RIPs

[rogue69]

former BBC presenter Bill Turnbull aged 66

[sheridan]

This probably belongs more in a political thread, but Ravil Maganov, 67, chairman of oil giant, Lukoil, Russia's largest private company.  Cause of death reported as "following a long illness", "falling from a sixth floor window" and "taking his own life".  Maganov is the fourth oil company oligarch to die in unusual circumstances since April.

[GoGilesGo]

Hmm.

Reading that obit/news story about Maganov I'm reminded of the (grim) joke that made the rounds in 1948 after Czech Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk died:

"Masaryk was a very tidy man. So tidy that, when he jumped out the window, he remembered to close it behind him."

[rogue69]

Drummie Zeb, the lead singer of Aswad aged 62.

[sheridan]

Queen Elizabeth II

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'm neither British nor a monarchist but I'm very sorry for Britain's loss - as monarchs go they didn't get much better than her.

[Tjm86]

Fair point JBC.  Although if I'm completely honest I'm at a loss to explain what exactly she has done.  Perhaps that's the point.  She's been fairly off-handed in her work.  Not sure how Charley boy is going to go down considering all the controversy around his behaviour over the years.

As a human being I feel for the kids, the grandkids and the great-grandkids.  I'm sure we can agree that simple compassion is not being unreasonable here.  These are human beings we are talking about here.  We can at least extend our sympathies on that ground.

[of course the more cynically minded part of me does wonder if, like many in the country, the news of Mary Truss's elevation to Prime Minister and the cabinet she has just announced wasn't the final nail in the coffin (so to speak).  I know it has done wonders for my depression this week. 8-(]

BTW:  news update ... she's still dead. 

[Barrington Boots]

Whilst statistically I was always likely to outlive the Queen, actually doing so feels weird. She's been a background permanancy in my life - being on coins, stamps, postboxes etc - that the thought of all that changing feels rather unsettling.

Odd feelings on this otherwise. On a human level, horrible news. I feel horribly very familiar with grief this year and what it does to people. Wouldn't wish it on her family.
On the flipside I've seen a lot of overblown reactions in the media and from people I know whom thought better of, affording her some near divine status: David Roach beautifully summed things up last night when he said "it's ludicrous to say 'Britain is the great country it is today because of her', No- We made it; The artists, writers, Scientists, Politicians, workers and thinkers". There's an air of semi-insincereness about some of it, of not wishing to be labelled a betrayer because one's tie wasn't black enough or insufficient grief was shown when announcing the news. I hate all this.

As to the new king: hopefully we'll see some progressive changes to the Commonwealth and to the monarchy in general!

[JayzusB.Christ]

Fair point JBC.  Although if I'm completely honest I'm at a loss to explain what exactly she has done.  Perhaps that's the point.

I think that's definitely the point for me - she could have tried to meddle in politics or mouthed off with the outdated views of a privileged, out-of-touch egomaniac from a different era, but she chose not to, even as she waded through family scandal after family scandal and shared her life with a daft old bigot. 

There are some super-rich businessmen I could mention who would do well to follow her example in taking a back seat to things that don't concern them.

Like I say, I'm no monarchist - I'm an anti-monarchist in fact - but I had to have one (which I don't) they'd be something like Liz Windsor.

[Jim_Campbell]

she could have tried to meddle in politics or mouthed off with the outdated views of a privileged, out-of-touch egomaniac from a different era, but she chose not to, even as she waded through family scandal after family scandal and shared her life with a daft old bigot.

Interestingly, the only reported instance of the Queen taking a political position (and this via Palace 'sources' many years ago) was that she butted heads with Thatcher over sanctions against South Africa, the Conservatives being opposed and the Queen choosing to side with the rest of the Commonwealth, who were overwhelmingly in favour.

[sheridan]

she could have tried to meddle in politics or mouthed off with the outdated views of a privileged, out-of-touch egomaniac from a different era, but she chose not to, even as she waded through family scandal after family scandal and shared her life with a daft old bigot.

Interestingly, the only reported instance of the Queen taking a political position (and this via Palace 'sources' many years ago) was that she butted heads with Thatcher over sanctions against South Africa, the Conservatives being opposed and the Queen choosing to side with the rest of the Commonwealth, who were overwhelmingly in favour.

I won't comment too much on the royal family, other than to point out that they have a bit more power than is generally admitted to, and that the extent of that power itself is a secret (covered by the official secrets act) - which is a bit anachronistic when our tax goes towards them.

[wedgeski]

Reading her obit last night, it felt like I was reading The Crown's wikipedia page. It's interesting that I know much more about the monarchy now than I did before the dramatisation mined her life (with due acknowledgement of the over-dramatised or fictional bits, obv.).

[Proudhuff]

Queen Elizabeth II

Strange, nobody has mentioned this in the media...

[The Legendary Shark]

I can only imagine the clattering wails engulfing the media right now. Glad I'm out of it. I heard about it here after dropping in for a minute between classic episodes of Rab C. Nesbitt - which is still great, by the way.

[sheridan]

I can only imagine the clattering wails engulfing the media right now. Glad I'm out of it. I heard about it here after dropping in for a minute between classic episodes of Rab C. Nesbitt - which is still great, by the way.

I'll paint a picture for you.  On my commute to work I go past a few electronic billboards, the size of a house.  They were black, with Liz's name and year or birth - death on.  A bit closer to the city centre and there's a similar story on the bus shelter boards (except the background was white, and these ones had a portrait of Liz).  Getting closer to work and loads of roads were closed off, police cordons stopping traffic and only allowing those on 'party business' through.

At work, on the corporate intranet there is, of course, a message taking up the whole screen so you have to scroll down to get anything else.  TV in the canteen - rolling news coverage.  Put on radio four (any time of day) - you guessed it.  Check work email, mulitple emails about what's going to be happening, including that one about the traffic being stopped except on party business (the police will call the address for any deliveries to check whether they're expecting visitors).