Apparently Prince Harry will appear on the BBC's The One Show tonight in a filmed segment, talking to the families of World War II survivors who suffered burns in battle. (You'll be able to see it here shortly after broadcast, which begins at 1900 British time, or 2100 Eastern European Time, which is the time on this blog).
He's a little late for VE Day, but better late than never, I suppose.
The suspense is terrific. Will he be filming from his laundry room again? Or will he sit in the beige chair beside the generic houseplant?
Meanwhile, Lifetime has announced its third Harry & Meghan movie, tenatively titled "Harry and Meghan: Escaping the Palace."
Which one are you looking forward to most?
Comments
It’s an ignominious ending for the trust, but at least it saves recipients the headache of how to react when they receive a donation from the world’s worst person. According to Prince Andrew’s Web site, the trust was never all that clearly defined anyway. It existed to help “bodies where The Duke has a particular link or interest.” There is a very good chance that we’re all thinking of the same joke here.
More is also becoming clear on the unconventional method through which Andrew paid for his fur-draped Verbier chalet. To raise funds for the property, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson apparently took out a mortgage for much less than the chalet was worth, with the promise that the remainder would be paid off as a deferred lump sum—with interest—in December. When that payment failed to transpire, presumably owing to the utter cratering of Andrew’s reputation as a human being, the vendor summoned her lawyers.
Things are looking only slightly better for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are learning that privacy in L.A. is harder to come by than a Botox-free forehead. Their $18 million refuge, owned by Tyler Perry, must have seemed like the height of seclusion when they moved in, but now that Los Angeles County has reopened the Beverly Drive–Franklin Canyon Connector hiking trail, the Daily Mail reports that they have realized that strangers can now wander all the way up to the edge of their property and gawk right in. If the screens that the couple erected in a hurry last weekend are any indication, this is going to be a bumpy transition for them. You’d expect more from a property with a monthly rental cost said to be $240,000.
But then again, privacy might not necessarily be their goal here. After Meghan shared footage of their son, Archie, on Save the Children’s Instagram page, Harry has followed suit by indiscriminately Zooming his little socks off. In the last week or so he has made videos for the BBC’s early-evening magazine program, The One Show; for the Invictus Games; for the youth charity OnSide; and for Thomas the Tank Engine’s 75th anniversary. Indeed, now that the Queen has effectively been forced into quarantine for the foreseeable future, there’s a good argument for calling Harry the highest-profile royal of the day. That’s some doing, considering that he isn’t even royal anymore.
And his wife might not be too far behind. Little by little, the Sussexes are amassing an almighty team in their quest to make a dent in a world that has bigger things on its mind. Their latest recruit is said to be Rebecca Mostow, an adviser who has previously worked for Seal, the Beckhams, and Prince. With such a powerful squad attached, Meghan should rocket to the Hollywood A-list once the world starts to take its first steps back toward normality. But first she is determined to tell her side of the story.
Meghan is said by the Daily Mail to want to bring the publication of the couple’s authorized biography, Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, forward from August, so desperate is she to “shatter this image of being a demanding diva who was rude to royal staffers and others on her quest for fame and power.” If the book doesn’t achieve that, maybe she’ll try publishing her diaries. This week it was revealed that Meghan kept a chronicle of her innermost thoughts during her time in the U.K. that could eventually form the basis of a tell-all memoir.
But if that doesn’t work, and the roles that Meghan expects don’t show up, at least there is some good news. Lifetime, which has made such classics as Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance and Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal, has announced that it is making a third film, entitled Harry and Meghan: Escaping the Palace. If Meghan knuckles down and really does the work, there is a fighting chance that she might make the short list to play herself.
Speaking of so-called friends, the DM has added a new article re how Adele is giving them pointers about living in LA. But love the first line in the article, "Adele, 32, has allegedly become friends with Prince Harry and Meghan..."
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6740878/prince-harry-raf-pilot-apache-helicopters-prince-william-sea-king-pilot/
^^^ Haps said he shot at the enemy. How often, how many times(?), but I believe him on this. He was a "co-pilot gunner" --- This must mean he sits next to the Apache pilot. He operates all 3-4 machine guns remotely via looking at LED screens next to him. With some hi-tech assists on this. He is also trained to take over as pilot if the Apache pilot gets injured.
Anyways, it is a long way down from this to becoming so needy and vulnerable that the likes of MM can hook into you, a Prince of the Realm.
Don't worry about the odd typo etc, that's happened to me and others too, I'm sure everybody understands.
I've seen several websites that mention that Harry is an Apache helicopter commander - not sure what that is, though. Here is a BBC link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23200552
The link is to another Tumblr blog. Scrolling down to find this in Skippys archives would take forever, so I was happy to see this today.
Look for "London PR Anon" after accessing the blog.
https://side-show-markle.tumblr.com
The Harkles are completely suited to the fake simple aesthetic Marie Antoinette went for, that was just as expensive as 'royal' life and completely unrealistic. Think of Harry (and William's) desire to be 'normal' which bears no resemblance to the normality lived by the majority.
Even better, Marie Antoinette had a rather silly friend who encouraged her worst side, the princesse de Lamballe, who met a gruesome end in the revolution. The only trouble is Meghan has more than one of that kind of friend and it's tough to choose from the lineup.
Thank you for the Air Mail article! Cutting and pasting is tedious when the posts are limited by the number of characters, so we really appreciate the effort.
I Particularly liked:
According to Prince Andrew’s Web site, the trust was never all that clearly defined anyway. It existed to help “bodies where The Duke has a particular link or interest.” There is a very good chance that we’re all thinking of the same joke here.
And the references to Andrew as "the worlds worst person".
All these stories on Andrew from 20 yrs ago. don't care unless he was molesting 13/14 yr olds. And i don't think he was. those 17 yr old girls were in the employ of Epstein for yrs. Were they coerced or groomed? I'd say yes, but they weren't exactly screaming rape during those years with Epstein.
Okay - done with Randy Andy.
I knew If he read that somewhere before! Lol!
And it's easier to read as well!
Thanks!
Sheesh
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1283268/meghan-markle-prince-harry-frogmore-cottage-cost-pay-back-royal-news-meghan-markle-news
Still, that's £18K a month. That's 62% of the average UK yearly salary (which I've just looked up).
The thing is, who is actually paying it? Will we ever be sure? It's a lot for PC to cover from personal funds that are not audited and reported for public record. Do we think it's the Harkles paying?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8326801/at-harry-meghan-paying-frogmore.html
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1283268/meghan-markle-prince-harry-frogmore-cottage-cost-pay-back-royal-news-meghan-markle-news
M$H paying £18K a month into their Froggy redemption fund is amazing. I have always predicted they would pay back nothing. This says to me they plan to be back in the UK for extended times. First to flog the Megsy as ghostwriter Omid book. Then for more visits to plague the BRF and to make their case for their half in/half out existence. For Charles to keep sending that sweet Duchy money.
These visits to the old sod will bolster their Royale Cred (such that it is) in Hollywood. When they visit Queenie she must insist on a Covid test for the two blighters.
I can't think of any other reason why they would start paying now, apart from maybe Lady Colin Campbell's book. Meghan seems visibly agitated by that already since she's trying to get the other book out first. Frogmore is the running sore. The thing that bothers even those who show no interest in the royals. She'd have to deal with it fast if Lady C's book turns out to be dynamite.
It looks like they have upped their rent amount to start paying the renovation costs. So the difference between rent and what they actually pay is what will go towards the repayment. I think I remember them agreeing to pay rent on Frogmore going forward? Wow, that is a ton of money for a home they will probably never use. I heard they stayed at the Goring Hotel when home for their final engagements. I'm sure they prefer a central London address when home briefly.
I wonder why they are trying so hard to hang on to that property. Taxes? UK residency? That is a lot to spend for a couple not bringing in any money. I guess theatrical could be another lie. Oops, PR "slant"
Charles must be paying for it. Of course, money is no object when it's someone elses. At least this is going to a good cause.
It must be worth their while to hold onto the property for Harry (although Megsy probably thinks she can return triumphant and conquer the London scene). There is probably no one in the UK who has a luxurious property to offer them to squat in for however long they want if they do want to return to the UK (I assume that Harry on his own would be welcome to stay at St James, Buckingham Palace or Clarence House for a short visit).
Think of the impact to the Duchy of Cornwall's income, with Covid-19 causing multiple bankruptcies and mass unemployment. I know that's different to PC's private income, but being hammered in one budget may put strain on the other. PC was also cleaned out by Diana so he started from zero again. Over 20 years ago but still worth remembering. His resources ARE finite.
Good points! They do seem to have some weird master plan regarding the UK and the half in/out plan they can't seem to let go of. I hope nobody caves on that, but Charles seems pretty weak where they are concerned.
And the upcoming books, of course. Ava is right, Frogmore is a running sore.
It's so easy to see how these two manipulated their parents. The pattern is so obvious. First, try to wheedle what you want, then throw a fit shouting "it's not fair". Next don't speak to parent and finally, try to fool parent by pretending to be the best kid in the family and making half-assed attempts at behaving until you get what you want. Then revert to normal behavior.
Oooh some good thoughts Ava and KCM1212 about repayment.
I'm wondering about the tax implications of all of this (UK and USA). At least repayment for FC would put a dent in the ability to buy a USA property. Maybe a return to the UK is ... real?
Meghan Markle thought she was quoting Eleanor Roosevelt in her 1999 high school year book with the feminist declaration: ‘Women are like teabags; they don’t realise how strong they are until they’re in hot water.’
So the Duchess of Sussex might be upset to discover the quote has been attributed to a Right-wing, anti-feminist campaigner.
A new TV series, Mrs America, claims that the line is actually attributed to Phyllis Schlafly, a Republican who backed Donald Trump before her death in 2016.
Not exactly the right image for ‘woke’ Meg…
New dad Skippy jumps for joy
Congratulations to Prince Harry’s former wingman Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip and his wife Lara, who have welcomed their first son, Albert, into the world. The happy parents and their newborn live in Washington DC, but I don’t suppose they will be jetting to the other side of the United States to see Harry, Meghan and their son Archie in Los Angeles any time soon.
Harry and Meghan attended the Inskips’ wedding in Jamaica but were later accused of hijacking the event and stealing the bride’s thunder. Although Tom and Lara attended the Sussexes wedding ceremony at Windsor, they were left off the guest list for the main reception at Frogmore House. Perhaps Skippy might offer an olive branch to his old chum and ask him to become one of Albert’s godparents?
My lips are sealed, but…
Which aristocrat with impeccable Royal connections has been sharing insider knowledge of the Megxit crisis to Lady Colin Campbell for her new book, Meghan And Harry: The Real Story?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8326873/TALK-TOWN-Meghan-Markle-quoted-Trump-supporter.html
This may be worthy of a new thread. The Harkles - apparently - have started to pay their Frogmore bill but it will take them more than 11 years if the first payment is what we are going by.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1283268/meghan-markle-prince-harry-frogmore-cottage-cost-pay-back-royal-news-meghan-markle-news
Still, that's £18K a month. That's 62% of the average UK yearly salary (which I've just looked up).
The thing is, who is actually paying it? Will we ever be sure? It's a lot for PC to cover from personal funds that are not audited and reported for public record. Do we think it's the Harkles paying?
That's marital shared debt I'd say....
The Phyllis Schafley piece is hilarious!
And I'm very curious regarding the insider who spoke to Lady C.
M probably used it because her old "soap commercial" pal HRC mistakenly attributed it to Eleanor Roosevelt.
But if it had come from Phyllis Schlafly, the fact PS supported Trump at the end of her life is the least of her positions that would disturb M (at least as far as she currently chooses to present herself.)
@Yankee Doodle: I agree! We laugh here about his next wife, but really, he had every chance in the world to meet and marry someone else. What was missing?
Hahaha! They are not mutually exclusive! Imagine how much hard work either of these two twats must be individually. Then imagine how exhausting the dynamic light-shining, voice-giving, modernising, speaking your truth, [insert latest bullshit here]
They're just so embarrassing.
So true!
Can you imagine them at a State Dinner? One of them would grab the conversation (my money is on Megs) and not let go until she is dragged, still talking, hands waving, out the door.
A captive crowd is their idea of paradise.
Here is a link to the list I use:
http://mason.gmu.edu/~kshiffl4/375/module5-2.html
The last entry on the table shows the format for a hyperlink.
Told ya' so! Megs is still on a personal U.S. passport! I guess the BRF is letting things slowly leak out (e.g., this passport detail, their being allowed to pay back the Frogmore renovations little by little) instead of unleashing a flood. A flood would have been more exciting. Oh well.
I'm fairly sure a podium - BIG BIG podium, pregnant (embryonic) along with the Telenovella long gazes, the sympathetic gesticulating, and the odd ingenue gasp, was the actual plan.
They just want to stand on a stage and speak AT people! And get paid. They"re awful!
That's how stupid these two mental midgets think everyone is, and how utterly delusional they really are.
They blow my mind! They could literally just STFU. They just can't. So embarrassing.
@Sandie
The Phyllis Schafley piece is hilarious!
And I'm very curious regarding the insider who spoke to Lady C.
I was hoping we could put our heads together and work out who that well-connected source is. My sense is that it is a connection of Charles, perhaps because when the War of the Wales was at its height it was connections of Charles (strong, lifelong connections from the aristocracy, but not royalty) who spoke up for him. But maybe it is a William connection.
Both Joe and his guest live in LA and have show business connections. You can tell how people feel about Harkles in LA.
https://youtu.be/2LQFV0ct3X8
Frogmore repayments finally - a much needed update.
Any update on how much and who is paying for RPOs? Their monthly security must be much more than £18,000. Transparency in their security costs would be most interesting.
Here are some excerpts from articles in The Sun and Daily Mail dated December 2018:
Pals fear the royal author has set the Duchess of Sussex in her sights for a muck-raking book after she grew close to Meghan's outspoken nephew Tyler Dooley.
She said: "I am writing a new book but I am not prepared to discuss what it is about yet.
"The thing about Meghan Markle is that it is a developing story. There is a lot more about her to come out yet."
Lady Colin met Tyler - the son of her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr and Tracy Dooley - while filming an MTV show.
She said: "I have talked to Tyler about Meghan and he doesn't want to trash her, but there is a good story to be had about Tyler and his connection to Meghan.
He also revealed how his family had been "torn apart" by Meghan's relationship with Prince Harry.
"I have got my sources, but through Tyler I found out that the dynamics of the Markle family are absolutely fascinating. Yes, far more than what's been revealed so far."
Indeed, Lady Colin has even been for a couple of nights out on the town with Dooley. 'We met through my sons and the MTV show The Royal World and hit it off straight away,' says Jamaica-born Lady Colin, who is divorced from Lord Colin Campbell, son of the 11th Duke of Argyll. 'He's a very nice boy.'
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7967584/meghan-markle-target-book-lady-colin-campbell-princess-diana/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6490297/Royal-author-Lady-Colin-Campbell-making-Meghan-target.html
A more recent article from this May adds an additional tidbit about the Dooley/Markle family connection:
She (Colin-Campbell) tells me: ‘It’s called Meghan And Harry: The Real Story. There are plenty of revelations. I’ve had members of the Markle family to stay, but I’m not saying anything until closer to the book launch.’
I wonder if Thomas Markle Sr and Samantha have participated in Lady C's book? She says she has not only befriended Tyler, but has also had the Markles at her home. This is all very interesting but I hope she has a lot of other sources for the book as well. I'm really curious to see if any of the bigger rumors are addressed and to find out how the pregnancy, childbirth, Archie story will be handled.
I don’t think she is out to trash Meghan, but just to set the facts, the TRUTH straight!!!!!!
You might be right and I wasn't sure about RPOs vs Private security. Canada picked up the bill during their stint there but wasn't sure about America. They supposedly have been in America for a month but who knows?
We have another 6 months or so until their year review , so as you mentioned Charles' is most likely footing the bill.
Another SS(?) Client ? U.S. born Viscountess Julie Montagu is saying that MM has "Americanised" Harry. Lol, that was quick.
I recently watched The Palace (1993) on Amazon US. It's a soapy fairy tale about two royal brothers in line to the throne. The oldest is the more stable one, who becomes king in his mid-20s. His younger brother is a drunken playboy who says he wants no part of being a king. It comes with too many responsibilities.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
The young new king has to protect his brother against people finding out about his drunken escapades.
A lot of it centers on the young king working with an outdated monarchy and the equally outdated place courtiers and prime minister. He's working toward a modernized monarchy.
A couple of times, it mentions a Lady C, whom one major character says is a spy, and at another time, someone says to not let Lady Campbell wander alone in BP or KP, or words to that effect. IIRC, they mention her books.
Much of the eight-part series centers around the household staff, both upstairs and downstairs, where the servants overhear just about everything that goes on within the palace. Many of those servants had been with the BRF for decades.
When the sister of the two princes wanted something secretive done (and against the king, as she felt she was the true person to ascend to the throne, but couldn't because of the laws at the time), she went to the young or new servants to get things done. So did the playboy prince, who was secretly jealous of the new king. Both flattered and bribed the servants, who eventually found out that they were being horribly used. Several left as disgruntled employees.
Could the insider source(s) for Lady CC's book be a disgruntled ex-servant or staff member (or a combination of both)?
I wondered why she keeps popping up with her syrupy take on Megsy, she’s been on a few (too many) royal documentaries and semi-documentaries about the royal family of late. ��
I don’t think my emojis show anymore, well I can’t see them. :(
That's interesting about Sophie Winkleman.
Another thought is Tom Inskip. Do you think he would talk? He was treated very poorly by Harry after he met MM. If anybody knew all of Harry's secrets, it would be Tom. Some have said that Tom knew of MM from her yachting days and may have introduced them. He never expected Harry to marry one of his yacht girls. Inskip was banished from Harry's life after he told to re-think the marriage. Inskip and his wife were invited to the wedding, but not to the reception.
Tom would have access to all of the palace insider info:
https://www.mamamia.com.au/prince-harry-tom-inskip/
Your emojis are showing up as question marks within black triangles.
@Lt. Uhura,
I loved that fact that, when I said I was old, you said I was an evergreen. Thanks! That's a wonderful thought.
To me too, and I no idea why they’ve started doing that. It’s such a great way to show the tone of what’s written. :/
And who would be his source for all the palace insider info? His connection to 'the palace' was Harry and that friendship was binned by Meghan. Tom could, however, provide information on the early days of the relationship between Meghan and Harry (how she was introduced to Harry's friends) and how her and Harry fell out with all his friends. But Tom would not have access to all of the palace (I assume you mean Kensington Palace) insider info ... the only info he would have would be what Harry told him or what he gained from interactions with Harry and Meghan. He would not have any information on Megxit at all because by the time that happened he had been ghosted by Harry and had been out in the cold for a while.
A lot of Harry's friends were at that wedding and it was probably the first time they met Meghan. When Meghan first moved in with Harry, she did get to go to dinner parties with his friends as his plus one. So, a number of Harry's friends who were then subsequently dumped by Harry may have talked, but they could not be the source of insider information about Megxit.
From the article I just posted:
"Tom Inskip’s father is Owen Inskip, a close friend of Prince Charles and the field-master of his favourite hunt, The Beaufort.
Skippy and his sister Victoria have known Prince Harry and Prince William since childhood."
I don't know who would be a confidante of Charles that he could have spoken to during Megxit, but the Tom Inskip-Charles connection via his father sounds to me like a likely source, and it could work both ways (Charles getting information on how Harry treated his old friends).
I keep honing in on Charles because I think he is more likely to confide in others than William.
What the BRF would not do is talk to Lady Colin Campbell directly or knowingly indirectly.
However, is there a connection between the Inskips and Lady Campbell?
Sunday Times article, copied and pasted by someone with access:
Palace dismisses book giving Harry and Meghan’s account of Megxit
Roya Nikkhah, Royal Correspondent
Sunday May 17 2020, 12.01am BST, The Sunday Times
The royal family wants to move on from the “soap opera” surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure from their official roles, according to senior palace sources.
Since their departure for a new life in Los Angeles without official duties, Harry and Meghan are said to have been looking forward to the publication of a book that claims to reveal their “true story”.
But when the tell-all biography charting the Sussexes’ decision to move to America is released this summer, the royal family will remain tight-lipped.
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family is understood to have been written with the Sussexes’ blessing. It is expected to give their version of events behind a reportedly strained relationship with the institution and a rumoured rift with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
A senior palace source said: “The rest of the royal family will not be telling their side of the story. They feel that in this new world, people are more interested in seeing the family support frontline workers than reading about their internal politics.
“It was a soap opera. Everyone knows the narrative that’s coming. The feeling is that drama and everything that comes with it has left. Let the rest of the royal family get on with it.”
Senior members of the royal family are understood to have been briefed about the book. Contrary to reports of “fears” over the “bombshell” biography, a royal source said: “It’s just not a hot topic of conversation in the family. They have had so many books written about them that have lobbed some hefty bombs over the sides. They’re used to it.”
Written by Omid Scobie, a former reporter for the American tabloid Us Weekly, and Carolyn Durand, a reporter for Elle magazine, the book will be published by HarperCollins on August 11.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said the couple were “relaxed” about the authors’ access to people “close to them” but denied they had actively assisted with the book.
“There has been no organising from our side in terms of who they have spoken to. It is not an official, authorised or endorsed book. The authors have not had interviews with the duke and duchess. We have asked to see a copy ahead of publication.”
Some previous royal biographies written with collaboration have not gone down well in royal circles. The Queen Mother said she was “deeply shocked” to discover that Diana, Princess of Wales had helped to “wash the dirty linen in public” by assisting Andrew Morton with his book, Diana: Her True Story, which detailed her struggles within the royal family and the breakdown of her marriage to the Prince of Wales.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were said to be dismayed by Prince Charles’s admission to Jonathan Dimbleby in his 1994 biography, that he had felt “emotionally estranged” from his parents for much of his life.
The biographer AN Wilson, who has written books on the Queen, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, said last week: “In a way, there is no mystery left. Meghan will tell us nothing we could not have made up for ourselves.”
PART ONE
'I don’t think anyone could have foreseen Harry and Meghan ‘divorcing’ themselves from the monarchy'
Two years ago this week Camilla Tominey was a reporter at Harry and Meghan's wedding. She reflects on the day and what has happened since.
THE day started unexpectedly early at 4.30am, when I was told I would have to have my hair and make-up done by NBC. Although Harry and Meghan’s wedding wasn’t due to start until noon, the American TV and news network had a cast of thousands that they needed to spruce up for the nuptials – myself included as their ‘royal expert’.
I was also working for the Sunday Express at the time, so I was feeling very stressed about how I was going to cover the wedding live on US television while simultaneously having to write reams of copy for the newspaper. William and Kate’s wedding had been much easier because it was on a Friday – but the Sussexes’ Saturday wedding was happening right on deadline. The only consolation was that NBC had bought me a fabulous Roland Mouret dress for the occasion, which they let me keep afterwards.
I had spent the run-up to the big day in Windsor soaking up the atmosphere. NBC had hired the whole of the Macdonald Hotel and built a set on the roof, which had a bird’s-eye view of St George’s Chapel so we could see everything. Everything appeared to be running smoothly until we heard that Meghan’s father had suffered a heart attack 48 hours before he was due to walk her down the aisle – so there was a lot to report before the wedding had even begun.
Everyone loves a wedding, but they especially love a royal wedding. It’s easy to forget amid all the column inches that have been filled since that sunny day, 19 May 2018, just how much goodwill there was behind the couple. Harry was the most popular royal after the Queen, and Meghan was seen as this bright new hope for the Royal family. I think people also really enjoyed Meghan’s African-American heritage being celebrated during the service with Bishop Michael Curry’s enthusiastic sermon.
One of the funniest aspects of covering any royal wedding is trying to work out what members of the family are saying to each other in the pews. Lip readers later revealed Harry’s opening words to Meghan, dressed in that stunning Givenchy gown, were: ‘You look amazing.’
It felt like a much more intimate ceremony than William and Kate’s at Westminster Abbey because Windsor is so much cosier than the capital. When the couple went on their carriage procession they were almost at touching distance, which was quite exciting. You couldn’t help but root for them.
When the newspaper went to press that night splashing a picture of the newly-weds kissing with the words, ‘So in love,’ I felt a sense of completeness because I was the one who broke the exclusive story of their relationship 18 months earlier.
I have no idea how I wrote all the wedding copy. I was live on US TV for four hours and then hit my laptop, knocking out about 3,000 words in two hours. To be fair, the stories wrote themselves.
On reflection, it’s sad to think that that was the last family occasion where Princes William and Harry seemed close. There was already distance between the brothers five months later, when Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank at the same location – and Meghan announced she was pregnant.
While some have suggested it was Meghan’s plan all along to move back to her native Los Angeles, I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the couple ‘divorcing’ themselves from the monarchy less than two years later. I think many people can sympathise with their decision to prioritise their immediate family – but unfortunately the way they have handled it has lacked the grace and finesse that we witnessed on that magical royal wedding day in Windsor.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle: Why LA hasn't been the happy ending the royal craved
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfmc_id=6objectid=12332525
Complete with woebegone bedraggled Harry photo. If she IS making him less ginger in an LA makeover, it only serves as a literal sign that she is leaching the life out of him. Not that I could give a snap of my fingers for him.
I loved the last line in this Express extract below. It's calm but deadly. By far the most effective response to Meghan. One she just can't bear.
Meghan Markle and Harry ‘never coming back’ to royal duties as Kate and William step up
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1282141/meghan-markle-news-prince-harry-royal-family-duke-duchess-of-sussex-kate-middleton-william
[...] Asked whether the Duke and Duchess may ultimately reconsider their departure next year, royal commentator Marlene Koenig appeared certain they would not.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Ms Koenig said: "Absolutely not, not going to happen. They have made their decision and the Queen has accepted it."
Ms Koenig suggested the Royal Family is likely to make up for the loss of Meghan and Harry by having other senior members of the family take on more duties in the coming months.
She continued: "I do see, for example, the Cambridges certainly stepping up, taking on more.
"Obviously not right now, once we’ve passed COVID-19 and people are able to go out again and live far more normal lives.
"I also certainly think Sophie will be taking more as well. I don’t think they’re needed." [...]
Inskip's father could have told him some things that Charles told him. Both William and Skippy warned Harry about marrying MM, so maybe they have been in talks about what to do about Harry and MM. Charles could have spoken to Skippy himself, to get some info. His sister, Victoria, could have info from friends in their circles, etc.
Reporting on people means putting all of the small pieces together, while verifying along the way. Developing and working sources means knowing people, who know people, who know people, and usually the further removed from your source, the safer you are in not getting caught.
Think of the frankness of Anne Glenconner in her fantastically successful recent autobiography, with anecdotes as close to the BRF as it's possible to be. She was being loyal to the memory of Princess Margaret as she saw it. Think of documentaries about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. You get some major insights from aged royal relatives there. As you get older you cease to worry as much about repercussions. Things that worried you a lot in youth lose their sting when you get a different sense of proportion. It's happening to me already, at 56, and it's wonderful.
I also think the BRF is fairly laid back about Harry and Meghan 'literature' now. Just today there are reports that they are unconcerned/indifferent to the pro-Meghan book due out this summer. That may or may not be true, but it could act as a signal to aristocratic and royal circles that H&M are no longer protected.
I agree.
I think the BRF has weathered so many books about them, that they consider this just another one. It may be more venomous than some, but they will just consider the source-MM. They know that nobody but the highly inflated number of sugars will believe what is written.
As I said here when the news of Scobie's book came out, the BRF will just say to themselves, "Pfft! Here goes another one" and move on.
"I Ate Like a Member of the British Royal Family for a Week and Here’s What Happened"
https://www.thekitchn.com/royal-family-food-queen-elizabeth-22942651
The writer basically wrote off her work afternoons as the Queen's daily pre-lunch gin and dubonnet was too much for her.
I predict it will be full of the narrative everybody is tired from already.
That was a fun read! I'm sure I wouldn't get much done after a gin and Dubonnet in the middle of the day, too. HMTQ's diet, rich in vegetables and smaller amounts of protein, sounds so healthy, and she takes care of her sweet tooth, too. The jam sounds like one my grandmother made from very tiny, very sweet strawberries she grew in her garden. Those strawberries are legend in the PNW and very hard to find these days. You can't get them in stores because they only last a day before getting too mushy to eat.
I just may try the Queen's diet someday soon, but I'd miss garlic and medium-rare beef, too. And a chef!
These sound like wild strawberries. I have them like (wonderful) weeds growing in my garden. Tiny and very sweet. Fortnum & Mason sell a wonderful wild strawberry jam with champagne.
I’m going to get the book, I’ve read some great things about it, you’ve enticed me to actually buy it!
PART ONE
Meet Princess Alexandra, the hardest working royal you've never heard of
Once dubbed the "unsung heroine" of the Royal family, who is the princess who has spent 60 years steadfastly supporting the Queen?
This week, the Royal family took to Zoom to pay tribute to nurses around the world on International Nurses Day.
There, squeezed together on screen in a video montage, broadcasting from their separate homes, were the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex.
But who was the distinguished looking figure in the bottom right hand corner of the screen?
Younger royal-watchers might not have recognised Princess Alexandra. But half a century ago, she was one of the most famous royals in the world. Her 1963 wedding to businessman Sir Angus Ogilvy was broadcast on television to an estimated 200 million people, worldwide.
The Queen’s first cousin, and a bridesmaid at her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, the princess is also one of her greatest friends and a dedicated working royal, once dubbed the “unsung heroine” of the family, who has carried out thousands of official duties over the years.
Now 83, she was rumoured to be preparing to step down from public life last year, to make way for the younger generation, in rumours dismissed by the Palace. With fewer front-rank royals available, after the Sussexes self-exiled to LA and scandal-hit Prince Andrew had to take a back seat, no wonder Princess Alexandra, 83, took up that hallowed square on the royal Zoom screen.
Today, she is 53rd in the line of succession to the British throne, but when she was born Princess Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel of Kent in 1936, she was sixth. Her father, the Duke of Kent, was one of George VI’s younger brothers; the King was one of her godparents. Her mother, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, was a glamorous, grand figure, daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia.
“If you were a royal-watcher standing in the street, there’s no one you’d like to see more than her,” says Hugo Vickers, biographer of the Queen Mother and the Duchess of Windsor. “She’s a sort of national treasure. She’s the genuine article: the most royal of all of them – the daughter of a British prince and a princess with Greek and Russian royal blood.”
Princess Alexandra, and her brothers the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent, became tragically more prominent in the public eye in 1942 when their father was killed in an RAF crash in Scotland, aged 39.
“They were very well-brought up by their widowed mother,” says Vickers. “Princess Marina was very well-known. It was so tragic for her to become a widow so young, at only 35 – she was really lovely. She was only 61 when she died [of a brain tumour]. There was lots of grief among the general public.”
From the late 1950s onwards, Princess Alexandra was an active working royal, conducting around 120 engagements a year; though they’re rarer now, she remains patron or president of over 100 organisations. She went on key missions, such as to Japan in 1961 – she was a forerunner in restoring diplomatic relations with the country after the war, leading to Emperor Hirohito’s state visit in 1971 and the Queen’s to Japan in 1975.
“She has never done anything except royal duties all her life – there were not so many members of the Royal family around when she started working,” says Vickers.
By the time Princess Alexandra married Angus Ogilvy, son of the Earl of Airlie, in 1963, she was big news. They married in Westminster Abbey, with a full glass carriage procession, a white-tie ball at Windsor Castle the night before and a breakfast at St James’s Palace after the ceremony. “She even featured in a Giles cartoon when it was announced she was having a baby,” says Vickers.
In the flesh, the princess is shy, but not painfully so – and was often pictured, chic as they come, at Sixties film premieres and parties. Yet with no desire for the limelight, she has avoided the fate of those younger royals who have alternately been lured to and repulsed by the media glare.
Always good-looking – “she was the royal pin-up, before the glamour days of Diana and now Meghan,” royal author Christopher Wilson recently observed – she grew more beautiful over the years. “She has the wistful quality of her mother and impeccable manners,” says Vickers. “She is quite royal and holds her dignity.”
These qualities are valued by the Queen, who gave her the Garter - a very rare honour - in 2003, and threw her an 80th birthday party at Buckingham Palace in 2016. The princess has been nothing but steadfast in return. The most successful members of the Royal family are those who – like the Gloucesters, the Wessexes and Princess Alexandra’s Kent brothers – are happy to offer HM steady background support. Those who set themselves up as rivals, like the Sussexes, are disasters.
Robin Baird-Smith, publishing director at Bloomsbury Continuum, met the princess recently when he published a book by her daughter-in-law, Julia Ogilvy.
“Princess Alexandra gave a dinner party after the book launch in her flat in St James’s Palace,” says Baird-Smith. “I was introduced to her and found her charming, witty and sharp. In conversation, she is enchanting and she listens.
“In fact, this was not the first time I met her. When I was eight, Princess Alexandra and Princess Margaret came to a Norman Hartnell dress show at Hopetoun House, outside Edinburgh. My duty, in a kilt and sporran, was to present Princess Alexandra with a bouquet of flowers. When I went up on stage, Princess Margaret thought the flowers were for her and took them.”
Princess Alexandra’s eldest child, James Ogilvy, now a landscaper designer, was born in 1964, the same year as his second cousin, Prince Edward, with whom he went to Heatherdown Prep School and remains close. Her daughter Marina is a goddaughter of Prince Charles and was a regular in the press in the Nineties – “if [she] had not existed, the tabloids would have invented her,” noted historian, Sir David Cannadine – causing a great hoo-hah when she got pregnant by her boyfriend, photographer Paul Mowatt, in 1989. They married in 1990 – the bride wore black velvet – after baby Zenouska was born, though the union ended in divorce after Christian’s arrival, three years later. Zen, as she is known, appears to have inherited her grandmother’s stylish reputation, appearing in the pages of Tatler, as well as on the Buckingham Palace balcony at last year’s Trooping the Colour.
Angus Ogilvy, who died in 2004, got into hot water himself in the Seventies, when he worked for Lonrho – the company, run by Tiny Rowland, called the “unacceptable face of capitalism” by Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1973. It was alleged that Rowland had concealed financial information from the Lonrho board and Ogilvy was criticised in a Department of Trade report of the company’s activities.
Princess Alexandra had nothing to do with his business affairs, though, and by all accounts has conducted her life impeccably, never putting a foot wrong. Apart from a short break due to arthritis in 2013, she has been working on behalf of the Queen for over 60 years. And now, with HM taking a back seat herself, her loyal cousin is clearly happy to step up, to support the Boss.
@Lt. Uhura,
I loved that fact that, when I said I was old, you said I was an evergreen. Thanks! That's a wonderful thought.
________________________________________
:)
About The Queen's alcohol consumption - When The Queen was growing up it was believed that some stiff shots per day are helpful and healthful for senior citizens. That the oldsters are getting dried out, that alcohol helps loosen them up and kind of lubricate them. Especially straight shots of liquor as in straight gin and whiskey.
Queen and Prince Philip are eating the best vegetables from Royal vegetable gardens. Organic or close to it, and same for fruits. Through her years she has eaten plenty of wild game from her estates. This is part of the reason she invites Royals and Royal adjacents over for shooting parties. If I was invited over to shoot pheasants or deer, etc, darn right I would consider it an honor to hand over some of it to Queenie for her consumption. Plus I am sure the Queen's kitchen and chefs receive the best naturally raised beef, lamb (grass fed) and poultry.
All the above is part of the reason Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have lived so long and performed their Royal obligations (duties) so well for decades. Contrast this with the much younger Gruesome Duo who completely flaked out on their Royal duties. So much so that their Australia and South Africa tours were done at 50% effort and left insulted and displeased natives in their wake.
Charles and Camilla have always performed at 100% or greater on their Royal tours abroad and within the UK. Charles has often visited and provided concern,comfort and a psychological lift to UK communities hit by natural disasters such as flooding and the like. Within the last 12 months Charles has done so. Once again we see tremendous contrast with the Gruesomes, especially Megsy, who only liked to swan around at her über proggy events and charities, to show off her recently acquired, expensive couture and jewelry. And lulz, partly to make up for the tiara the Queen denied her.
These days the Gruesomes dress down and zoom-bomb compliant charities. Their present efforts are all charitable (by remote of course) because they got nothing and I mean nothing cooking for them in Hollywood that can earn them some money. Their present strategy is to look poorish while they couch surf courtesy of Tyler Perry and the rent payers of the Cornwall Duchy. And since the idiots who govern Los Angeles have extended the lock down until end of July, this will extend the Hollywood production freeze. BTW California is doing very well as far as Covid, must be the good outdoors weather.
,JocelynsBellinis said, The jam sounds like one my grandmother made from very tiny, very sweet strawberries she grew in her garden.
These sound like wild strawberries. I have them like (wonderful) weeds growing in my garden. Tiny and very sweet. Fortnum & Mason sell a wonderful wild strawberry jam with champagne.
Strawberries have one of the greatest growing ranges among fruits. They will grow far north into Norway and at high altitudes. Tiny and wild in this case. They are commercially grown in Florida in the Tampa area.
They are also unique in that their seeds are on the outside of the fruit.
They grow wild in Sweden too, but you probably know that. ;) I had no idea about them being (commercially grown) in Florida though! Thanks for the additional info. :)
She is lovely
Given that both Queen Mom and the current Queen lived to the ripe old age there is something in that G&T daily habit. (in moderation).
Perhaps we should all try that.
To paraphrase Goldberg, she sees racism everywhere- except when she looks in the mirror.
Yes RR. The two largest commercial strawberry growers are in the Tampa Florida region and California. Many moons ago I even knew two brothers in the California strawberry business. They did lots of the grunt work too, they were enterprising white boys, while today of course this hard field labor is done by immigrants.
The Florida strawberries look great but have little taste because they are grown in very sandy soils, with near zero organic matter, to which fertilizer is added. While in California they are grown in better soils (clay-sand mix with clay predominating) which impart some taste to them. So I rarely buy the Florida ones, while favoring the California ones. The ones you get in UK must have even fuller flavor. Though in The States they often go for $1.30 a pint at Aldis, in UK they must be double this price.
Given that both Queen Mom and the current Queen lived to the ripe old age there is something in that G&T daily habit. (in moderation).
Perhaps we should all try that.
Indeed! But only when you reach 70 can you copy Queenie and Prince Philip. :)
Regarding social distancing. I do not think L.A. types are overly concerned about social distancing, see paragraph above. Harry couldn’t be arsed to even wear a REAL mask. He had that doofus bandana over his mouth only half the time. The fact that they (allegedly) have a child, and are out and about on their “secret” pap walks infuriates me. The Hollywood elite are used to snapping their fingers and getting their wishes seen to. I do not believe that the majority of them are actually social-distancing. They just aren’t flaunting themselves in front of the cameras all the time. Affeck and his new girlfriend were out nearly every day smooching in front of the camera. They are getting major flack for it and have, finally, toned it down. Also, Adele giving the Harkles social distancing tips. Give me a frigging break. Stay home, THAT’S IT!
I think the BRF has weathered so many books about them, that they consider this just another one. It may be more venomous than some, but they will just consider the source-MM.
I was actually thinking the opposite: that the BRF is letting rumors of unconcern about the book seep out because they think (or know) that PH is closer to coming home with or without MM and that the book might be the catalyst for that to happen.
If anybody knew all of Harry's secrets, it would be Tom. Some have said that Tom knew of MM from her yachting days and may have introduced them.
I think Tom is a good guess for one of Lady C's sources. Multiple gossip sites portray him as having known MM "professionally" and as the one who introduced MM to PH, but not as a date (that is, it was originally pay-for-play).
And I think someone like Penny Romsey, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma (Prince Philip's alleged mistress), might be the kind of royal friend among Lady C's sources. On the Charlatan Duchess website, PP is described repeatedly as in the thick of the MM drama, and I can see him angry enough to start letting things "slip." TCD alleges that PP retired because the Queen approved of the PH-MM marriage.
Off topic Nutties!
I’ve only ever associated Florida with oranges and orange juice. ;) I know California grows a ton of stuff.
English strawberries tend to be smaller compared to imported ones, and yes, ours taste better IMHO. :) I didn’t realise the type of soil made a difference though.
Strawberries are sold mainly by the punnet in Britain, the weight varies but on average it’s 400grams, cost is around £2.00 per punnet, but you can pay more.
My grandmother's strawberries were in her garden, placed in neat rows with a little hill in the middle of each row to raise the plant. There is a name for them, but I can't remember what it is. These strawberries were so precious that people who had them in their gardens would dig them up and take them with them when they moved. I wish I could remember the name, because I've never tasted a sweeter little strawberry.
As for liquor and oldsters, my grandfather on the other side of the family had one Scotch every night before bed, and he lived to 101. It reduces aches and pains, and helps them to relax to sleep better, so when my mother reached a very advanced age, she had a glass of champagne and a cookie before she went to bed. She also had a half-glass of champagne with lunch and took a nice nap in the afternoon. Both were ok'd by their doctors.
https://laist.com/latest/post/20200515/Mayor-Garcetti-Gives-Citywide-Update-on-Coronavirus-Los-Angeles
Infection rate is way down in Los Angeles county. This county is the only hot spot in California. I call the LA leaders idiots because they keep people off the beaches where there is infinitesimal chance of getting infected. The LA parks are also closed I presume, for the same idiotic reasons. People need to get outside and in the sun for their immune systems, so they are more virus resistant. Get outside for their psychological health too. I read that LA Mayor Garcetti is a hand washing obsessive even before Covid arrived. This is reflected in the stupid way he locks down.
Even LA will be OK to open up in two-three weeks. But mayor Garcetti is committed to lock down until end of July which also means no beach or park use. In-freakin'-sane. Let the elderly and vulnerable stay indoors and let everyone else go about their business. Joe Rogan lives in Los Angeles.... A very very big podcast man on you tube. He has said the same. He is tempted to relocate to Texas and he is a liberal Bernie supporter.
To add to stupid, economy killing California lock downs by Gavin Newsome. Elon Musk had his Tesla automobile factory shutdown until he started complaining publicly and mightily. Threatening to move production to Texas. He is selling all his California homes. Musk is another pissed off liberal.
"Elon Musk Lists Five More Homes For Sale, Now Surpassing $135 Million In Asking Prices"
"TCD alleges that PP retired because the Queen approved of the PH-MM marriage."
I don't doubt TCD said that but I doubt it's true. PP's August 2017 retirement at 96 was announced in May 2017. He had been making noises about wanting to retire for a few years but said younger members in the family weren't "stepping up." (William became a full-time working royal only after PP's retirement.) Had PP's reason for retirement been he was opposed to Harry's marriage, why did he attend the wedding a year later in May 2018? Especially since he'd had a hip replacement less than 2 months before and had recently cracked his ribs in a fall? Certainly either of those would have been good reasons to stay home.
I don't doubt PP did say something like "actresses are to bed, not to wed" to Harry. But I don't think his retirement had anything to do with MM.
Re strawberries. The best ones I have had in UK were a chance buy in Marks&Spencer and they came from the States. Juicy, sweet and just fragrant as they should be. Don't have anything against the British strawberries but the American ones were superb.
Number two fantastic experience with strawberries for me was in Japan. They were just amazing.
I think you need a lot of sun and warm temperatures for good strawberries, and UK is not always reliable in this regard. I often find them sour here.
These days, nobody is auditioning, and Zoom calls can be made anywhere. There's no need for them to be in LA right now except to be near where most of the paps are. They do want the quiet life, don't they? :/
Somehow, I get the feeling that Oprah wouldn't offer them a house. I don't think Oprah likes to share her toys.
She says MM is blacklisted and while Hollywood would (normally) welcome Harry, they won't as long as he is affiliated w/ MM.
Read it yourself here:
https://twitter.com/yankeewally2/status/1260657142958133249/photo/1
warning - tiny text
That could be. And too reportedly he's fond of all of his grandchildren. It wouldn't be a surprise if he wanted to support them even when he didn't fully approve. Many of us have probably been to weddings under similar circumstances! After all, many people swore he wouldn't attend Eugenie's wedding because of Fergie but there he was.
Mostly though after all PP has been through during his life before and after marrying into the BRF, and all he's done to publicly support the Queen, I do not find it credible he got in a snit over TQ allowing Harry to marry MM to the point he essentially "quit his job." And if he did attend the wedding because he knew he'd be called a racist if he didn't, surely he would have understood the same charge would have been leveled against TQ had she not approved the marriage.
-----
@JocelynsBellinis wrote
"If The Harkles have to leave Tyler Perry's place, I think it will be interesting to see if Oprah steps up and offers them one of her homes in Montecito, Maui, Telluride, or Orcas Island in Washington State."
I agree. Maui is going to be a problem though. Not just the 14-day self-quarantine for people but to shorten the 30-120 day quarantine for dogs to 5 days certain steps have to be taken at least 4 months in advance. Other US states don't quarantine but unlike the rest of the US, rabies doesn't exist in Hawaii but could spread like wildfire in native species if introduced.
https://www.hawaii.com/blog/bringing-pets-to-hawaii/
You said in response to WizardWench that “Infection rate is way down in LA County”.
I’m only chiming in to refute your information (as per both the link you provided and personal experience.)
This is not a virus blog NOR a political one. So it would be appreciated, if you would take your misinformation off to other places. Or better yet, become informed of facts and words like “steady” or “plateau”.)
(Misinformation here then causes others to side-eye both your posts and taints this blog.)
If this seems harsh, it is only because the misinformation you peddle could be a matter of life or death....literally.
Thank you.
Appreciatively -
An MD in LA county
Another possibility is that Lady CC's "source" is several or many people, and she just said "a source" to protect herself and their identities.
I can see Camilla dropping hints with that little twinkle in her eye. She could verify with a wink, or suggest that a trail may be cold and another may be hotter. I've been through that many times when chasing a story.
However, that is not to say that there is no truth to this made-up story. Meghan was never a talented actress but also has never had the charisma to be a star. Now, she even cannot provide access to anything royal or upper class British.
She had a minor role in Suits (hyped up way beyond reason) and settled into playing one character for years. There is no evidence of exceptional acting talent.
She hustled endlessly to get herself interviewed, photographed, given opportunities for publicity anywhere and everywhere, which all supposedly gave the appearance of her being a major player. But, nope Hollywood did not want her. All she could get for all that hustling was some Hallmark movies (and Larry King and Craig Ferguson rather than Ellen/Oprah or Stephen Colbert).
She is still without talent and charisma, but now she is older and carriers so much baggage and has developed and earned a reputation for herself for being demanding, entitled, arrogant and very unreliable.
Her and Harry are developing a reputation for couch surfing so there is another reason for them to not be popular on the social scene in Hollywood!
My takeaway from the Princess Alexandra article is that she would be the best damn secret source of them all, including being privy to the Queen's opinions.
And she is so connected in high society - she knows everyone, so it is very likely that she knows a number of people who know Lady Colin Campbell!
You must have good, positive cash flow in the current Covid19 situation. Thus you can realx. Not that you are a gov't worker, but I notice that those who keep LA shutdown, those who preach to the peasantry are all getting their gov't salaries paid. Including the LA mayor Garcetti and his public health commissioner that makes half a mil per year. She (Ferrara) looks like death warmed over, so I would not trust anything she has to say. And the private sector can go to Hell for all they care.
In a locked down LA economy who is paying the taxes to keep the LA government out of the red? Right! A minor consideration for those living in La La Land. Thanks. Gotcha on that Mr or Mrs MD! Over and out!
PLUS-And for all the good Libs governing LA, you are putting numerous immigrant owned small businesses into bankruptcy, they will never be able to come back.
I hope all of that post is true, but there's one part of it that I read several months ago in one of the British papers.
It said that MM had not hired Sunshine Sachs, but that she was friends with Ken Sunshine and that he was advising her. Another freebie?
You're right about Hawaii. My ex-husband lives there, and we talk about the COVID crisis all of the time.
Strawberries as sold in England:
Like much imported fruit, they're picked, transported & sold under-ripe, so sugars aren't developed. (The idea is that they ripen en route, coming by sea).
That goes for starchy bananas, still green in places, tomatoes and `the big yellow citrus sold for Chinese New Year (senior moment - the name escapes me*) in red/orange nets to fool the customer - I find they need weeks of ripening in the fruit bowl before they're at their best. We're constantly told to keep them in the fridge (fear of food poisoning) - I put 'em out in a bowl to ripen.
Anything labelled `ripe and ready to eat' is a con - pears, avocados, plums, nectarines and peaches, Kiwi fruit/Chinese gooseberry/actinidia - can't get your teeth into them!
Also, much depends on the strawberry variety - those huge bright,bright red ones from Spain are really for display purposes only - and to mislead the buying public. They are tasteless.
The best strawberries are the ones you grow yourself, if only you can keep the slugs and mould off them. I grow tomatoes and cucumbers in an unheated greenhouse and usually have enough to take the surplus to Country Market.
With tomatoes, I get seed of heritage varieties; it's great fun and the taste is superb. There's an old saying about the commercial variety Alicante, developed to be grown in Spain and to survive being transported here in pre-decimal days - (hence the tough skin!): `Smooth and round and eight to the pound'. That's all that be can said for it.
When lockdown is lifted, I want to go to Plant World, which is a day trip away. If you are interested in `tomato porn' (!) have a look at what they offer and drool over the amazing tomato varieties that can be grown from their offerings - tho' I expect many of them will be familiar to those of you in the US. They are willing to trade internationally but it'll depend on your country's rules as to whether they can be imported.
https://www.plant-world-seeds.com/
*pomelo, my husband reminds me.
I’m with WBBM for home grown strawberries, these are the best. Pick them when they’re ripe. ;) British ones that have had lots of sun are delicious, but living here we know when we’ve had a sunny season, compared to a colder wet season, no, they aren’t as nice. Horses for courses, each to their own. ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxBPkPeSik0&feature=youtu.be
Yessssss interesting, right?
As for whether this person would sell such a story to US magazine or other, she says right in her post her cousin would kill her. Imagine her cousin is Nicole Kidman or Reese Witherspoon or someone? She's not selling stories about her cousin, I actually tend to believe these types of firsthand accounts.
I know some people and I would never sell their stories but sometimes I have chimed in on a gossip item to provide some background.
I've watched this rather boring film taken there and you can see right near the end Prince Charles go up to Harry (6:48 mark), and Harry says "I can't, there are cameras" and then Camilla goes up and kisses them both goodbye. Meghan then does her stripper walk back to the palace:
https://m.youtube.com/watchv=xgo4mtqnseu
It's hard to find footage of Meghan when Harry was being bothered by that bee as usually he's the only one in shot, but you can see Charles, Camilla and Meghan's reactions in the clip below:
https://m.youtube.com/watchv=ljn8w7qxmqe
Meghan is like a very bad silent screen actress, overacting all over the place. In fact she's not that different to Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon being Josephine and Geraldine in Some Like it Hot.
However, Charles and Camilla don't look cross with her at that point, for her laughing. Camilla looks to be amused too but of course not in an exaggerated manner. I do wish I knew more about this. It was the Harkles' first event as a royal married couple, only three days after their wedding. When you see Meghan walk away you think "OMG!!! How did she get in?!?"
Thank you very much for ceasing and desisting.
Video of Lady Colin Campbell interviewing Tyler Dooley, Mm's nephew here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxBPkPeSik0&feature=youtu.be
What delightful footage of Lady CC with her young friends, the you tube video. Her genuineness has increased in my eyes, she will put out her memorable book before Meghan/Omid's comes out. Thus MM's panicking. As others have said.
@Ava
Neither of your you tube URLs show up on you tube. Perhaps just post the direct links without the "m" in them.
And sorry if I offended anyone here with my words on the current cruel, confused, discombobulated LA lockdown. No beaches for you Los Angeles peasants! Obey your Gov't superiors who are comfortably getting paid to preach at you, via the taxes you pay out.
Blogger Sconesandcream said...
I'm with @Tatty. MM left of her own choice because of her relationship with Harry. I was an avid fan of Suits at the time and her character leaving the show was no great loss. The Suits fans were far more upset that Patrick Adams who played her onscreen boyfriend/husband was leaving at the same time. Whether it was his decision or not was unclear. His character was greatly missed. He did return towards the end of the series.
I am still reading backwards here to get caught up, but am wondering if Celt's latest about Harry being admitted for emergency treatment due to a breakdown is true. I've seen some very inaccurate things on her channel and couldn't find anything on this development.
At the very end, they briefly touched on the Harkles -- "Jedi" said they've beefed up their security. Mark said "Yeah, I don't want to go anywhere near that s**t-show." They said that perhaps who they call the "savages" will keep after a shot, but that they, the podcasters, didn't want any part of it. (I'm assuming the "savages" are brethren of the men who chased Diana in Paris.)
Interesting. I probably won't be listening to them much, as I couldn't care less about what celebrities get up to, but I'll keep their site on my bookmarks nonetheless out of curiosity, or against the day when one of them may actually manage to snap the Gruesome Twosome.
(It is quite interesting listening to how they do their jobs, tho!
I don't know if that's true.
I didn't know who she was until she was engaged, and I used to watch TV until my eyes bugged out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CATqastHzoN/
Catherine McPhee throwing herself over someone Foster obviously worked because she is his newest wife (he's had several) David Foster. He was previously married to Gigi Hadid's mother. Catherine is an American actress and there was a photo doing the rounds not so long ago of her and MM from back in the day (pre plastic surgery for MM).
____________________________________________
Markle seems to do that "six degrees" thing with a lot of people …
Second request.
Please stop with your political opinions.
Completely stop.
Just try to let the rest of us enjoy this blog.
Thank you.
So there!
We will not be friends because of your attitude!
Wouldn't it be interesting if Lord Geidt was the "palace insider"?
That would be very interesting, and he has an ax to grind against both Charles and Andrew who got him fired. But I don't think he'd do business with someone like Lady C who, despite her title by marriage, is considered very low brow among royal writers.
Sconesandcream said...
MM left of her own choice because of her relationship with Harry...The Suits fans were far more upset that Patrick Adams who played her onscreen boyfriend/husband was leaving at the same time.
TCD printed "tea" and rumors from a variety of sources. She had a couple of pieces of information on MM's leaving Suits: 1) that MM gave an interview about confronting the series' bosses on the amount of skin she showed on screen, which was a lie, and that they were going to fire her for it when her relationship with PH became public and that caused them to hold back; 2) that because her co-star, Patrick Adams, had decided to leave the show, she knew -- and might have been told -- her role was ending; and 3) in the fall after the wedding, she contacted the series producers to ask if she could return, and she was immediately told, "No!"
I always thought it was suspicious that the Suits people gave such a weird, yet positive message about her leaving the show. It was something like, "We really thought her relationship with PH was going to work out." I mean, how would they really know?
I am still reading backwards here to get caught up, but am wondering if Celt's latest about Harry being admitted for emergency treatment due to a breakdown is true.
I haven't read this anywhere!
Please tell these LA posters slamming each other to stop! Start deleting both sides.
Several have asked :WHAT HAPPENED TO NUTTY;S VIRUS BLOG?" The comments from these posters above is appropriate on that blog. Of course a bunch of fights broke out there too, though.
Can't you figure out what your name is here? Can you at least do this much? Not to worry. I am done.
This just happened, and Nutty hasn’t posted for a while. I am hoping she is not a victim of their scorched earth policy.
I read that the Facebook group moderators were fake and scammed some people for money. They were apparently donating to a scam. TCD was damaged by association and also one of the victims. There is a statement on her tumblr blog.
I hope she comes back, I liked her blog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfrVt0_JSaE (five minutes long)
Just call me Anon
Friends again.
aren't you the poster Rustie?
I have posted here under the name Anon-unknown with a morning glory icon and would not want folks to mix us up...although I do agree with some of what you are saying.
Re Markle and her lawsuits:
I have heard MM is getting legal help with a campaign against what she perceives as cyberbullying and harassment from some sort of "charity based initiative" - in other words, she's getting free help to pursue regular folks who dislike her. I don't know how true this is, but the info about CD seems to support it.
And Celt is right. If there are a lot of leaked stories about his mental issues, it is a sign that Cruella is laying the groundwork for her own future narrative.
Instead of FC's market rent, I'd be interested to know how much it costs to upkeep Frogmore Cottage. FC's "market rent" can be gamed too many ways for me to take it at face value.
I almost didn't recognize M
https://ladygreyhound93.tumblr.com/image/618378064018210816
It’s https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/the-charlatan-duchess
She was one of favorite posters and it looks like she is gone.
Her name has been replaced with "anonymous" which is what happens when an account is deleted. And her icon is gone.
https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ffromberkshiretobuckingham.blogspot.com%2F2020%2F05%2Fmeghan-and-harry-wanted-to-stay-royal.html%3Fm%3D1&t=NDliYzk2OTE0MjVjYTczM2E4MTQyNzk3ODg2MjY3ZGFiZTc1MzA5ZixmMDBlMDdjNWI2NGFiMWQ0ZjFiMzIyMmM5ODVlN2NkMTBjY2MxZTk1
Meghan and Harry wanted to stay royal, but on their terms ... my opinion is what they ultimately wanted was their own global court, to rival that of the Cambridges at home (darn, they really did want to be based in Windsor Castle, not in a cottage in the grounds!) and to have their lives fully funded by the taxpayers.
I am trying to spot the source of this but a whole lot of pages to skim through.
As an MD working in LA County I cannot RELAX as you suggest. One of my colleagues died 2 days ago, and several of our (young staff) are seriously ill from treating patients with Covid. We are also now seeing long- term organ effects on those who survive. There are shifts to be covered and it is backbreaking, disheartening and devastating work when the infection rate in LA county is not “down” as you assert.
We find human beings to be irreplaceable. Most other “things” are replaceable.
I came to this blog as I have a slight history with MM from LA days, and I’ve only posted here briefly in regards to that history.
Unfortunately, with your (and others) multiple posts ranting and raving about a variety of polarizing subjects, derailing the topic, and the loss of several interesting posters (who inform, speculate, and could stay on related topics), Nutty’s blog seems to have sadly devolved.
It’s disheartening. And I feel badly for Nutty.
Thus I (like many others seem to be doing at the moment), will be signing off and leaving from here on out.
Thank you Nutty for your blog and efforts. They were appreciated. Best wishes.
i was reading on LSA and they mentioned the new privacy screens at TPs are coming down. Lots of speculation. Possibly moving vs possibly HOA (homeowners association)violation.
I am trying to spot the source of this but a whole lot of pages to skim through.
Most interesting. The screens in Canada also came down a few weeks before their supposed departure. I wonder where they will go next? Maybe they will stop scrounging and rent a place?
There does not seem to be any chatter abut this anywhere, so I assume the screens are still there and it is a false rumour?
But, really ... are they going to be squatters in other people's mansions for the rest of their lives?
I am so sorry the quarantine is taking a toll on you. It is on most of us. Take care, take a breath, know that at some point all this willbe a memory.
@S -
I agree with you 100% and only wish you had been a regular contributor on our virus blog. It was unfortunately taken over by politically biased people posting dangerous misinformation, conspiracy theories and posts designed to serve their own agendas...all while bashing anyone who didn't share their opinions.
I'm very sorry to hear about your colleague and I hope your staff pulls through. I live in a hard-hit area and understand how much trouble we are all in. Thank you so much for all you are doing for us, and my thoughts and prayers are with you.🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Prior to the pandemic, I didn't realize so many of the US posters on this blog were right-wing extremists. This fact has made me more and more uneasy for numerous reasons.
I find the idea that @xxxxx and @lndy would now bring the virus/political drama into this blog to be extremely rude.
I believe you have caused WizardWench - an intelligent and well written major contributor to leave the blog.
This blog has indeed devolved. Much of the blame for that lies with Nutty herself. She does not pay enough attention to either blog and I don't believe she even reads them anymore. I said a long time ago that a blog needs a moderator but many did not agree with me. I think I have been proven correct. I did not mean a "hall monitor", I meant someone who has some control, who is paying close attention, is interested and is participating along with posters. We don't have that here - therefore problems have been allowed to take root and ruin what was once a great place for intelligent debate.
Nutty was never the pull for me here. It was all the intelligent posters - so many of whom have long ago left now. Recent losses along with Wizard include Elle, and we rarely hear from Hikari anymore. Whenever Hikari does comment, her posts are followed by rude remarks from Tatty who questions her and attempts to "correct" her.
As a matter of fact, Tatty is back to her old tricks again. As we all eagerly discuss how we are looking forward to Lady Colin Campbell's book, she posts this:
tatty said...
"Does Lady Colin Campbell have an in at the palace? At best I can tell, she is a rich lady (family money) and was on one of those D list reality shows."
Mean-spirited Tatty always trying to spoil the mood/kill the buzz and who was the beginning of the ruination of this blog. She's back now with unkind remarks about Lady C's birth defects and harassing posts trailing Hikari's comments. I will never understand why there are some who don't see her for what she is?!?!?...including Nutty - but she apparently doesn't read her own blog and often disappears for days/weeks at a time.
The final death knell for this place is that MM is very likely making moves on the forums and blogs. I have tried a few times to warn folks about this. I have good intell and had hoped to try and discuss it here but I've just had enough now.
For those who I have grown to care about, I hope you stay safe both from the pandemic and from the Harkles.
Someone with more time and desire than Nutty, might want to start a private blog. Anyone can do this on google blogger by setting your access to private and then allowing only a certain list of bogger names to participate. Your blog would then only be visible to those with permission to see it and participate in it.
If anyone does start a private blog that doesn't include any political extremists or trolls, please let me know!
Best of luck to all!
tatty is simply questioning the connections of Lady C, albeit in an abrupt way. @tatty, I watched a documentary on her renovation of that historic house she bought. (She did that TV show you disparaged to help pay for the renovation.) She came across as someone who works hard, stays focused and will take on big projects and stick with them until they are completed (unlike Meghan!). Although briefly, she was married to a cousin of the Queen. When she throws a party, the aristocracy do turn up (she really does know a lot of high society people) so she understands the upper classes and how they operate. She is also a regular on the list of guests for events. If there is gossip out there, she will hear it. She knew about and wrote about Diane's affairs and bulimia before Andrew Morton published his book. Everyone dismissed her book but it was accurate so she does have sources and the gossip that comes her way seems to be accurate.
........................
Apparently NOT Sandie as several posters have left the blog permanently this evening!!! They not only stopped conversing, they were also driven off!
And WHAT are you talking about re censorship? Are we not supposed to avoid politics and the virus on this blog? Why don't you read the last few pages to see what actually happened here this evening?
BTW - Tatty was NOT innocently questioning Lady C's connections. We had already spent pages describing all of Lady C's many connections! Yet she made that antagonistic joy-sucking comment!
Nutty imposed moderation and left it at that.
I then followed up with an unpublished post, thanking Nutty for intervening - I said I'd rather spend my time on my Swedish Death Clean. This was a big move for me as I placed a high value on the blog for the international conversation, support, humour and information.
If this blog goes the same way it will a great loss. The UK has been heading for crisis with this woman for a little over 2 years (tomorrow is their 2nd wedding anniversary). It has been important to me to hear what other objective observers have had to say about her - I was sick of being `gaslighted' by uncritical `nice' people with their `Well, she's a Hollywood star - it'll take time for her to become acclimatised' and `You should give her a chance'.
It was Samantha's early comment that she was a narcissist that alerted me - nothing she did that I saw gave me reason to doubt this view. I gave her to the wedding to see if it was just a flash in the pan but the `pregnancy' announcement was the last straw. Any woman who attempts to steal, sabotage or otherwise subvert, a bride's big day is contemptible.
If the fighting here continues, with great regret, I shall say goodbye to this blog as well.
God Save the Queen.
https://fromberkshiretobuckingham.blogspot.com/2020/05/meghan-and-harry-wanted-to-stay-royal.html
"Celt suggests that meghan deliberately dressed badly to garner attention that the RF was abusive to her. Absolutely mind boggling."
I don't believe the RF was "abusive" to M but I do believe she wore awful and hideously expensive clothes as a kind of f-you to them.
Aside from the grossly overpriced R&R gown and the messy white bathrobe coat worn for engagement photos, her clothes from the time of the engagement to the wedding day were fine IMO. Not always my taste but I thought they were fine with the exception of her too-big and often too-dirty shoes. And the dress worn to the garden party hosted by Charles after the wedding was fine. But starting with the off-the-shoulder dress for the very traditional morning Trooping the Color carriage ride and balcony appearance it was all downhill from there on. In Cheshire when appearing with The Queen, messy hair, no hat, wearing a pricey bespoke Givenchy dress that looked quite wrinkled through the torso and lap area the minute M stepped off the train. Because she'd lived her life doing faux-life TV shoots and commercials, I'll give her some benefit of the doubt in not understanding early on how light-colored clothes photograph in real life if wrinkled (although Clare from Givenchy should have known--- but M's wedding dress was wrinkled too so I guess not.) But only a moron could have missed the hint about wearing a hat. Since I don't think M's a moron, it had to be a f-you as was her refusal to wear hose even in freezing weather.
And I know more about M's choices of undergarments from photos than I do the undergarments of women I worked with daily for over a decade. Anyone can make a bad choice re: a foundation garment. Kate has (the mint green lace dress in India needed a much more supportive strapless bra, for example.) But Kate's goofs have been rare over the past 9 years. With M, the clear outline of bras in too-tight tops, the need for more supportive bras in tight tops, frequent VPL's in dresses and trousers, bras showing in low cleavage tops, see-through clothes, no slips ever, wearing a black bra with a white top, even wearing of all things not royal, obvious butt pads...those "mistakes" happened almost every time M appeared at a royal event over 18 months. No woman in her thirties makes those kinds and those numbers of "mistakes" innocently. And aside from the wearing of hats, women's formal dress clothing doesn't differ all that much between the US and the UK. It's not as though M suddenly found herself in a vastly different culture so far as clothing went (like American-born Lisa Halaby did when she became Queen Noor of Jordan.)
I've mentored young women in the US (women much younger than M) who truly don't know how to dress for a traditional job interview. Their idea of "dressing up" was too often "club clothes" (or what some of us would call "ho clothes" although we would never say that to their faces.) But M isn't an 18-year old from a poor area of the US. She knew what was expected of her. Unlike my mentees who truly didn't know how successful job applicants dressed, there are thousands of pictures of successful royal women in the BRF. She was just determined not to be like them.
@tatty: Here is the website for the castle that she restored (it was almost completely derelict and she got together the funds and oversaw the renovation, which took about 2 years):
https://www.castlegoring.com/
Here she talks about the book she has written about Meghan and Harry (the sound is bad), but she talks about her background first ... she gets to the book she has written about them at just before 18 minutes (warning - she is very verbose!):
https://youtu.be/XyaJ3YFCe_A
Oh, you will find claims that Lady C believes that the Queen mother was actually the daughter of the French cook. This is a story the Duke of Windsor told and that is why him and his wife called her 'cookie'. Lady C clearly attributes this claim as one made by the Duke of Windsor.
It's not enough for SS to use mainstream media outlets to push their agenda, churning out PR idiocy time after weary time. Clearly, they are losing on that front. They are also losing on the "under the radar" front, such as the established gossip sites. They are not above doxing or threatening legal action to intimidate their "enemies" on these sites -- but they are still losing. Their client, Markle, is an albatross around their necks that has essentially died and beginning to smell to high heaven.
The botsugarstans, much like the coronavirus, are learning to adapt and mutate. I've noticed that they no longer confront posters head-on and stick to their guns in open argument, which, thanks to "receipts," they quickly lose. Now they are using psyops tactics like pretending to agree with those who despise Markle but slipping in little needles of opposition. They are also using multiple identities to "argue" or even cause cat fights WITH THEMSELVES. Including here, IMO.
Nutty has neither the time nor the resources to maintain constant patrol. All she has is what is most important in life -- a gathering place for like-minded, intelligent, compassionate and respectful people who have seen what Markle's narcissistic and evil (or blundering, depending on your viewpoint, or perhaps both) agenda is doing to the Monarchy, Britain's most precious asset, and a desire to speak out against that agenda. This blog is a place to enjoy others' viewpoints, even if disagreeing with them. That is the essence of the dream, and Nutty has achieved it.
Evil always seeks out good in a (futile) attempt to destroy it. But I'm telling you EVIL WILL NEVER WIN. And Markle, its servant, is already seeing the headlights of the oncoming train of Karma, the great leveler. She will, eventually, go down, as the great T.S. Eliot penned, not with a bang, but a whimper.
What I'm seeing here from the botsugarstan infiltrators (here and elsewhere) are childhood insecurities mixed with an irrational need to spend their whole lives bullying and blaming someone else for their own shortcomings, as owning them forces them to stare into some kind of frightening abyss.
Ah, well. Sorry to wax so philosophical for so long. I don't have an answer for how to get rid of the botsugarstan infiltrators here. Me, I just ignore them. This, to me, is the most potent weapon -- they, like Markle, HATE!!! to be ignored. It's like salt on a garden slug. However, I understand how and why others walk away in disgust and in sorrow. I will never judge anyone for that.
__________________________________
(If you made it this far, you get a gold star and a free beverage of your choice :) )
Yes, this is an excellent post. It nailed it down.
I have also noticed that! They agree on something negative about Meghan and then suggests a reason for that negative behavour. So that we will feel sorry for Meghan.
Its so obvious. Maybe they think we are as weak, stupid and easily manipulated as Meghans fans.
I am a longtime reader and minimal participant on this blog. I enjoy it. I learn from it. And I know who and what to ignore and bypass. Take the high road, folks and keep on keeping on.
Nyota:"Now they are using psyops tactics like pretending to agree with those who despise Markle but slipping in little needles of opposition"
I have also noticed that! They agree on something negative about Meghan and then suggests a reason for that negative behavour. So that we will feel sorry for Meghan.
Its so obvious. Maybe they think we are as weak, stupid and easily manipulated as Meghans fans.
_____________________________________
Maybe they think we are as weak, stupid and easily manipulated as Meghans fans.
Bingo! You nailed it in far less words than me.
They really DO think we're like that. Because that's how THEY are, and they have lost any connection to reality. Poor dears. (/sarcasm)
This blog has devolved and I used those words months ago but posters just kept bullying.
People have left but unless they specifically say why we are only speculating. Even then their stated reasons are suspect like in the case of the queen bee who was dominating the blog and controlled her minions fomenting abuse. IMO I thinks she is constrained from contributing due to complaint to Google about her blog behavior (my intel lol).
One reason some regulars (my offline info with some posters) is that the subject matter has been hashed and rehashed ad nauseum. The HAMS+1 have gotten boring. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over about the birth of their child, the name of the child, the diaper of the child, etc...
Until something dramatic happens, like say, they go back to the UK or they separate they and their PR will be boring IMO.
This comment will be deleted by Nutty because she violates the Google's ToS and even tho it is on-topic, I am despised by her it appears (and conversely tatty is adored by her) for no apparent reason other than I stood up for others being bullied a year ago and also for myself.
FTR I think tatty has wonderfully improved her cyber behavior by and large (she learned while others didn't). Some of you complaining are guilty of the same things you complain about!
I don't even bother reading here most of the time because the topic as I said have gotten soooooo boring and I hate the hypocrisy of the fighting.
I also know that Cov'd 19 has created a tremendous amount of anxiety in almost everyone, whether they admit it or not. Anxiety has the ability to create anxiety and distraction. I come to this blog as a source of distraction and momentary relief from the craziness of my current life. I also find this blog an amazing lesson about WWII and its aftermath in GB. Somehow, my high school history skipped over the reality of the war in Europe.
I suspect that many of us want this blog to stay on topic because M&H have at least a few more rounds before this saga comes to its end. I want this blog to continue until we find out how Meghan destroys her current life or until she finds a fourth husband.
@Nutty Thank you.
@Jenx
Glad you enjoyed it. Very simple and believable explanation. Agree Jenx. I'm here for the exchange of information. I've learned a lot about the BRF and I appreciate the posters that take the time to share their knowledge.
This new entry at the Harry Markle blog is plain boring, going on about some HIPPA laws that the Gruesomes might have broken.
@Unknown
Thank you for your very kind words. You must like Celt News. She attracts intelligent comments.
Not one other MS media outlet came out and called that stunt for what it was: pure PR grandstanding.
Rather, it's HIPAA and it's The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
These errors call into question the accuracy of some of the information in the expert's blurb in the column.
I do agree it was a stupid move for H&M. I don't find the issue of violation of privacy to be "boring." And I suspect those who do, might feel differently if it was their own medical or occupational privacy being breached for a PR stunt.
Finally, I do know according to the HIPAA Journal:
"Update March 2020: There are now serious concerns about the security of Zoom. This creates doubts about using Zoom for communicating medical information, which needs to be fully protected under HIPAA. Zoom has publicly committed to upgrading its security and fixing all security problems. Until the security issues with Zoom are resolved, alternative telemedicine solutions should be used." https://www.hipaajournal.com/zoom-hipaa-compliant/
This new entry at the Harry Markle blog is plain boring, going on about some HIPPA laws that the Gruesomes might have broken.
______________________________________
boring
I must admit I feel somewhat the same way about articles on the Harkles' tax situation, or the breakdown of expenses on Frogmore Cottage. Not so much bored, as out of my depth. I have a lot of respect for those here who understand these situations and share their knowledge.
HIPPA laws that the Gruesomes might have broken.
I'm not a medical professional by any stretch, but I think Harry Markle has a point. If I were one of the Crisis Text line clients I would be alarmed and upset to find out Harry and Markle barged in on that staff conference with the invitation and permission of staff. It's possible the other staff members went along with it, I don't know (I doubt it, as the appearance was billed as a "surprise"), but that's not the point. By letting in outsiders who are basically members of the public, and not medical professionals, the staff opened up the safety of their clients to potential abuse. HIPAA is supposed to prevent this. Most organizations, including charities, dealing with patient care, including mental health issues, can't even release or potentially expose private information to non-family members, much less the public at large.
Just my thoughts. Would hope another Nuttier can provide further and more clarifying info.
P.S. Even if it were somehow technically "legal," it's still a dirty trick the Harkles pulled on callers and staff alike to somehow improve their PR. IMO.
Seeing numerous arguments and sometimes regurgitated ones isn’t fun, I read comments via email so I can delete. I agree with Sandi and her comment, we are all adults and we should all be able to agree to disagree and move on. Scrolling past isn’t difficult. We have zero control over what others say, we can only control our own behaviour and input.
This is a discussion blog about Megsy and Harry, it supposed be fun and enlightening.
Stay safe Nutties. ��
I haven't read the last 3 or 4 HarryMarkle posts. something rubs me wrong way over there
regardless, that zoom call crash was incredibly self serving and we only saw it as means to compete with the Real Royals call to nurses from previous couple days
The reported Zoom crash is mutually beneficial PR for both the Harkles, looking to push their image as global humanitarians and Crisis Text/DoSomething.org, which gains exposure from royal attention.
I do not blame nutty for what's gone wrong here. I am sure she put this blog up for fun and one poster alone turned it into work. quite disheartening
As some others have said, you get to know the names to avoid, and it's odd to me that they all appear together then disappear together. I nearly gave this blog up forever last October but I'm glad I didn't as things got much better and we've had some good discussions. Now we're on a downward slide again. If it keeps on I'll take a break until Lady C's book comes out.
For now, I guess we all need to take a deep breath and Nutty needs to start a thread when she can. She does have a life to lead and an unsettled one at that, as we all do at the moment. Nutty, when you see this, many thanks for all you do to keep this space open for us.
P.S. Even if it were somehow technically "legal," it's still a dirty trick the Harkles pulled on callers and staff alike to somehow improve their PR. IMO.
I kind of felt that way about the food deliveries. And also when she 'surprised' some unsuspecting women's group in Canada.
Not there to help. Just there for the photo op, never to be seen or heard from again.
They're private citizens now. What do they have to bring to the table more than any other private citizen? Certainly not money. A one time publicity that isn't even all that publicized is all.
For them it's all about bestowing their wonderful presence upon the poors. Seems pretty condescending.