St George’s flags have been proudly flying in Radstock, Somerset after the town council members unanimously voted on Tuesday to buy the national flag of England and to display it on “appropriate occasions,” the local newspaper ‘The Bath Chronicle’ reports.The Radstock town council stated on Tuesday that the original decision not to display the flag was ‘an error of judgment.’Radstock was stormed by protests on the weekend, prompted by the decision not to purchase the flag of St George to fly atop the town’s repaired civic flagpole.This came after concerns of one of the town’s councilors Eleanor Jackson who said that the red and white symbol could offend Muslims living in the English town, because it was used during the Crusades in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.“My big problem is that it is offensive to some Muslims, but even more so that it has been hijacked by the far right…My thoughts are we ought to drop it for 20 years,” Jackson said as quoted be ‘The Telegraph’.According to Jackson the Union flag was a more suitable way of displaying national pride.Though the council has insisted that its decision was unconnected with Jackson’s comments, and had been prompted by practical concerns about staffing and funding.“The general comment made by councilor Jackson, as we moved to the vote, had no impact on the decision we took,” said council chair Lesley Mansell on Tuesday.John Clements, vice-president of national patriotic group the Royal Society of St George, said that the censoring of the national flag is “nonsense”.In addition, the Muslim Council of Britain encouraged the flying of the St George’s flag.”St George needs to take his rightful place as a national symbol of inclusivity rather than a symbol of hatred. St George actually lived before the birth of Islam and should not be associated with any hatred of Muslims,” said a spokeswoman for the council Nasima Begum.Jackson has apologized for her comments, councilor Peter Sas said on Tuesday.“Councilor Jackson issued a public apology and made special tribute to our Armed Forces and the local police who offered her protection following the death threats she received. She acknowledged that her comments were inappropriate and confirmed it had never been her intention to offend anyone,” local media reported. … Read More
Divers begin raising German WWII bomber from English Channel
Divers on Saturday began a delicate operation to raise the only German Dornier Do-17 bomber left after World War II from the depths of the English Channel. The aircraft was shot down during the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the operation to retrieve it is the biggest of its kind in British waters,…
Morrissey on British media: A “source of insanity”
Morrissey has released another vitriolic statement inspired by Margaret Thatcher–this time chastising the British media and government for its pro-Thatcher coverage of her death.In his diatribe, Morrissey singled out prime minister David Cameron for only caring about “his personal gain,” the BBC for its censorship of “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” a song which rose in the U.K. charts upon Thatcher’s death, and the government for using public funds to finance a lavish funeral, taking place today. He compares the biased coverage to censorship normally associated with tyrannical governments, writing, “BBC News will scantily report on anti-Thatcher demonstrations as if those taking part aren’t real people. Lordly scorn is shown towards North Korea and Syria, and any distant country ruled by tyrannical means, yet the British government employs similar dictatorship tactics in order to protect their own arrogant interests.”His note begins:Continue Reading… … Read More
Britain lays Margaret Thatcher to rest
LONDON (AP) — Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s Iron Lady, was laid to rest Wednesday with a level of pomp and protest reflecting her status as a commanding, polarizing political figure.Bishop of London Richard Chartres referred to the strong feelings the former prime minister still evokes 23 years after leaving office in his address to the 2,300 mourners at St. Paul’s Cathedral.”The storm of conflicting opinions centers on the Mrs. Thatcher who became a symbolic figure — even an -ism,” he said. “Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service.”"There is an important place for debating policies and legacy … but here and today is neither the time nor the place.”More than 700 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel lined the route to the cathedral and around 4,000 police officers were on duty. Security was stepped up after Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded more than 170.Spectators lining the route broke into applause — and scattered boos — as the carriage passed by, escorted by young soldiers, sailors and airmen.Continue Reading… … Read More
By Jeeves! Britain experiencing a butler boom
LONDON, UK — Amid an otherwise bleak landscape, Britain’s economy is showing one unexpected bright spot: The job market for butlers is booming. The rising fortunes of the world’s wealthiest are creating a global demand for butlers unsurpassed at any time in the last 50 years.Not just any domestic help will do.Discreet, impeccably elegant and as comfortable typing on a Blackberry as uncorking a champagne bottle, the image of British butlers makes them requisite status symbols on par with Ferraris in the garage — and they’re being exported to the houses and private yachts of the planet’s uber-wealthy in droves.The demand is giving new life to a once-dying profession. Britain had 30,000 working butlers in the 1930s, according to the International Guild of Professional Butlers. By the 1980s, as the aristocratic estates portrayed in shows such as “Downton Abbey” faded into history, there were barely 100.Continue Reading… … Read More
“Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” climbing U.K. charts after Margaret Thatcher’s death
The Internet continues to have a laugh at the expense of Margaret Thatcher, who died at 87 on Monday. The former prime minister, who singer Morrissey called “a terror without an atom of humanity,” has been the butt of a few pranks thanks to a Facebook campaign celebrating her death, the latest being that “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” has been climbing the charts on iTunes and Amazon in the U.K.The Facebook campaign aims to make the song No. 1 most downloaded song this week. Within the first 24 hours, the song was in the top ten downloads in iTunes and No. 2 in Amazon, reports the Hollywood Reporter.Continue Reading… … Read More
