Yep, been in law since 1986
I don’t think you can blame the Queen for that. Yes the commonwealth was/is a bad thing born out of Victoria’s attempts to keep colonial rule. It was the commonwealth that opposed apartheid in S Africa but the govt (Thatcher) who blocked/opposed sanctions against them in the 80’s.
The Queen has played a largely neutral role as Commonwealth Head, staying out of its major crises. However, she reportedly feared a Commonwealth split if tougher measures were not taken against apartheid-era South Africa
She was (symbolic) head of state for Govts that caused ludicrous amounts of pain and suffering but if you want to blame her for that go nuts.
The monarchy has changed and is nothing more than a tourist attraction.
Not, I would guess, for most UK nationals though. So anyone who turns up at a mourning event or a funeral intent on protest must know they’re going to cause a lot of upset.
It’s different in many ways, I accept, but offending mourners at a funeral smells a bit like yelling at a politician’s children on their way to school. The politician might be doing bad things and protest might well be justified, but there’s a time and place for everything and that isn’t it.
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They haven’t changed that much, and they are very careful to preserve their position. And tbh I’m not sure that many tourists actually expect to see the Queen, they come to see the buildings!
The royal family has intervened in laws, often before they are seen by parliament, and had them changed their favour. They are far from benign.
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I am standing in Victoria station.
Hundreds of people milling through carrying bouquets of flowers, presumably on their way to Buckingham Palace.
A team of florists is currently constructing what is basically an emergency bouquet shop on the concourse. M&S doing a roaring trade too.
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This.
It’s the past, we can’t go back, we can’t make it right for those who suffered (which BTW included the overwhelming majority of our own population). We need to park the Colonial Guilt: everyone responsible, and everyone who suffered is very very dead. It would be better for both sides to move-on: portraying modern societies as victims just gives indigenous politicians get-out clauses for their own corruption and viciousness. Exhibit A: Mugabe.
Constantly forgotten. There are terrible evils in this world, but (small-‘r’) republicans are desperately tilting at windmills, playing to the shoulder-chip gallery with a queen-sized Dead Cat…
Gonna need some reasonably recent evidence for this statement.
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It’s the flower stuff I don’t get. There could have been a message from The Firm asking people not to buy flowers but donate to a charity instead
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It grinds my gears. Millions of pounds just left to rot.
Buy something to an equivalent value and donate it to your local food bank.
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Carved this out into it’s own thread as it’s fuck all to do with obituaries.
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It’s evolved in modern society, and it feels a lot like a statement which puts the spotlight on the flower-bearer, not the deceased - though I guess that’s what all mourning is: the dead are dead, and indifferent to our actions.
I would love to see Penance and Dom there booking everyone for flytipping mind 
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#stench of burning martyr wafts from the screen#
Someone sick and tired of living in a fascist police state, where you can get arrested for holding up a blank piece of fucking paper. Jeez.
The police are just storm troopers these days.
When it happened in Russia did you call the protesters “entitled”? Explain how this is different?
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1503819068612112387?s=46&t=rM9YTFaAYgqOGtkRKAT94Q
The police have some deliberately vague laws to enforce, and are in a very difficult place IMO. They’re not going to get it right every time, and will always be lambasted when they get it wrong.
Also they’re real people, so there will be some that are tolerant and considerate, and some that are actual evil fascists.
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Unreal
Charged for heckling
Nothing for noncing
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Maybe cheers the flower-bearer up a bit too.
The tradition of ‘wasting’ money on someone who doesn’t need it, rather than giving it to the poor goes back at least as far as Mark 14:3-9.
Why not have a ride along with your local force, then you can see the error in your statement.
Or just continue being wrong.
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Ermm, he wasn’t arrested.
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