No royal wedding street parties planned
No applications to host a street party to celebrate this month’s royal wedding have been lodged in Shetland to date, the council confirmed this week.
It is estimated that around 500 formal street parties will be held across the UK to celebrate the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29th April. A major proportion of the gatherings will take place in the south of England, including 54 in Kent county and 32 in Cambridgeshire.
An SIC spokesman said: “No requests have been made. So, as far as we’re aware, there won’t be any street parties in Shetland.”
Councillors in February decided not to give staff an extra day’s annual leave. Earlier this month the SRT decided most of its staff would be getting the day off.
Doug Boyko
It is easy to see why most Britons and Canadians (of which I am one) don’t care about the Royal Wedding. Little has been done to foster the “spirit” of the event. Perhaps a “royal anything” does not mean that much anymore. Too bad because in this tough world many of us would welcome a breath of excitement…maybe the world has just grown too old.
Simon Wright
It is actually estimated there will be around 2000 throughout Britain, not just 500. Also we should not forget this does not take into account events taking place in peoples back gardens, parks, community buildings etc.. where some will rather host events because of concern about tthings like red tape, cost, and some due to the weather.
Its very sad if Shetland has no applications. Clearly steps will need to be taken to ensure more people there celebrate the Diamond Jubilee next year if the royal wedding is not celebrated enough.
Steven Cheverton
@ Simon Wright – I assume you are the same Simon Wright that posts so vociferously on the ‘Republic’ Facebook thread. This post sounds suspiciously like those, insofar that deliberate provocation seems to be the point of them.
Your second paragraph sounds like a threat, Simon. What ‘steps’ are you in favour of taking? Enforced street parties? The compulsory downloading of ‘Lizzie’ and ‘Phil’ face masks to be worn on Jubilee day? The kettleling of republicans and those that simply don’t care about the doings of the royal family (i.e. the vast majority of the British population) until the whole ghastly event is over? All sounds a bit like the fascist states that so many of the royal family have so admired in the past. All very sinister indeed.
In this post-Imperial world it never required the embarrassing insensitivity, not to say, racism of the Queen’s consort; or the seedy and oafish behavior of Prince Andrew; nor the political bullying of our reactionary heir to the throne; not even the sloaney freeloading of his two offspring were necessary to turn off the public’s interest. These, and the hundred other offences committed by the Royal family against common decency I could list, has contributed, of course. The fact is the world has simply moved on and ordinary folk just do not feel very amenable to the idea that they must be unquestionably deferential to aristocrats any more.
I accept that there exists within the older generation a residual affection for the current monarch. However, no such affection exists for what follows and not even the cynical publicity stunt on the 29th April is going to change that. You can tell yourself it’s to do with red tape, cost or weather all you like Simon, but it isn’t. If a President behaved like Andrew, Charles, William or Harry we could get rid of him, but with our current system we are powerless and have to watch while these dullards get handed millions of pounds of tax payers money for damaging the reputation of our country.
It is a little ironic, don’t you think, that even as millions of people fight and die in the middle east to rid themselves of their unelected heads of state you DEMAND that we MUST celebrate the existence of ours later this month.
Ted Knight
Methiinks the ghastly Steve Cheverton, whatever his megaphoned Republican motivations be, should to get out more.
And to juxtapose a bunch of middle eastern despots with the British Royal Family? Get a head-check pal – Oliver Cromwell you ain’t.
Colin Hunter
Street parties in Shetland in APRIL! Get real! It’ll probably be a flyin gale an rain! Doesna seem ta stop Up Helly aa though so perhaps we should press ahead. possibly recruit a few of the erswhile Vikings that Mr Knight seems to be so fond of an make a real “do” out of it! BTW, float test has now been re-located to Chelsea Harbour. I’m bringin a 50 ton shackle. Any further donations gratefully accepted!
"The Ghastly' Steven Cheverton
@Ted: Firstly, If you are going to write on public forums then go to the very small effort of learning to spell and acquire a basic grasp of English grammar. Despite the brevity of your reply I had to read it three times before I understood what it was you were trying to say. (If you are a small child then I do apologise and well done for a good effort!)
If not then read on….
Secondly, your staggering impertinence at calling someone you’ve never met rude names, implies the absence of any counter-arguments you may possess in regards to the topic in question. It may also be an indication as to your character, but I, unlike you, would not speculate on such matters in a public sphere. Either way, your reply makes you look ridiculous.
To address the only point you make that isn’t designed to impugn the state of either my mental health or social life, i.e. the comparison between our Royals and others around the world, I would suggest that you consider it carefully. From Peterloo through to the Miners’ Strike and forward to 2011 when legislation is being formed to prevent public protest, the British political class (at the apex of which is the monarch) has demonstrated all to often that it is willing to use state sponsored violence to quell dissent. Whether it be militias, yeomanry, army or police the scenes we are watching on our TV screens today in the Arab world have been played out on the streets of this country many times. Of course, I’m not suggesting that our present queen has ordered such action but her predecessors certainly did and not that long ago either. An unelected head of state is an unelected head of state wherever they may be. The principle is exactly the same. Some of those ‘middle eastern despots’ you talk of are royal families – royal families that have been invited to wine and dine with our own lot at Buck House! If you think that they are so terrible why do the Windsors, who you evidently have so much respect for, treat them as equals? The ‘despot’ Saudi, Abdullah was given a state visit in 2007 and the ‘despot’ King of Bahrain was invited to William and Kate’s wedding! Of course, he declined, which demonstrates that even murderous lunatics have more respect for the British people than their own royal family. The tone of complacency in your reply is depressingly common amongst royalists.