Originally Posted by Manc

but tourists come anyways.

People still go to Versailles.........

Originally Posted by Manc

maybe in a roundabout way that a tourist spending a quid on the tube tyo pay a train driver to pay his taxes to pay for a dinner lady at a school in Doncaster.

Originally Posted by Lothianlad

As Kate was being escorted down the aisle by her father on the way to William waiting for her at the altar the camera briefly focussed on a close-up of Princess Anne as she directed a comment to her husband Tim alongside. Lip reading experts all agreed that her exact words were "Rags to riches".

Originally Posted by Ash UK/US

If that is true that is in poor taste! Speaking of, was I the only person to notice Prince Charles wipe his nose between his fingers and then shake someone hands... too funny!

Originally Posted by Lothianlad

....... - and I am certain that William (who is only 75 days younger than I am) and Kate ......

Originally Posted by Lothianlad

I thought I'd explained why in another post. In a nutshell - I had planned to attempt living a life in another country on a (longish) temporary basis - with a clear decision to return to the UK at some time in the future - that would be an absolute guarantee I would make to myself. I honestly think I would run the risk of dying from inoperable homesickness if I knew that I could never return "home" to Scotland or the UK - not too bothered which.

It would have to be outside of Europe (too familiar and too similar in many ways) and English speaking and not too far away making short term holidays breaks back to the UK more difficult and expensive - ruling out Oz and NZ.

That just left North America - Canada or the USA - far enough away without being too far, and visiting this forum on a regular basis got me thinking that of the two the USA seemed a better bet as so many people in the Canada forum appear to find it boring or too cold and with little in the way of excitement, or whatever.

Then my personal circumstances here changed - a great job which I love, a new contract, and, very significantly, a new relationship with someone in the same position but who who resolutely did not want to live outside the UK, and especially away from Edinburgh or Scotland itself.

So that's it. Maybe I no longer have any need to log into this Forum or this section of it any more as there is no point in it unless, perhaps, I can offer some hopefully useful information about current life and conditions in the UK (the good and the not so good, there's plenty of both on offer right now) to any Expats requiring it for purposes connected with their planned return "home".

Originally Posted by Lothianlad

Lip reading experts all agreed that her exact words were "Rags to riches".

Originally Posted by Lothianlad

The last thing I would ever do and even then I wouldn't is to emulate the English much as I love all my English friends from uni......Even the Queen goes about switching off unnecessary lights and hates to see any food going to waste - no bad thing when you consider the fact that the average British household was recently reported as wasting an average of £775 worth of perfectly edible food over the course of a year. Who the hell wastes time producing all these pointless statistics anyway?

Originally Posted by Anian

I thought it was pretty clear to everyone that, despite not being aristocracy, Kate's family is certainly rich. More of a "riches to more riches"

Originally Posted by GeoffM

Indeed - she went to Marlborough College. Certainly not the middle or lower classes, that's for sure!

Originally Posted by robin1234

Well, in the traditional English definition, she is middle-class. To be upper-class, her father would have to be a gentleman; i.e. a member of the aristocracy or the landed gentry, or derived from the landed gentry...

Originally Posted by GeoffM

Indeed - she went to Marlborough College. Certainly not the middle or lower classes, that's for sure!

Originally Posted by Englishman43

Bang out of order that

Originally Posted by Lothianlad

The last thing I would ever do and even then I wouldn't is to emulate the English much as I love all my English friends from uni. Snobbery has never been on my agenda and it's certainly not on the agenda of those English mates.

Snobbery in England (and it was always England) is part of the past anyway - English snobs are an extinct breed in the UK now - even the Royal Family (except, perhaps, that stroppy bovine Princess Anne if that lip reading episode in the Abbey was really proven) has now accepted into its ranks a lassie from the lower end of the social order with relatives with dodgy histories and with tattoos and beer guts to go with it, not that any Royals themselves have not acquired dodgy credentials themselves in the past.

No way can anyone be described as "snobbish" just because they support the continuance of the Monarchy here in the UK and of the present Constitution and all it entails.

Who in their right mind would wish to live the sort of lives the Royals live anyway, with all its restrictions and constraints in spite of their assumed wealth and opulent lifestyles - some are actually more strapped for the readies than you could imagine - and I am certain that William (who is only 75 days younger than I am) and Kate are now set to bring about a whole lot of welcome changes in the whole Royal Household and the way it is run and eventually perceived.

Even the Queen goes about switching off unnecessary lights and hates to see any food going to waste - no bad thing when you consider the fact that the average British household was recently reported as wasting an average of £775 worth of perfectly edible food over the course of a year. Who the hell wastes time producing all these pointless statistics anyway?

Originally Posted by robin1234

Well, in the traditional English definition, she is middle-class. To be upper-class, her father would have to be a gentleman; i.e. a member of the aristocracy or the landed gentry, or derived from the landed gentry...

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

She spent her first years growing up in an ordinary semidetached house. Her mother was a trolley dolly and her father was a dispatcher. They made their money when their party business took off. Good luck to them.

Originally Posted by GeoffM

Really? Never heard that before! To me, she is posh totty and therefore de facto upper class! As for her sister... I'm getting divorced!



I've certainly nothing against her - and kudos to her parents for getting where they did in that way.