Cerberus

My nearest pub is a mile away and I'm not walking down there on a Saturday night just to see what's going on. Probably going to be heaving anyway. I'll stick with the TV and the Jamesons for tonight I think.

Exactly the same here. Seen a few houses with bunting out, but that's it. My cul de sac may have had a street party in 1977 but not now as it's choc full of cars and vans all the time. I have a job to unload shopping on a Tuesday morning. I have come to the conclusion that most of the British public is simply indifferent to the monarchy - we tolerate them, maybe admire them, but on the whole we don't celebrate them either, and we're not going to campaign to get rid of them. We just go with the status quo.

The tendency for jubilees to be staged in the summer months also applies to coronations of course. Recently the monarchs have obligingly died at the beginning of the year allowing 15 months or so to plan for the coronation the following year (George VI was simply given the date originally allotted to his brother). But Charles is screwed if the Queen goes in say, November. It would only allow a few months for his coronation to be organised - you'd think it would have to be August at the latest. No way would he wait until the following year.

Using the Royal wee there, are we? "That's a long way to go in the middle of the night!" (Eric Morecambe, I think)

Not surprising at all, but if the speech is written by officials at No. 10, and delivered by the Prince of Wales, in what sense is it 'the Queen's Speech?' For all we know, she hasn't even read it.

Thought it was always after the long summer recess? You live and learn.

I'm beginning to wonder how she will manage with the state opening of Parliament which is what, late October? Some way off yet. If she can get by with a stick all well and good but I can't imagine her agreeing to be wheeled into the House. This is one of her biggest gigs of the year, so if Charles has to stand in for her we'll effectively have the beginning of a regency.

Swords of a Thousand Men, no less.

Might also have featured on the cricket thread: played against Allan Border's Australians ... https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/andy-goram-25220

I see this sort of thing all the time on social media. I can't understand why anyone thinks William would be complicit in any scheme to deny his own father his birthright. What people want has bugger all to do with anything. Even if 95 per cent wanted William, Charles will still be next.

Fair enough, but don't recall that applied to people in the main list before. Guess it must be a policy change as it was always one of two ways that they had their thread bumped - they'd either got a year older, or died.

Seems we all missed his 98th birthday yesterday. I thought I posted then but I must have been signed out, or summat.

I must be one of the biggest cricket fans on this site, and I'd literally never heard of this guy. Slightly puzzled at the above reactions. Initially I confused him with the Bangladesh quick bowler Rubel Hossain, but 39 would put him far too old. Sad news anyway though.

She was also married to Rex Harrison, and Aitken's cousin Peter - so didn't have a great deal of diversity in her four married names. She and Jonathan Aitken had a two year affair in the 1970s before he dated Carol Thatcher.

Netherlands coach - and former Aussie and Hong Kong one-day international - in a coma in a British hospital. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/netherlands-coach-ryan-campbell-in-coma-following-heart-attack-1311426