The Royal Wedding

[annwfyn]

Goodness me, isn't the world brimming with earnest Republicanism today? I've been so affected by it I almost left work to start camping outside Westminster Abbey just to avoid the Scroogishness of it all.

(I bet all you horrible anti-Royal Wedding grumps are still taking your two days of public holiday and thinking eagerly of nice things to do with them. It's like watching Dawkins followers at Christmas)

Comments

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

I am rather looking to the Royal Wedding. I'm a staunch republican in Australia but Britain has a royal family and should enjoy it!

Plus, mega bank holiday fest. Thanks Bill and Katy!

[blane-firewing.livejournal.com]

I don't get the days off, nor do I really care one way or the other about the Royals. I am just looking forward to my birthday weekend!

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I am totally pro-Royal Weddings as long as they give me holiday! And I'll even have a drink for Will and Kate tomorrow ~nods firmly~

[colonel-maxim.livejournal.com]

I will stand by my position - I am genuinely happy that some people are gaining joy out of this wedding - my personal indifference should cast no shadow upon their glory.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Hope you have a lovely birthday weekend!

[dr-ghost.livejournal.com]

I'm generally opposed to all the not-so-thinly-veiled nationalism that the wedding has produced. It makes me somewhat uncomfortable for that reason.

[chrisvenus]

I'm only getting one day of public holiday due to the royal wedding... am I being short changed? ;-)

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

This is my view. Also, the American coverage is hilarious and it's worth it just for that.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I think so! I'm getting Friday and Monday off work as public holiday.

[chrisvenus]

Monday is just the usual may bank holiday that we have every year. Only one fo the days is because of the royal wedding. :)

Yeah, I'm being a little bit pedantic, I know, but if you are going to diss anti-royalists on this one then then you should make sure you get it right or you'll fall over at the first hurdle. ;-)

Sadly though I have nothing nice planned for it. Maybe I should become anti-royal then and be all scroogey. ;-)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

:p Fine. One extra holiday.

And I'm sure you will be a very convicing Scrooge, Chris. I can see it now.

[adze.livejournal.com]

In all honesty, I'm happy for them as people, but on the quiet, I quite like the Royal Family.

I'd actually rather not have any of the Bank Holidays at the minute, but that's because I get paid by the day, with no holiday pay, but I'll take what's given to me, and enjoy it.

[colliedlight.livejournal.com]

I was just telling Maddie, NPR our lovely progressive non profit radio service had a bit about Blackpool on it yesterday.

America is going crazy. CRAZY.

[colliedlight.livejournal.com]

Can you guys stream the Colbert Report or the Daily Show over there? Their mockery has been spectacular.

[colliedlight.livejournal.com]

:( I miss UK public holidays. TWO 4 DAY WEEKENDS IN A ROW.

[oddnumbereven.livejournal.com]

Some of us grumpy republicans are off for a full day of work in a basement devoid of natural light! But I do love the idea of all the street parties and stuff, t's just the media coverage and commericialisation that yanks my chain.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I honestly couldn't give a damn about the royal wedding, and I always feel rather sorry for the royal family.

On the other hand, I'm looking forwards to looking at what people wear to it, and I like my extra one public holiday :)

[dainul.livejournal.com]

Yep, pretty much my attitude right there. Don't really care about the wedding of two people I've never met, though.

I think I've been paid for about 7 days of April now...

[fearmeforiampink]

I am vaguely pro us having a royal family. I couldn't give a brace of flying monkeys about the Royal Wedding. Yesterday, I was vaguely pro-wedding, because it was going to give me a day off after a week of working every day, and with a week of working every day to look forward to.

I'm currently sat in the Electoral Reform Society building, having come here to accept a delivery. Which had already been delivered (successfully) by the time I got here. So, my pro-ness towards it has disappeared, and I'm resisting the urge to be anti-it on the basis that I'm not getting the day off I was hoping for, but that's not the wedding's fault, so I'm just left with the lack of giving a brace of flying monkeys.

[chrisvenus]

I managed quite well actually. I got up late. Flicked on the TV to find a lot of singing while there were very long distance shots of what I assume were the married couple. Found out I'd missed all the exciting stuff, heard more singing and then decided to watch NCIS instead. A much better use of my time. :)

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

I just don't care either way. Though I am enjoying the parodies and reading that drinking game page on facebook.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! I do not have any objection at all to people not caring. That is fine. I just tend to think that if one morally objects to something, one shouldn't benefit from it.

Just saying 'good luck, I don't care' and bimbling on your merry way is totally acceptable!

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I'm with Billy Bragg on nationalism. I don't think it's intrinsically a bad thing and would far rather that the left reclaimed it, and made it something that was inclusive, and was positive.

Plus, having lived abroad, I am actually kind of fond of things that do celebrate English culture. We have one. It's a good thing. As long as we make it inclusive for every English person, and not some creepy celebration of whiteness, I'm totally up for that.

[dr-ghost.livejournal.com]

As long as we make it inclusive for every English person, and not some creepy celebration of whiteness, I'm totally up for that.

This I do not mind. Sadly, I think the current political climate we're in that's just not the case and it worries me a lot.

[sl4irl.livejournal.com]

Nationalism is innately exclusive.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

It's exclusive in that it says 'we are different to the French', for example. I don't think it needs to be exclusive in terms of race, or religion, for example, which is what I was talking about.

[raggedhalo.livejournal.com]

I'm a republican, but I'm also a Marxist. A free day off? Yes please!

(Also, my office was closed for the bank holiday so I couldn't have worked even if I'd've wanted to...)

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

Except Christmas doesn't assault people or waste millions of pounds so a pair of scrounging over privileged toffs can have a wedding while nearby people die on the streets and for lack of healthcare

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure the Royal Wedding did waste millions of pounds. My understanding was that when you took into account the money that was pumped into the economy in terms of tourism and merchandising, the UK actually made money from the wedding.

There's also an argument to be had about the Royal Family and how much they have proactively done to help a large number of people via organisations like the Prince's Trust (who I've worked with and who are an awesome awesome organisation who have done massive amounts to directly change the lives of young people from underprivileged backgrounds) compared to most of the people complaining. Certainly, I'm quite sure that Prince Charles, for example, has done a lot more to improve the general state of the world than I have, and I suspect the same is true of his sons.

You are, of course, entitled to hold a different opinion. My point wasn't really on whether the Royal Family were good or bad. Or whether it was wrong to object to the Royal Wedding or not. You're totally entitled to your viewpoint. My personal view is different, but that is life. I do find it...I don't know...kind of rude in some odd way when people took that extra holiday, had a lot of fun with it, enjoyed it, and then bitched about the reason for that holiday. It feels a bit odd to me to take a gift and then bitch at the gift giver.

If, of course, you refused to take the extra day of holiday and spent it working, or took the extra day and spent it volunteering at a homeless shelter or something, then I apologise profusely and agree that you are more than entitled to vent about the Royal Wedding as much as you like.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

:p

Yeah. That's fair.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Which seems entirely reasonable. ~nods firmly~

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

I took the day because my company gave it to me. The Royals didn't, and plenty of people _did_ work. Shops, restaurants etc

The royal family gave me fuck all - my company paid for that day off and your final comment is dismissive and incredibly rude - I don't need to work for charity when my company give me the day off

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Um. Your company gave you the day off because of the Royal Wedding tho? I guess I don't know what your contract says, but if it says 'x days holiday + public holidays' they were obliged to give you that day off as paid annual leave. If it says 'x days holiday, including public holiday' then they didn't.

A lot of shops, restaurants etc don't work on that basis and so did work. My work, I know, had to give me the day off because all our contracts say '23 days annual leave + public holidays' and so because the royal wedding day was made a public holiday they didn't really have any choice.

I'm not meaning to pick a fight. You are, of course, not obliged to work for charity or anything. I didn't know how you'd spent the Friday, and quite a lot of people (who have commented) did actually go to work or were doing other things.

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

But my company _pay_ for it. The royals said "do it" and businesses had to pay for it. Mine in fact says X + public holidays, so yes, they were forced to.

But it is _still_ my company who pays and gives me the time off.

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/how-much-did-royal-wedding-cost-britain-1055/

Some interesting numbers on what it truly cost us