen and an heir/heiress ? If something occurs - death, abdication or WHY, then at the rate the Royals produce, it seems unlikely that there will be no one available to take over. Whether they would prove suitable or not is another matter - the current bunch of possibles are hardly inspiring IMO.
Charles was actively working to reduce the number of 'royals' on the payroll long before he became King. Lots of entitled noses have been put well an truly out of joint in the past few years.
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They arrived today, the finish on one of them is quite poor, there's a nasty crease in the leather on the back and some of the seams are twisted and puckered. After two phone calls to get correct department, I have now had to send an email with photos attached and they will "look into it".
Again - does anyone do anything properly anymore?
I've long lost track of the numerous Princes, Princesses and Dukes that make up "The Royal Family". I've no doubt that some do good works but they are just people after all ( albeit extremely privileged ) and time to recognise them as such.
Harry has deliberately withdrawn himself but still wants the titles and priveleges and income. Doh!
That leaves William and Catherine and no-one to pick up the slack while Catherine is invalid. Time for a re-think on both personnel and commitments?
Having royal patronage does wonders for charities from income to visibility. I've often wondered why it's children get the NSPCC whilst animals get RSPCA and plants and gardens get RHS. Something else to think on.
But, I can't help thinking about all the poor souls who've been told they have cancer and are waiting many weeks, and even months, to start treatment.
Their outcomes may well be less favourable than they could have been.
Our waiting times in Scotland, for many specialties is hellish, and whilst we may have treatment "targets" for cancer they are not worth the paper they are written on.
Rant over .... Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
If we have to persist with a monarchy then why not just King, Queen and an heir/heiress ? If something occurs - death, abdication or WHY, then at the rate the Royals produce, it seems unlikely that there will be no one available to take over. Whether they would prove suitable or not is another matter - the current bunch of possibles are hardly inspiring IMO.