I'd like to say this: I'm quite looking forward to the Royal Wedding on Friday. Foremost among my reasons for this is the fact that, along with everyone else, I'll get an extra Bank Holiday. I shall always think kindly of William and Kate for that. Then, of course, there will be the entertaining spectacle of the guests - famous and not-so-famous - who will be parading for the cameras. The wedding ceremony itself will be deeply affecting for very many people, and the makers of Kleenex tissues will be delighted at the thought of all their products being used to mop tearful eyes during the wedding vows.
There will, of course, be people who feel let down, excluded and alienated from the whole thing. No, I'm not going to do the familiar Leftie thing about the homeless and the unemployed. Nor will I issue dire Rightie warnings about Anarchists, Muslim extremists and Damned Bolshies.
Instead, I'll focus upon two men who have really lost out - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Both these ex-PMs have not been invited to the Royal Wedding. One can only imagine their feelings. After all they have done to help the Establishment, this is the thanks they get! Without Tony, we might never have gone to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Without Gordon, the economy might have gone into free fall and (let's not forget) another PM might have been a lot harsher on the bankers who have caused this recession in the first place. It really is so unfair.
Never mind, To and Gord - now you know where you stand with the people you did so much to please, you can still have a day off to watch telly like the rest of us.
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First of all I would like to state that the Royal Wedding is not a Bank Holiday, it is a Public Holiday and therefore people are not entitled to be paid if they have the day off. There are far too many holidays this month and companies will struggle to break even in April. In the private sector we stand alone and if we do not achieve our targets funding does not arrive by Fairy Godmother but has tocome from somewhere !
ReplyDeleteI don't believe there should be a public holiday for this or any r*y*l wedding. It's very generous to hand out such holidays when you're not paying the costs that Chas has rightly pointed out. Having said that, I don't think there are enough public or bank holidays, but any additional ones need to be more spread out so we don't have clusters of them followed by none for months on end.
ReplyDeleteThe PM himself has said that Tourism ranks third in making money for the GDP - behind financial services and chemicals. Some would say the revenue generated by tourists coming over for the wedding. together with that raised from media and cable coverage would go towards replacing that income lost by firms for that one day. Some would say that, but I don't.
ReplyDeleteActually chaps, my post was directed at Blair and Brown. Do I take it that your not mentioning them implies no sympathy at their not getting wedding invitations, !like us)?
I know it's cruel of me not to feel sympathy for Bliar, who despite breaking several commandments deludes himself he's a Christian; who despite going to war on several occasions is the Middle East Peace Envoy; and who clearly expects to go heaven despite being very rich (eye of a needle, and all that). Or for Brown who was so locked into his free market politics that he became frozen and unable to act, except by expecting the capitalist system's failures, e.g. with the banks, to resolved by that same system.
ReplyDeleteOn balance I have slightly more time for Brown, who seemed more genuine.
I've returned my invitation, as there will be no beer available at the reception, as you can read here.