(OT) The Monarchy!

Edit: talking of old laws. There is one still on the books over here that it is legal for a husband to beat his wife with a stick so long as the stick is below a certain size (can't remember what). I'm saying no more about that one ...

Edit of Edit: Don't know what happened there this was supposed to be an edit to previous post!

 

Bloody good job too I'd hate to have to set the Royalist hordes on you and I agree and to quote Mr Clarkson "We were brought up on drizzle and dripping but we still had the greatest empire in the world"

Must remind the missus of that one. Regularly.

 

I agree with the bits in bold.

Also, doesn't America have the highest incest % in the world? Or was that just bullshit I've heard?

 

We've got one where if Guernsey fishermen are near Elizabeth Castle then we're allowed to shoot at them so long as it's with a crossbow, and we can only shoot from land.

 

I'm leaving in fear of this. I'm imagining a small army of voles and field mice led by a particularly vicious rabbit all kitted out in Lord Alfie's livery charging at me armed with swords woven from grass!

 

You underestimate my armies sir, they have pikes of celery stalks and shields of milk bottle tops!

 

A sensible law from a happier time!

So if I was stood on the rocks by the castle fishing, wearing a Gsy football top somebody could murder me with a crossbow and get away with it. The scriptwriters for Bergerac missed a trick there didn't they!?

 

Noooo not celery! That stuff is like krytonite to me. The most evil substance in existence ... period!

 

Krytonite?

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So we're all agreed then? The queen is actually a lizard from outer space wearing human skin and Downing Street is in fact a childrens television show starring a large bird, a woolly mammoth and a vampire who likes numbers.

 

speaking of useless pricks, the Irish President must be on list for useless bellends.

Higgins hasnt done ANYTHING since becoming president of Ireland, the only thing I heard about him was celebrating christmas in Lenster House...

 

Ah the fun that can arise from typos!

 

Sounds plausible to me. I'll agree with that!

 

As a foreign born naturalised citizen, my view is that the Royal Family is absolutely fantastic value for money. Their diplomatic and PR value is frankly unique. I don't think there's anyone else in the world that sends the White House into a tizzy like a visit from Liz. Even a second or thrid string royal like Prince Harry can get New York or LA all excited just by dropping by for a week or so. Having the senior order of chibalry and the head of the Commonwealth as peermanent residents increases the UK's stature in the world more than I think you appreciate.

Take just one measurable example: the creation of spectacle.

The Olympics are generally regarded as worthwhile. Countries compete fiercely to hol them. The Olympics last 18 days and get about 4 billion TV viewers, or about 225 million per day. The curretn lot are going to cost £9.2 Billion, or £500 million a day. Having a national event watched all over the world is, therefore, generally regarded as a good dela at £500 million a day.

The Royal Wedding pulled in about 300 - 500 million viewers. That would give it a natioanl prestige/spectacle value of at least a day of the Olympics, and at least an equivalent number of tourists in town for the big show. It alone had a value of at least £500 million.

£500 million would pay for the entire Royal Family for between 4 and 11 years, depending on whose estimate you use.

Basically, even if the did nothing but get married every now and again, they'd pull their weight. In fat, they do a largish amount of pointless waiving and ribbon cutting. Every country in the world has people who are paid for opening hospital wings, visiting the troops, looking solemn at official occasions, etc. None of them are cheap. Noe of them has a hundredth of the glamour of the Monarchy.

Hate them because they're toffs if you like, but they're a valuable national resource.

Oh, and the Monarchy agreed 3 centuries ago only to exeercise their powers on the advice of their ministers - - that is to say, have relinquished all power to the government of the day