Many of us may have remembered the grand wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I was studying in London at that time, and was so excited to be able to be able to witness such a grand affair as a student. Hundreds of thousands of tourists thronged London just to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. However, Princess Diana is now gone; and the rest is just memory and history.
Another fairy tale is now in the making; and that’s the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He is a soldier and the next in line to the throne. She is pretty, clever and educated. I just love fairy tales.
Where were you when Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married? And where will you be when Prince William and Kate tie the knot? In London?
Terence Seah
Hi Terence
I was studying in UK during their royal courtship. By the time they tie the knot, I was already working in London. Instead of joining the crowd in the streets waiting to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, I watched the whole wedding process on TV in my London flat with my flatmates (a Polish girl and a French girl). We girls were so envious and excited to see Cinderalla story comes to live although we all agreed that he was no Prince Charming.
Years later when Princess D died in a car crash in Paris trying to evade the paparazzi, I was watching the drama on TV in Toulouse, France. The princess was killed together with her then beau Dodi, the son of an Egyptian tycoon (the one who own Harods). The news media were all frenzy for days on end and the news were nothing more than repetitions with little variations here and there. Even news of Mother Teresa who passed away 5 days after D, was completely over shadowed. It was like 3 full pages about Princess D and a small little corner about Mother T.
I was so sad that the great Mother’s death was so insignificant simply because news of the famous & the scandalous sells better!
Well said, Lily,
I never believe in this monarchy clap trap.
An American friend of mine used to tell me that everybody puts on their trousers 1 leg at a time and unless any other person can put it on 2 legs simultaneously, he is just as ordinary as anyone of us.
I can never understand why anybody would let any one lord it over us simply because of his birth. There are hundreds of stories of misbehaving royalty, particularly in this region and yet the common person can still be obsequious in his response.
Perhaps I am in the minority but I find the monarchy completely irrelevant
“Perhaps I am in the minority but I find the monarchy completely irrelevant”
Charles, well said! cannot agree with U more!
I used to work in a british bank, & my counterparts in London used to say” this bunch of craps & parasites cost us taxpayers 50 mio pounds a year, to maintain this pretensions”
The British Monarchy is their last psychological link to their “glorious empire”. Glorious to the subjugator, inglorious to the subjugated.
Without their monarchy, their pretensions over Canada, Australia & even ridiculously the Falklands wud be over…the british people’s false sense of self esteem wud then fall to a new low… all these BS about the commomwealth wud come to an end.
My heart raced to a new high when I saw how the british fought feriously with all their mights over the Falklands, but with their tails behinds their backs when they handed HongKong back to China……I savour & relished this moment forever….
Monarchies are irrelevant to the 21st century of Enlightenment. The 21st century is about equality ( the brotherhood & sisterhood of Man, Achievements, a celebration of those who bring good to the commongood of mankind…..& more
I rather spend my time at Kovan dancing with Ah Nee then waste my time over this monarchy BS…….hahahahah
“I was so sad that the great Mother’s death was so insignificant simply because news of the famous & the scandalous sells better!”
Well said too Ms Lily Ho. I’m so happy & glad your heart is at the right places…..muah2…hahahaa
Hi CharlesC, HenryY and Lily, and everyone familiar with fairy tales,
In all my years, I have not disagreed with the irrelevance of the commonwealth and the British monarchy. The monarchy was simply a figure head whereby citizens can look forward to, if the government fails. Fortunately, the British government and the Parliamentary system have done well to uphold fair democratic practices, ensuring the citizens are contented and looked after.
Unfortunately, over the years, the monarchy has spent too much of public money, just to upkeep the royal household. There is just not enough effort creating royal projects of importance to its people. I think this is something for Britain to decide.
As for me, I like fairy tales. Maybe we have forgotten Cinderella, fairy Godmother, the wicked witch and all other Disney characters. Sad, kids today don’t read these stories anymore.
Prince Charles and Lady Diana made the perfect fairy tale in our lifetime. But, sad as in many human stories, the ending was abrupt. So, now, another fairy tale starring Prince Williams and Kate Middleton is in the making. I hope this fairy tale will re-ignite the world, into prosperity and joy, instead of sheer bombings on innocent people. We have enough world disasters to cope with.
And if the world has not given enough airtime to other events, let’s blame it on the media. It’s not always a fair world.
If you are happy, I am happy too.
Terence Seah
To all fairy tale lovers
I guess I must be extraordinary then, as I can put on my pants both legs at one time, when I am in a heck of a hurry. I simply sit down and pull them on both at the same time, Hahaha. Who is this American guy who said that??
The Chinese royalties were just as ‘guilty’ as the British, except that the people finally had the courage to say, enough is enough. I wonder when the British will ever do that?
Oh yes I was enthralled by all the pomp and splendour of Diana’s wedding, but I was very young then, still with my head in the fairy tale cloud. I watched it with awe then, but now, don’t give a damn about all that anymore. Like Lily said, it’s all like a TV drama, to be watched and shelved. There are more important things to watch and do than drool over a wedding gown that must have cost the tax payers a bomb to make.
In later years, I was even more captivated by the scandals of Diana and company, yet again another drama. My earlier admiration of her was shredded to bits.
As to fairy tales, I must have read everyone of them. They are just that, fairy tales and many of them have no moral values and seem silly and unrealistic to me now. They are good for improving a child’s fluency in the English language if they are of the classic prints.
I don’t think the new generation of kids will miss out on anything by not reading them, although there’s really no harm in using them to teach the English language.
Can we blame the media for wanting to focus on popular events? They attract the greatest viewership and bring in the money. After all, it’s money that makes the world go round, isn’t it? Or is it?
As to William and Kate, if I’m not doing anything interesting, maybe I will watch them. Beats watching the gore and bloodshed and political bs all over the world.
Hi Henry @ #3,
Does any one ever believe the British had historical rights over the Falklands? All they did was sail to the Falklands and say “I hereby claim theses islands on behalf of Her Majesty, Queen …..( just add name here)..
Imagine some Brit going over to your house and making the same proclaimation.
Things are just not so easy with the PRC in 1997, unlike 100 years ago, when they were the ‘sick man of Asia’.
Nevertheless there were many stories of how the British tried to use up all the reserves or the HK govt then by building large infrastructural projects. Coincidentally many British consultants, engineers, architects were used in those projects. China could only watch and ‘ren’ when that happened
But you might get your wish. Mr Cameron has institued a large variety of cost cutting measures affecting British life over the next 10 years. These cuts will cover social security payments, education, civil service, police, armed forces, increased taxes, VAT etc. He actually said they would last 15 years. Some disbelieving journalists then asked Mr G. Brown, (no relation to our Mr Brown). And he said ‘Only 10 years lah’.
Hi Mary @ #6,
Mind showing me how you put on your jeans, 2 legs at a time? I can go over to view this event, as I am sure others would too. Can bring a camera?
Cheeky Charles Chua #7
I was contemplating on not answering your cheeky remark but thought I’d give you a new name now.
You said ‘trousers’, not ‘jeans’ which I admit are harder to put on.
Keep on hoping ( or hopping everytime you put on your pants?) ;-)
Hahaha.
Once upon a time…
A Prince met his Princess-to-be :)
And they wedded amidst pomp and pageantry,
And the world rejoiced to see
The modern, royal fairy tale wedding on TV.
After the wedding, the new Princess said:
There were three in their bed!
Oh! How ugly!
Away flew the embarrassed fairy.
Bereft, the tale wended its way down a filthy alley, :(
And ended as a modern tragedy!
30 years later…
The good old fairy returned with grace,
And another fairy tale wedding is taking place. :)
The young Prince and his Princess-to-be,
Like their predecessors, both look very happy.
Stay on Earth, good fairy;
The royal fairy tale wedding needs your blessings,
And the world needs happy endings.
-copyright-
I have almost the entire collection of the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Dianna from royal cups to pop-up books. I was a student then in Canada (still under British Constition then) and the Canadians were just as excited as the British.
Fairytales are here to stay, ‘don’t care young or old’.
Where would I be on April 29? Glued to my tube,hee hee!
so glad i caught the live wedding telecast. plenty to see and to listen to. all so interesting!
The Princess’ wedding gown was so simple and BEAUTIFUL…and the MAPLE TREES in the church – so refreshing! great idea from the bride.
My gut feeling tells me the fairy isn’t going to leave this tale. :)
I admired those hats on the gorgeous ladies….wow! so trendy and nice……
Ah Nee
What I am about to say here are tales of fairies and not so beautiful fairies.
We are seeing 4 Tans and a Kuan walking up to the starting block for the Presidental Race which can only have one fairy tale ending. From the rest, they will have hard luck stories to tell and sobs to share later.
According strictly to the letters of Eligibility, K wont qualify. But no problem; he is still young and he shd find a $100m company to work as its Chairman or CEO to gain the COE for the next round.
One Tan was seen to open his palm in a foto published today which looks like waving to a crowd. That is a nice gesticulation but, aghast, was spoilt by 2 standing next to him with their fists clenched.
No, the President wont and cant be a Robin Hood and the people are not so repressed to want one.
There are Dos and Donts in the Constitution for an Elected President to adhere to. To my mind, these Ds & Ds were tailored to complement an administrative process, and it will be difficult for him to do anything else, whether he has much to hoot as a robin or a perceived renegade.
Looking into my crystal ball, I think the race will finish in this order (assuming all the Tans are eligible ) : Ayam, ah bok, ah lian and ah see.
And then they should have tea and forget how they sting (sic) each like bees in the run-up.
Singtel was punished for offering sex games.
In the 80s. we only offered sacks of names in Yellow Pages. The only game young and old played was to run their fingers thru the pages for names. You cdnt download “rapes”. You could however go down-roads (where they held roadshows) to play with their staff caped as capering apes.
Slapped with a $40k fine, this one is a tale with an ugly fairy……………