I often switch on the 10 o’ clock news to see what’s going on in the big bad world. This last while there have been a lot of stories about President Trump and his shenanigans. Recently, for a change, the headline story was that the Duke of Edinburgh had stood down! Imagine this is the number one news item! The Duke of Edinburgh, aged 95, after 70 years by the queens side, has stood down from all official duties. The camera showed a man going over to him to say: “ I’m terriby sorry to hear you are standing down.” The prince/duke replied, “I’m hardly able to stand up!” or some remark like that.
This rare duke, Philip SaxeCoburg has been famous for his gaffes referring to Chinese as squinty-eyed and asking an Aborigine in Australia if they (the Aborigines) still shoot spears at each another. I suppose the duke was good for a laugh. I watched him on TV the day Martin McGuinness went to meet the queen. The duke was most uncomfortable with Martin in the room and kept moving out of Martin’s path. He looked very nervous. I think Martin was trying to corner him for a photo. But the duke was determined not to be in any photograph with Martin McGuinness. Reminds me of Brid Rogers who used to make it known that she did not want to be photographed with certain people, including myself, at any public functions.
However, it bothers me that the world and the media pays such a lot of attention to these overpaid members of the British royal family who live in the lap of luxury, keep several castles and earn enormous sums of money while so many go poor. Is it not time for an end to all these monarchies, all parasites in society? Monarchism is, in my humble opinion, past its sell -by date. Monarchs are out of place in a modern democracy. I suppose they are useful to the BBC for news stories. But imagine what might happen if after the next election there was no requirement to swear allegiance to the monarch. Can you imagine Barry McElduff MP making his maiden speech!
@ Joe.
Just so you are aware of it, ITV interrupted The Jeremy Kyle Show with the “breaking news” that Phil was going to be putting his feet up.
I’m sure the collective groan of disinterest around.Britain would have been audible in France.
It takes a special sort of nothingness to have reached 95 years of age , having done nothing all your life , ( except proffer the obligatory insult to anything that moved ) and then retire from all that nothingness…..does anything remain ?
Eolach
Well he did take part in that big war I think; you know the world wide one!
Reportedly his actions saved the lives of the crew of the ship he served on.
But you’ve probably done much more than that eh?
I certainly have.
Gio, don’t believe all you hear. The Duck’s ‘heroics’ are exaggerated. Just like the rest of the Royal cabal. Btw, he could easily have got the iron cross quicker than those other fake medals he used to wear. Just saying.
Wolfie
Evidence?.
What ‘evidence’ would you like Gio? Evidence that his ‘heroics’ were exaggerated or evidence that he could’ve got an iron cross? Btw, please produce the evidence that he did what you claim he did? And btw, all those medals he regularly wears at British terror commemorations is not evidence, they are just for show.
wolfie
Good man.
Evidence that he did not do the stuff he is said to have done please.
I claim nothing I only tell you what has been reported.
Do you disbelieve because of evidence or because in your black and white world no member of the royal family could possibly do anything useful, therefore it must be lies?
So in closing, evidence please.
Good man Gio, no evidence coming from you then? Just takes in everything he is told like a primary school kid. Sad. I will point you to some reportings of the Duck and his ways but alas you’d go squealing to Jude again just like last time.
wolfie
If you have any reporting relating to his service during the war that might be relevant then lets see it.
I have made no claims on his behalf other than to mention what has been reported.
Try to cut out the personal stuff and I won’t have to go squealing to Jude!
I sailed with an old cockney who had what he called a very bad war Chippie had the bad luck to be on three ships that ended up in the thick of it ,one was sunk and he told us of having to seal bulk head doors with men trapped behind them to try and save the ship. And then chippie would swear and spit and tell you about the playboy prince on what chippie and his mates called his personal yacht. He would always hove into view conveniently when it was all over. But bless him he would take on survivors. Chippie used to sort of laugh and say that him and his mates always prayed for a transfer to the yacht. By the time i was hearing these stories of war old chippie was sitting on the poop deck of a great big oil tanker sailing between Singapore Indonesia and Japan. Nice and comfortable and looking forward to retirement But when i went to work on my watch in the engine room we used to sometimes talk about the horror that chippie and his mates went through because we knew from him that we would have maybe been the first sealed in. Good old Philip what, what, eh.
Stephen
So did Chippie serve with Philip?
Did he say none of the events we have read about actually happened?
Maybe that is the case I don’t know.
But accepting that Philip may have acted well during the war does not mean we think he is a wonderful fellow or that the monarchy is acceptable.
The truth may not always be comfortable for us.
giordanobruno
If you read what i wrote and what Chippie who was there in person said. Their dream was to be posted to Philips yacht. All i can say is Chippie was there had no need to lie to me or the others, i wouldn’t have known Philip if i tripped over him but his hatred of the man was real because he felt he was a waste of a ship that was needed the yacht as he called it. Nothing he said was made up as i found out by some reading about navel engagements and how nightmarish they were but as chippie said old Philip always seemed to turn up just in time to help pick up survivors. Now chippie and his mates had suspicions about why Philip was always just out of range. Can only repeat what i was told by an eye witness nothing to me i just liked old chippie as did the others he was a good ships carpenter thus the nickname chippie, but in my capacity i had to rely upon him at times and he was always there a really good man. Sorry but i have no axe to grind just chippies witness .Couldn’t tell you what Philip did or didn’t do in the war that maybe chippie maybe didn’t know about.
Stephen
Thanks for the reply.
Since he wasn’t actually serving with Philip then it does not help really.
Stephen kelly, you are wasting your time with the likes of Gio as he and his ilk know the ‘truth’ about the Duck and his war heroics, after all they have the ‘evidence’ I.e they read it somewhere lmfao! Bless his red white and blue socks.
“So he’s an old man who took hugely from the public purse for doing nothing and he will now be taking hugely from the public purse and do nothing.
Yeah – He’s no longer pretending to do stuff.”
enjoy!!!
https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2017/05/04/retirement-in-the-age-of-austerity/
I am an older man so i get up for a wee cup of tea sometimes during the night that’s why your getting this reply so early in the morning lol. Unlike you i think it does help you see chippie and his fellow sailors who did serve honorably and in harsh conditions and were very aware of what was happening as their lives depended on it. Had no respect for Philip because he was NEVER there to serve BESIDE when the shit in the fan so to speak, but always came steaming up at a great rate of knots when things had settled down again. In the sort of aftermath of battle if you like. I am sure his intentions were good as in what ho chaps sorry i missed another bad one. Are you suggesting that chippie and the rest of the crew and officers were unaware of Philip having a little daring adventure sort of over the horizon mopping up and then racing of to help chippie and his battle hardened sailors get out of their little predicament. The suspicion amongst the sailors and the muttering officers was that he was being protected, being given orders that kept him out of harms way as much as the admiralty could, not his fault but there you go. So once again chippie and his fellow sailors and the officers they sailed with were VERY AWARE of what was going on around them. Don’t forget to hove up in the aftermath of a battle you have to be relatively close by. Was chippie in his trousers with him, what i knew of chippie i can certainly say no way.Please let this go because chippie was no fantasist was no liar and had no reason to make anything up to please me or my friends. It was only if chippie got a few that he ever mentioned the gentleman.Sorry just a little annoyed that someone would cast any little doubt on an honorable very aware of his surroundings gentleman like chippie He was there you know.
Stephen
I don’t mean to cast any doubt on your friend at all.
Burt you provide no details of where and when these events happened. From what I can see Philip had various postings and I doubt if chippie and his mates followed him around.
I would think it unlikely that a warship would avoid dangerous situations on account of a member of the Greek royal family being on board but again I don’t know.
He was not even engaged to Elizabeth at that time so it is fairly surprising that men serving aboard other ships even knew who he was.
Despite what wolfe tone has said I am making no claims for Philip, I am only repeating what I have read.
I presume we can agree that he was involved in action at least.
LOLOLOLOL giordanobruno i have your number now you are a bit like Kevin. Look he is your Duke i think you seem very worried about him, I neither know him nor care about him, I only by the way relayed an experience in my life about a number of experiences in another mans life that he shared with me and others a man who i came to know and trust a good man. Some of the times our working conditions could be a bit hairy to say the least. He was under me on the 8 to 12 Watch and after watch we would go up to the poop deck for a couple of tins and a bit of craic. it is a warm part of the world so sometimes others would be there. Now i do know about the value of propaganda and i am sure old Philip lucky old him was watched over and nice heroic were things said about him. But you see chippie was not part of the propaganda machine so he told us the truth as he had experienced it at first hand, that’s it now leave me alone please. Go and read the piece on Frank Kitson please. Personally now knowing what i believe to be one of the finest propaganda machines in the world I would believe nothing that the British government says, do you remember the sexy dossier Saddam was going to blow us all to hell, next thing you know a million dead Tony a multi multi millionaire the armaments people working flat out. How do you know he was not already engaged to Elizabeth. These people as they have proven time after time are very cold and self centered in their thinking and not to be trusted. Remember your very cold Queen didn’t even want to acknowledge Diana’s death until she was advised that the mood of the people was against her. Holy god all this came out of a wee bit of craic with chippie over a few beers on a warm night in the Singapore straits. please don’t reply leave me alone now that’s a good man.Go and pick on someone else i was only relating a conversation.
Stephen
He is not my Duke.
He means nothing to me but the truth does.
You initiated the exchange by the way!
The way it works is you enter the conversation with your views and others can challenge or agree with you.
Good luck.
Wolfe tone thank you for your concern but if this gio man thinks i would be so disloyal to a man i sailed with and respected that i would let him call chippie a liar, he has another think coming. And as my better half who is a retired solicitor just pointed out in passing they all just didn’t jump into little boats and sail of to pick a fight the point is they all SERVED IN THE ROYAL NAVY TOGETHER under orders.
Bit pedantic but I thiink you’ve got your cakes or mountains mixed up Jude , Battenburg not Saxe Coburg that was the missus
My goodness you really are just another Kevin. Now you are calling me and a real second world war hero liars. I did not enter into any conversation with you. I was just reminiscing about some conversations an old seaman had with me about his real war experiences with your Duke. Like Kevin you seem sort of angry if something is written that you do not like. And thank goodness i am in a position in life to not be in need of your, I think not really meant offer of good luck. Oh and just when i remember another laugh he used to give us was Philips rows of medals. He used to say him and his mates for some reason never got rows of medals. Dont forget his audience was nearly all English men with none objecting but one very old Latvian nodding.Now don’t get at me about Latvia i don’t know what they did or didn’t do in the second world war.
The better half has pointed out people may wonder who i was talking to. Sorry for any confusion this reply was aimed at giordanobruno
Stephen
He is still not my Duke.
I never called either you or your old chum a liar
Just trying to get the detail
You do seem intent on attacking me rather than discussing the topic so maybe we should leave it at that.
Good Luck.
giordanobruno
LOL your a real twister, i have a funny feeling he is your Duke I gave you the detail from a second world war hero who was active in the theatre of war and battle. He was lifted out of the sea from a sinking ship and put straight back into battle on the one that rescued him. As he said he was unlucky enough to have a bad war other people were lucky enough to have a good war and turn up in time to see what happened to people in the bad war, eg in his words that great yachtsman Philip (well actually his language was stronger but who can blame him after the things he witnessed and was called upon to do) Maybe your good old duke managed because he turned up in the aftermath, just in time to get himself written into the action, i don’t know just a thought. Might have given the authors of whatever your reading a way to write old Philip into the action. Again i doubt very much from your attacks on me that you wish me any luck but like i say i am in the happy position that i feel very lucky already thank you very much. So maybe since you don’t have an eye witness to discuss the topic. Maybe just a prejudiced person writing up the battles, maybe we should leave it at that. Do not forget giordanobruno old boy he is a favorite of one of the premier propaganda machines in the world and still is. When he dies we will probably hear how he along with the queen mother won the second world war single handedly remember she did learn how to shoot a revolver lol. And the dear old chap probably would refer to you giordanobruno as a greasy little wop what a blunder how funny what what eh. Now please fare-thee well.
Didn’t his sister’s marry NAZI officers? He is the same as all that crowd. A waste of space. There must be something in the tap water for those spongers to maintain their luxurious freebie lifestyles for so long with barely a word of dissent from the normally moaning British people.
Any man that states that he would like to come back as a virus to cure the World’s over-population.problems is a serious lunatic.