The Kalwejt Foundation for the Promotion of Atlas Hilarity

[beesley]

I've missed branston pickle since I've left London and I believe one of the more tragic episodes of Brexit is the fact that we will not have much branston pickle left on the continent. Other condiments exist of course but if you have a Leerdamer cheese sandwich it misses a certain je ne sais quoi to bring the sandwich together. Butter won't do because butter and Leerdamer and butter don't really go well together.

I sometimes wonder if Brexit is going to impact the branston pickle industry in places like Belgium. When I was 4 I was taken to the British shop and we would pick up some some cream crackers and Branston Pickle. THe cheddar was missing but I guess we had to get that from the regular supermarket. I think Delhaize have their own brand of cheddar these days but I prefer Leerdamer as it has a less stronger taste and so the branston pickle can do the work.

Anyway I didn't know it had actively disapeared from the market so thanks for informing me about this development. All the best to those who have been put into an unemployment scheme. I find watching a back to back saga of Glen Garry Glenn Ross and 99 homes helps you understand how capitalism works.

Genuinely good comedy.

[beesley]

[beesley]

Splendid people who understand the need to properly distinguish between the political and ceremonial functions of the state. Constitutional monarchies maintain a far better balance of power than any republic could. And, of course, they are aesthetically superior. By comparison, republics are frightfully tacky and vulgar. God save the Queen.

Frightfully tacky and vulgar? I can think of nothing more tacky than the vainglorious self-promotion of monarchical art and architecture, and nothing more vulgar than the idle fops and foolish rakes that grow like a cancer upon royalty, always competing to outdo one another in the contest of absurd flatteries. Likewise, I can think of nothing more tasteful than the sober craftsmanship of republican artistry, and nothing more worthy of honor than the civic virtue exercised by citizens in a republic. I also don't see what any of this has to do with the balance of power, but if you'd like to go there, I should remind you that when England was a Commmonwealth she was much higher esteemed at home and abroad than when she wasted away under Stuart frivolity and irreverence.

I challenge you to argue in all honesty that Rubens' painted ceiling of the Banqueting House is anything less than a sublime testament to the glory of monarchy. It is hardly tacky. Republican art, of the sort one finds in Washington for instance, is almost nouveau riche by comparison. The Apotheosis of Washington in the Capitol rotunda is nothing more than a cheap copy of Rubens' Apotheosis of James I in the Banqueting House and rather a tragic admission by America that they can only feebly try to emulate the glories of the British monarchy.

Of course it would take quite an eccentric to argue that absolute monarchy is an advisable system for governing a state. The monarchy which I recommend is of course a modern, constitutional one of the sort one finds in the United Kingdom or Scandinavia (a region known for its hatred of equality). As regards the balance of power, Britain is a good example: parliamentary sovereignty emerged directly from conflict with the monarchy and created a perfectly natural balance between the executive and legislative which has developed and matured over many centuries. Alas, I would much rather that the ultimate say rested with HM The Queen than a fat, orange New Yorker who has a rather disturbing fondness for gold furniture. The comparison also stands to highlight the fact that it is unlikely that HM will be raising an army of baseball-capped yobs to storm the Palace of Westminster; the equivalent cannot be said of Mr Trump.

The English Commonwealth was a total disaster, which is why it only lasted for as long as it did. It was a dictatorship in which Oliver Cromwell effectively ignored parliament and established a regime which was terrible in almost every way. They banned theatre-going and Christmas - an arrogation of liberty not repeated until it was by Boris Johnson last year. Cromwell also permanently ruined England's relationship with Ireland. The regime was extremely unstable, as demonstrated by its collapse following Cromwell's death and the subsequent Restoration. The Civil War was probably necessary to reign in Charles I's excesses, but the Commonwealth was abysmal. Since the Restoration, England has prospered greatly under a monarchy. The Stuarts were rather fun, albeit Scottish; Charles II in particular was an affable character. Especially in comparison to the repulsive, dour and warty Cromwell.

I hope he is real. Impressive how someone can come off as such a twat in the most charming way. I agree with his paragraph on the Stuarts though. The whole interregnum was awful and completely misguided and the Humble Petition and Advice proves it.