UK commentator Jonathan Pie gives a proper “Ta ta!” to Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jonathan Pie website
________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-zFH
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
The United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, commemorating 70 years on the throne. The Sex Pistols are observing this milestone by re-releasing their 1977 hit record “God Bless the Queen,” originally released on Liz’s 25-year Silver Jubilee. Back then the disk blew up the charts despite being banned from the nation’s radio airwaves.
The Pistols aren’t the only platinum profiteers. Brits are buying over $350 million in Jubilee merch and memorabilia. Add that to the unknown millions in public funds spent on 3,517 public events and the cost of lost labor during the two-day national holiday, you’re talking heavy pound sterling poundage.
More:
“Sex Pistols aim to give queen’s jubilee a touch of punk,” Jill Lawless, Associated Press
“Brits to celebrate Queen’s Jubilee by spending millions on royal memorabilia,” Joanna York, France 24
_______________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-z7a
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
“How the British royal family makes money,” a Vox video explainer by Laura Bult.
______________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-uyu
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
After an ill-advised referendum last Thursday, British citizens woke up horrified to learn they had voted to exit from the European Union. United Kingdom politicians are hemming, hawing, stalling for time, and even calling for a do-over vote. EU members aren’t having it. Their message to the UK: Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.
It’s going to be a messy divorce, really ugly. Expect a custody battle over Scotland, Gibraltar, and Northern Ireland. And the UK can forget about being a Norwegian-style “friend with benefits.”
More (NSFW):
October 31, 1951: the Zebra Crossing first comes to the aid of pedestrians. As mandated by British law, a new kind of road marking appears in Slough, Berks., white stripes painted on black tarmac from curb to curb perpendicular to the flow of traffic. Labor Party MP (later Prime Minister) James Callaghan commented on the resemblance to the striped African equine, and the name stuck. Someone else named the Panda Car.
Today the Zebra Crossing is found around the world, but the most famous one is only about 25 miles from the first one. It’s on Abbey Road in London.
“Sixty Years of the Zebra Crossing,” Nicola Bowerbank, Britannica Blog
Abbey Road crossing live webcam
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-bon
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Queen Elizabeth II left a pair of her underdrawers on a private plane in 1968, and they’re being auctioned off to the highest bidder. A pair of Queen Victoria’s panties fetched $9,000 in a recent auction, and these royal bloomers are expected to fetch a similar price. Prospective bidders should keep on eye on Hanson’s, the Derbyshire auctioneers.
We think “The Queen’s Knickers” would be a super name for a pub or a jolly good title for a sequel to the film “The King’s Speech.”
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
At first we thought McDonald’s had opened a UK franchise of famed Hamburger University. The Oak Brook, Illinois campus flips out 5,000 students a year (over 80,000 served), but doesn’t have much of a football team.
Britain’s Manchester Metropolitan University has it’s own McDonald’s degree program, though. The university’s Business School also runs degree programs for Tesco supermarkets and Booth’s. The latter is either for Booth’s supermarkets or Booth’s Gin.
Attention U.S. exchange students: “Chips” means “fries” in Blighty, “chips” are “crisps,” and the drive-thru window is on the wrong side of the building. Start studying now.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Druidism has been recognized as a religion by the government of the United Kingdom. More specifically, the Druid Network organization has been recognized as legitimate and tax-exempt by The Charity Commission for England and Wales. Initial news accounts suggested a historical continuity of some kind between ancient religious practices and modern druid groups. The Charity Commission ruling doesn’t validate this preposterous claim, since brand-new faith groups may be ruled tax-exempt if they do not harm the public and conduct their financial affairs appropriately.
A study has found that 25 percent of British lap dancers have a college degree. The research by Dr Teela Sanders of the University of Leeds and Kate Hardy of Queen Mary College, University of London, is sumarized here. The BBC-TV discussion of the findings by Dr. Belinda Brooks-Gordon and a lap dance club owner (above) is more entertaining, though.
NotionsCapital 