in public.

Not that I have a reverence with the monarchy in a country I've never stepped foot in, but this past year or so PBS air a series - A Year in the Life of the Monarch (I believe it was a UK doc series) and you saw the hours the Queen worked behind the scenes on behalf of her country and she was not tone-deaf about issues concerning the Commonwealth Countries (BBC showed that the countries expanded from 9 to 264 during her reign, with more countries asking to join but only those who want to leave get the minions with mics and only their point of view).

I believe the amount of apprenticeships from CW countries exploded to over 3,000 in Buckingham Palace and other UK Historic Homes (monarchy does not own Windsor, Buckingham, etc., those are considered Historic Houses and Lucy Worsley via PBS, as former curator for the Historic Houses the London area, takes a person behind the scenes in these homes in a series of doc, which was easier for her to do during covid lock-downs and there were no tourists to work around.

Anyway, during the doc series, they talked to these interns and what a wonderful opportunity* they were selected for, because it is considered a real resume' builder on whatever career path they took at the end of their apprenticeship - hospitality, horseman/woman in the stables, park rangers working at the conservatives she set up, etc. (it's a looong list) and how their worlds were expanded now and in future due to these opportunities that were/are not available in their home countries

--

Now, back to OP - this summer I accidently found BBC World on Directv (yes, I stupidly still play for viewing but there is so much aired in the upper channels that you can't stream, even if you pay) when I input the wrong channel and landed on BBC-W and watched their Real News, with very few commercials, about is happening outside of our borders and to see calm, cool, collected news and interviews. How refreshing to NOT see Cult45's leader 24/7, if it is newsworthy, BBC-W airs maybe 20 secs of him/them per day. He is is NOT the world's news driver, plus you can how our MSM has moved from Ukraine, whereas BBC-W devotes a large segment of their news to ongoing news about how Ukraine is doing. They've also aired a large portion to the floods in Pakistan, where as we get nothing - all TGF all the time.

As a result of DTV, I keep my home channel on BBC-W, because "cable boxes" aggregate what you watch and keep as your "home channel," so I keep my box on that channel.

Which brings me to my real OP - I've been busy doing other things while BBC-W plays in the background and BBC did say earlier in the year that if the Queen should die, their programming would automatically be geared towards her and her life for 10 days - the time for her funeral processions/corteges' had already been set for years as she aged.

A very large portion of the BBC-W & the funeral of the Queen has been devoted to the people waiting - they almost all stated that this is history in the making, especially those with younger children, who wanted to be a very small part of it and to say their goodbye.

The solemnity of the Scottish people of simply standing there waiting to see the cortege' as it passed through their home towns - even BBC commentators made note of it - no pushing, no guns, no stabbings, chairs set out for the elderly and infirm) - quietly standing there, hope to catch sight of her coffin (which makes her death real) and to catch sight of the new King. There haven't been any walk-about's in Scotland that I've seen.

Even in London it has been the same. The most beautiful part of it all is the laying of bouquets and flower designers from all over Southern England, who have taken the bouquets to (they are collected from the BP fence each evening) (I think it's called) Green Park (which I also think is not open to the public all the time) and have reverently flora-sculpted the bouquets into beautiful displays. The people, who had to wait in line, solemnly walking the Garden to see how the people's offering of grief has been changed into something beautiful. It's more like a meditation garden than memorial or bereavement garden. It has been stated that the Park and displays could be made into a book unto it's own self. (BP has to be self-generating on the upkeep of the Palace, and I do think a book like this will help. I know I'll buy it, down in this backwater state/town.)

Unfortunately, a large group of volunteers have been pressed into service to take the floral wraps off the bouquets because they are not compostable especially the plastic paper and wraps. They are asking the people to take the wrappers off before they lay them at the fence, along with no more stuffed toys, jars of marmalade, or books. The Park is trying to make the area as sustainable as possible because they plan on taking the flowers that have faded and composting them and sending the compost to all of the National Parks in UK/GB, so they all may share in the tributes. (Something to think about here, in any future floral tributes.)

So, again, thank you for reminding the world how adults (and properly trained children**) conduct themselves in a public setting. A lot of people, before the edict, dressed for a funeral. That this is not about them personally, but about them as a country as a whole. Best foot forward and all.

Thank you from the US...

*A quote attributed to Susan B Anthony (though I haven't been able to confirm or deny) --

Luck is when Preparation and Opportunity collide.

i.e., Life is what you make of it...

**It seems that children are trained from about age 4 on not to be a disruption, especially in class. They politely stood there as the minions with mic's talked to their parents, not interrupting or jumping up and down, screaming and shouting, flailing their arms around. The teenagers have really been impressive - so articulate in their discussions on if and when they met the Queen, and what she personally meant to them. They were able to have a discussion better than most adults over here.

We definitely know it wasn't for business acumen. At the time, DH & I wondered what he could conceivably know that could justify that kinda spare change from SA.

Remember, a couple of years (pre-covid) when the Sec of Agriculture closed down the USDA Labs and Bldg in DC and drug the staff to Kansas City, MO (2/3's elected to quit and stay in DC rather than move to KC) and literally forced and dumped the staff in KC with no offices to report to, nothing set up, and abandoned them?

Now, with only 1/3 of inspectors available, is it any wonder that the baby formula and cereal producers now have absolutely filthy processing plants, awash with bacteria (different) from what the infants died from? How scary is that?

Once again, Cult45 has reared its ugly head and further damaged PJB and the federal gov't, blaming Dems for all of it, who sit there and take it. When do we start defending or offending against these lies and smears.

Oh yeah, we have the minions all clambering for the next "gotcha" moment from the GQP's in office, when all fingers point back to them, the GQP offenders. The minions all got a high from the non-stop bullshit from 2017-2021 and now they don't know how to come back down, like a drug (all included) addict searching for their next high. (It's why we are constantly bombarded with the January 6th coup attempt. It.Just.Won't.Stop!)

The "MSM" is so useless now - instead of doing actual research (even Rachel has quit doing it) into current issues and what got us here, all they can do, breathlessly, in HD makeup, pronounce the price of gasoline in their area, "interviewing" a whiner with the largest SVU manufactured about how much it takes to fill up their monstrosity. Boo fucking hoo, I have no sympathy. All I see is someone who should look into the camera, say Baba Booey and move along, searching for a good financial planner. There really is nothing to see here.

Under "normal" circumstances, in the past the rise of price gouging would be promptly done away with via the Windfall Profit Tax and people prosecuted. Under "normal" circumstances, there would not be a worldwide glut of oil, so much that it was parked in oil containers off shore for months. As soon as refining started back up - oops, we are now at a stand still because of not enough oil - yeah, sure, right. The oil that was parked off shore should have lasted us at least a year.

Plus, whoever heard of buying a tanker of gasoline, then raising the prices over and above what the "sold as" price is at the time of payment? That is out and out price gouging.

The first door that needs to be kicked in and everyone handcuffed lies with the Kock Bros - don't they own like 80% of the refineries in the US?

If we are supposed to go back to "normal," let's go back to normal and stop this crap in its tracks - pull every law in our arsenal out and actually use them. Who's the chicken shit who won't dust off the laws & statues books and use them.

Because, once again, this is the Revenge of the Billionaires & Trillionaires. There ain't no way in hell we will be allowed to keep a dime from any raises that may have been accrued over the last year and half.

Oh - btw - the price gouging is all due to greedy manufacturers and sellers/middlemen. It has absolutely nothing to do with the federal/state governments, other than not making them repay every dime plus fines and jail time.

Oh, but, everyone just has to go have a beer or cocktail so they can bitch about the pricing of items due to "exhaustion" or "anxiety." People just had to follow the Teabaggers playbook an become mouth-pieces for said Billionaires & Trillionaires. It's what they wanted and everyone feel right in line...

mine to those to post very little and have no hearts. Gots to spread the love

We put our houseplants on the deck in the spring/summer/fall. Late July, went outside to water and there was a birds nest in the plant! It is a 10 y/o Monstera Plant, so the branches are really thick and strong. What's different this year is that my sister gave us a column type bird feeder. We used to have a lot of birds in our backyard but the last year or two, not so many. West Nile has run rampant in our area and it has been so sad to not see the birds any longer. We have some back with the feeder but nothing like there used to be.

Is it normal for birds to lay eggs so late in the year? I believe (!) it is a song sparrow or white tip sparrow (it has a small white crest).
The female laid 4 eggs - 1 blue-ish speckled and 3 brown/gray/black speckled.

All four hatched but only two fledged but we did not see any bodies of the nestlings. What happens to the bodies? Do the moms take the bodies away or move them after hatching or something?

My husband took the nest out and he was totally impressed with the nest engineering. The bird built the nest along the curve of the pot and wove it in with the monstera plant lower branches. It took awhile to remove it. He was sad to have to take it out but didn't want to bring the plant in for the winter with a nest in it.

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I did not know that male cardinals were such bullies. We have a weathervane in a big pot on the deck also and only the smallest of birds can use it to perch. Two fledgings were using it to sing their hearts out. It was like when a puppy finds its voice. I was really enjoying watching and listening to them - they were so little bitty. Here comes the male cardinal (there is a m/f pair that live full time in the backyard) who hovers in front of them and uses his wings to chase them off. Of course, they appeared scared and never saw them again. The cardinals have also chased off the goldfinches.

Thank you!

Little Rock groupie 'Sweet Sweet Connie' of Grand Funk fame dies at 66
Legacy lives on in band's tune
by Bill Bowden | Today at 7:30 a.m.
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/aug/23/little-rock-groupie-sweet-sweet-connie-of-grand/

Arkansas' most famous rock 'n' roll groupie has died.

By all accounts, Connie Hamzy died Saturday at the age of 66. The funeral home didn't want to be quoted.

They said get details from the family. But Hamzy's parents preceded her in death, and she was an only child.

More distant relatives said they heard it through social media.

"Connie was a character," said Rita Ann Lawrence of Heber Springs, Hamzy's cousin. "She was very colorful. She was always in the news."

Hamzy had Grand Funk Railroad to thank for her fame.

She's mentioned in the first verse of their defining anthem "We're an American Band":

Out on the road for forty days
Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze
Sweet, sweet Connie, doin' her act
She had the whole show and that's a natural fact

Released in 1973, the song "We're an American Band" rose to No. 1 and remained on the Billboard chart for 17 weeks.

In her later years, Hamzy could be seen around Little Rock wearing a T-shirt that read "Grand Funk'd."

more at link
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I talked to her several times and she actually was a pretty cool person. My sister had classes with her at UALR and my sister really liked her too. I'd describe her personality as Earthy.

while PBJ & VPKH speaks? * started that the day he was inaugurated as an excuse as to why he could not hear questions from press.

along with * and family. Just stop. Y'all are on the wrong board and I can't believe y'all been getting away with these posts for so long.

Enough Madness!

in the country and are the coordinators for Meals on Wheels, getting Elders to their medical appointments and document Elder Abuse. They are highly trusted by Elders in rural areas and are a known entity and, more importantly, trusted. RN's and LPN's work at the offices, along with Ombudsman's.

Why is everyone trying to reinvent the wheel when the tools are already laid out.