The queen walks to her seat at Jubilee celebrions

A sort of Popemobile with a chauffeur,

At Chelsea flower show. Today.

Perfect solution!

I agree about changing the words, and I thought maddyone’s suggestions are a good start. I don’t think it’s equivalent to worshipping a person. We sing hymns asking God to save ‘those in peril in the sea’ without worshipping sailors. I can see it’s an issue for non believers, but HM is Head of the CofE.

I would prefer to have Land of Hope and Glory, or
Rule Britannia as our National Anthem.

I agree with Maddyoneabout the words to the National anthem.

Just dropping in to add; the Queen had operations on both knees two months apart in 2003!..

volver

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Is this how its going to be? I may have to concede in the face of such intellectual debate.

?????

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Is this how its going to be? I may have to concede in the face of such intellectual debate.

Volver
Some days on here it's like Mallory Towers. pathetic comparison.

Some days on here it's like Mallory Towers.
Bagsy be Miss Grayling. I have experience!

Why were you counting what you had decided were unpleasant or off-topic posts? Why were you posting the numbers in a little self-devised code that you didn't bother explaining to anyone else? Why did you decide to be thread monitor and publish your findings without telling anyone what you were doing? Why did you feel it was necessary to keep the little joke going over several pages?

At least if you said what you were doing we'd have known what you thought. If you want to call some of my posts pathetic in the future please go right ahead.

Some days on here it's like Mallory Towers.

What’s unpleasant? I thought 4 were exactly that. Not my comment, unless you think I should have put 84/88 as counting the more positive posts.
Pathetic -I’ve always been too polite to say that about some of your posts-but if you like to use that description, I won’t hold back in future.

Mollygo

4/88. I’m impressed.

3/89. I'm not.

How unpleasant. How pathetic.

4/88. I’m impressed.

Agree

That's it..

youtu.be/i9nnnM-__JQ

MissAdventure

I like Billy Connolly's take on the national anthem.

You mean quick to learn, bouncy easily recognisable tune?

I like Billy Connolly's take on the national anthem.

I like the tune of our national anthem but dislike the words. I would prefer new words to the same tune. Possibly words that say something about the spirit of the people and the freedoms we hold dear. I think the words to the current anthem are horrible. It’s like worship of a person. For anyone that is Christian on this site, and I think there are quite a few, it is expressly forbidden for Christians to worship false Gods.

Thanks Joseanne. I looked it up. The tune of the Dutch National Anthem dates from about 1570 and the lyrics are about William of Orange and how he freed the country from Spanish Rule.

With respect to any Dutch grans, that's even weirder than ours!!

I can't search now because I'm in the car (feel sick if I read) but check out the Dutch National Anthem Volver. I am sure at an André Rieux concert he said it was about a monarch?

I always think that even if we dislike or disapprove we should always try to fine one positive thing in a country or in its people. It just felt to me like Grany was looking for bad everywhere in this country by comparing food, trains etc, not just her dislike of the RF. Or maybe that dislike of the monarchy can actually cloud everything else?
Sorry Grany, you did redeem yourself by saying you liked Cornwall and Wales, my two favourite places.
Pleasant thread continues ......

henetha

There are millions of good things about this country. Why the need to endlessly run this country down?

There was somebody on TV last night who was being accused of running the country down. Can't remember who it was or what they were talking about, but I remember his answer.

He answered that he was probably more patriotic than any of the people accusing him, because he wanted to make the country a better place. Now you might not think having a republic would make it a better place but some of us do, and to accuse us of "running the country down" is missing the point entirely.

One of the "millions" of good things about this country is that we are allowed to have different opinions, and mine in particular is that having a hereditary monarchy is not a good thing for the country.

Not thinking that a monarchy is a good thing is wrongly perceived as running the country down. DH and I were discussing the fact yesterday that our National Anthem is about the person of the monarch. Every other country we could think of have a national anthem about the land or the attributes of the people who live in it. I'd prefer that. If anybody can come up with a country whose National Anthem is about their hereditary ruler, I'd be interested to hear which country that was.

I bet the thousands of young people who have benefited from the Prince's Trust feel pleased about him.