Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny comes courtesy of Turtle (thank you).....

 

 

My memory for song lyrics goes back beyond the 80s and yes.....short term memory now is abysmal .....hence my prodigious lists!

 

Have a great day all and smooth sailing Lois!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny comes courtesy of Turtle (thank you).....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny comes courtesy of Turtle (thank you).....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[jpalbny]

M, tell me about it! Why did I leave the endless daylight of Antarctica for this frozen tundra here in the Northern Hemisphere? 

 

I am curious if any of our British coolers could opine about the situation with Harry giving up his position as a senior member of the Royal Family. I have a hard time believing that it was totally voluntary. He always seemed to me to be a decent chap, despite being a bit wild in his youth. What's going on? There must be more to the story. Any speculation from the other side of the pond?

[lincslady]

As I am awake at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. in the UK, here is my take - purely personal. We do not know all the facts, obviously, and there has been lots of speculation about family problems.  However, I think now many of us think it is very sad that Harry, as a charming and seemingly genuine personality, is no longer around to boost the  Royal family's interests.  He, in particular, may find it difficult to adjust to his new  life, and obviously has acted as he has purely for the sake of his wife.  It was not an easy job for her to take on, particularly as an American citizen.  He had had two serious girl friends from the UK previously, both of whom backed out of marrying into the Royal family as they were more aware of the  downsides of the job.

 

It seems particularly sad, as the British public took Meghan to their hearts on the lovely wedding day, and also admired her mother very much.  However, signs of entitledness, for example what seemed to British eyes the ridiculous extravagance of the 'baby shower' event,  was for many,  particularly older people, a bit off-putting .    I really am not aware of any racist comments in the press, as has been suggested - but I do not read the gutter press.

 

So, some sadness all round, although a few people are saying good riddance.  I do hope that he will find happiness in his new life.   It already seems as if they have less protection from the press than they had in the UK - and I hope that Meghan will drop the case against the press to avoid her father giving evidence.  

 

I would be interested to hear opinions from our US coolers.

 

Lola

 

 

[lincslady]

Just to try to answer jp on opinions as to what went wrong  - almost certainly a very stuffy attitude by some of the 'courtiers' in attendance at Buck House; the naturally reserved attitude of the Queen - it doesn't mean she doesn't like you, but she never shows her feelings.  Also probably the feeling of being upstaged by the new glamorous Duchess by the existing lovely young Duchess, i.e. Kate, and what is said to be a rather controlling attitude by William, very conscious that he will (may) eventually be the King.

[Tothesunset]

To be honest, while the pictures and confected outrage shift newsprint, I'm not sure that many people here care very much. 

 

I hope I'm not alone in finding some of the more extreme conspiracy theories rather tasteless. 

 

In a country where more than a million children are living below the poverty line its hard to get too concerned about where a rich young man's next few million are coming from. 

[Daveywavey70]

My own opinion is that I feel sorry for Harry falling under the spell of somebody so controlling. We did everything we could to welcome her and the excitement in the Country around the wedding and the arrival of Archie is a testament to that. I think if anything, some people had more of a problem with him marrying a second rate actress than a person of colour. But if it makes him happy.....  

She must have known what she was taking on at the time, if not then she’s an absolute fool for not taking the time and making the effort to find out before getting engaged. Is she really dumb enough to believe in Fairy Tales? I Think not.  I think she’s got things exactly as she wants them. I remember seeing that clip where Harry went to fuss Archie and she shrugged the baby away from him. Looking a little deeper, with the mental  health problems he has had in the past, it does make him more susceptible to being manipulated, which is how it looks from where I’m sitting. The long and short of it is that I think many of us feel that she’s quite ungrateful. She has propelled herself into an extremely privileged position, been welcomed by the vast majority (some hate the Monarchy anyway and would never be pleased no matter who she was) and feels that now she has married him and has provided a baby that she is in a strong enough position to start making her demands. It feels to me like she isn’t really interested in giving it a fair shot, only 8 months after having Archie they’re off. And don’t get me started on the faux outrage at the Papp  this week that she was actually smiling at. 
 

So in summary, an ungrateful, controlling, manipulative gold digger that we were happy and excited to support who has thrown it back at us as soon as she was safely able to.  It also annoys me greatly that when someone questions something the race card is the first out of the pack. Maybe it is more to do with people seeing her for what she is rather than her colour. 
 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Daveywavey70
Bit missed off

[lincslady]

While Daveywavey expresses himself rather strongly, I have to admit that I feel in agreement with most of what he has said - guess I was trying to be polite and fair to all sides!  And not sounding anti-American.  I am afraid to some people the case of the Duke of Windsor, our one time King for a short while, still resonates.

 

I certainly hope that the court case will not happen, as it would be an embarrassment all round.

 

Lola

[Daveywavey70]

I Do have a habit of saying what I see Lola. 🙂 And for the sake of clarity, my views on her are nothing to do with her being American either.  I Have heard a comparison made along the lines of “not another manipulative American divorcee making off with a Royal under their belt”  but she can’t be blamed for what happened 84 years ago.  I Too hope the court case doesn’t go ahead. I Don’t think it would end well for them. 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny comes courtesy of Turtle (thank you).....

 

 

On a different note, Myster and I attended our first Whisky Tasting dinner on Tuesday night.  It was in honour of Robbie Burns.  It was amazing!  Here are pics of the menu and the Scotch served with each course:

 

 

 

Have a great day all!

[besberry]

My take on Harry and Meghan.  I worry about history repeating itself.  The last time a senior royal married an American it ended in abdication.  It won't be so serious this time but I worry that they (she?)  will sully the royal family with unseemly commercial ventures.  I'm guessing that it is mostly a clash of cultures although our tabloids (not that I read them) can be vicious.  I know Americans have married into the lower ranks of the aristocracy without any problems.  And I guess  Meghan is nothing like Wallis Simpson and Harry (as far as I know) is nothing like Edward VIII with his abhorrent right wing Nazi views.

 

 He obviously didn't get what he wanted, he's had to give up his royal military duties and he had a very close affinity to the armed forces.  She was accepted by most of the British public.  Her ethincity was never a problem for most people.  She did manage to alienate people fairly quickly though.  The public were stopped taking photographs of her at Wimbledon by her royal protection officers as 'it was a private visit'.  If she didn't want to be photographed, watch it on TV!

 

It'll be interesting to see how they manage to live in Canada, whenever I've been there, the maximum length of time I could stay was 6 months.  He may be a member of the royal family, but he has no right of abode in the country.

 

He's made his bed and in it he must sleep.

Edited January 23, 2020 by besberry

[spinnaker2]

3 hours ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny comes courtesy of Turtle (thank you).....

 

 

On a different note, Myster and I attended our first Whisky Tasting dinner on Tuesday night.  It was in honour of Robbie Burns.  It was amazing!  Here are pics of the menu and the Scotch served with each course:

 

 

 

Have a great day all!

Lovely dinner M!

[Stumblefoot]

@spinnaker2, any chance you're going to be at the Top Chef Collaboration Dinner Friday night at Splendido in Beaver Creek?

[spinnaker2]

59 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

@spinnaker2, any chance you're going to be at the Top Chef Collaboration Dinner Friday night at Splendido in Beaver Creek?

 

Stumble, 

 

Regretfully we won't be at the Beav at all this winter.

 

Enjoy it!

[FlyingScotSailors]

5 hours ago, mysty said:

On a different note, Myster and I attended our first Whisky Tasting dinner on Tuesday night.  It was in honour of Robbie Burns.  It was amazing!  

Hi Mysty,

 

Glad you enjoyed your Robbie Burns night fest.  Looks like we have been a bit east of you when we would drive along the Rideau to and from our friend in Ottawa.

 

Our Saratoga Whiskey Club will have its Burns Night Dinner on January 30, (a bit late, but that was when the distillery rep was available).  We do not have a fancy menu, but the cost will be somewhat lower.  The planned menu is

 

Burns supper including charcuterie, haggis, neeps & tatties, beef stew and dessert
Whiskies: Aberfeldy 12, 16 & 21, Craigellachie 13 & 17, Aberfeldy 24 Yr Exceptional Cask, Aberfeldy 20 Yr Exceptional Cask, Craigellachie 19 Yr Single Cask
 

JP & Chris, this may be opened to non-Club members.  Interested?

 

Three years ago, Robbie Burns night fell on Chinese New Year, (as it does this year), so we had a Robbie Burns night/Chinese New Year party, with haggis, whisky, and Chinese take-out.  Here, Ann cuts the (American made) haggis, to the sounds of Ode To A Haggis.

 

 

Ann & Peter

 

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, spinnaker2 said:

Regretfully we won't be at the Beav at all this winter.

 

😥😥😥

[mysty]

Greetings Flying!  (this sounds better than Hi  Flying 🙂 )

 

Yes indeed you would have passed to our east and slightly north on your drive to Ottawa.  We had such a wonderful meal and whisky tasting!  If the Black Tartan does this again next year we will have our butts in chairs there!

 

Here are some pics of the meal:

 

Scotch Egg

 

Scott-ish Pie

 

And our haggis presentation also accompanied by the Ode To A Haggis

 

Your upcoming dinner sounds wonderful and the Scotch offerings look amazing!  Enjoy!

Edited January 23, 2020 by mysty

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[spinnaker2]

1 hour ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

Here in South Florida....it's been pouring rain since yesterday afternoon. It's 66 F but will reach 78. The temps have come up enough to revive the iguanas who survived their fall from the trees.

A quick look a Port Everglades reveals sun and two vessels.

One a giant and the other a small one of the silver variety.

Carpe diem all!

[mysty]

9 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Here in South Florida....it's been pouring rain since yesterday afternoon. It's 66 F but will reach 78. The temps have come up enough to revive the iguanas who survived their fall from the trees.

A quick look a Port Everglades reveals sun and two vessels.

One a giant and the other a small one of the silver variety.

Carpe diem all!

Thanks Spins!  Even with rain South Florida sounds enticing!

[Lois R]

Hi everyone, back home...……..had a great time but the weather sucked...….rather the waves did...…..first

time in my memory going to the Caribbean in January was so bad I had to get up in the middle of the night

and go downstairs to sit mid ship in the library!!! It was really funky!!!!