Republicanism

Life is so topsy turvy IMHO!

Thanks nanaej. Here's an extract:

The accounts do not show the cost of security for the Royal Family.

Also, a change was made last year to the way the Queen's expenditure is calculated, ahead of an overhaul of the financing of the Royal Family coming into effect from 2013.

The campaign group Republic, which calls for an elected head of state, estimates that the total cost of the monarchy is £202.4m, which breaks down to £12.7m on each of the 16 working royals. (that's each year!)

Even based on Buckingham Palace's figures, Republic says that taxpayers are spending five times as much on each member of the Royal Family than on a front-line soldier in Afghanistan.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18673692

ABSENTGRANA , Not sure myself do you think maybe I"d a small "tipple" anyway nice to be welcomed back I would do the actual emoticon but it seems to have gone a bit haywire

Not sure which of Annobel's postings you agree with, but it's nice to see you back Nonu.

Back again after a nice long holiday , I have to say I agree with ANNOBEL [sweet smile, as soo relaxed]

Faye that is so interesting. I've got to look at that in more detail later on.

So funny too in it's way!

Thank you Bags, I don't remember that from the days when I watched Bagpuss with the boys. They'd have loved filling in the missing words.

I love Bagpuss.

From Bagpuss:

The Bony King of Nowhere

Love that song

The rightful King of England lives in Australia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Abney-Hastings,_14th_Earl_of_Loudoun

Apparently he doesn't want the job!

Or, Greatnan, whether she really wants to shake the hand of Martin McGuinness - albeit behind closed doors?

It would be nice if the queen could trace her ancestry in an unbroken line back to William I, but in fact there have been some very dodgy successful claimants. We might say she has her job because some of her fairly distant ancestors were more ruthless, cunning or rich than the opposition.
I have always understood that the prime purpose of an inherited Head of State is to prevent politicians using the armed forces or police improperly.
I wonder what she thought about the invasion of Iraq.

Though tyrants mock and martyrs sneer...

green

Ariadne!

Digressions 'r' us - and I think this was my fault. (rousing chorus of "The Red Flag".

When we were on holiday in Austria we took a coach trip that went through a single track tunnel a couple of miles long with traffic lights at either end. A hundred yards in, a little car appeared round a bend from the other direction - he had risked jumping the lights. The coach driver did not give way, neither did the three coaches behind us. The little car had to reverse back all the way he had come, with four coaches bearing down on him. Don't think he would jump the lights again.

jings, yes, the wee Fiat was fine! I think its driver perhaps thought he'd been having a nightmare (Grimm's-style), though! I'd been quite frightened, because the back of the bus was hanging over the edge of the track as it slowly took the bends. My imagination is always rather wild, and I had visions of being eaten by a bear, it bursting in through the shattered windows after we had tumbled over the edge of the track ! When we finally got to the inn where we were to be staying, it didn't help to see photos on the wall of the owner of the hotel standing over a bear which he had shot in the forest.... Actually, I didn't take much to the owner of the hotel after that, anyway.....

You can always stick an e after the letter that has an umlaut.it does the same job.

Sorry, couldn't find the umlaut for the 'o' in Gottingen

Over 50 years ago, I went with a group of students to visit our equivalents at Gottingen University and we had a fine time! Enjoyed a visit to the local brewery where I acquired a taste for beer. Visit to Wolfsburg where they made VW Beetles - I acquired a liking for them too! And the woods around Hamelin - very evocative of Grimms' Tales - the brothers were profs at Gottingen. We went to have a look at the Iron Curtain - a wide ploughed strip as far as the eye could see, and on all the way to the coast - with watch towers at regular intervals. We could almost see the whites of the armed guards' eyes. And we picked ripe cherries from the trees growing within sight of the Soviet bloc. The countryside was beautiful and peaceful - such a shame about that scar running through it, now just a memory.

Haven't been back to Germany since DFiL died there many years ago. (Army again, but he stayed on with his German partner)

We were due to go to a reunion in Reichenhalle last month, but couldn't make it, so must ho back soon, after easing these posts!

greenmoss What happened?!

Was the little fiat alright?

I have only visited a tiny part of Germany but liked what i saw.. only know a few German people..and they are lovely! Wnt to see Democracy last night at the Old Vic..very interesting piece about an aspect of recent German history.