I find that I save miscellaneous news stories of local interest, where for me “local” could be either related to the UK or the midwest of the US. I keep these open in tabs for a few days without finding myself sufficiently inspired to write a great deal about any one of them. So in continuing the spirit of a similar post from a few days ago (“Hotdish“) I present a new feature, Local News Tidbits.
Headline in the Telegraph: “I don’t like England much” says Prince Harry. I would like to point out that even in my darkest moments as an expat in England, I never said anything like that. As Mary Beard hilariously noted he does not have that option.
This one is best as a direct quote:
Latvia’s president took his interior minister to task today for calling the English a nation of pigs out of anger at British tourists urinating on the Baltic state’s highly symbolic Freedom Monument.
Sad but probably reflecting the beer-guzzling, stag party culture associated with British tourists in central and eastern Europe. Not to mention a typical Friday or Saturday night right here in the centre of my town. I can honestly say I had never seen public, outdoor, non-enclosed, 4-stall temporary urinals before they appeared in the middle of my street this summer. And I saw a guy peeing on the bank on my corner just this weekend, pretty typical for a weekend around here. I’m pretty sure I never saw this before I moved here, in Minnesota people tend to go discreetly into the bushes or something. But here it’s apparently okay for men to randomly pee on the street corners in full view.
From the Guardian, “Religious schools show bias for the rich.” Good reason to cut off this cozy and difficult to comprehend relationship between church and state. The school system here is a total mystery to the non-local. When I was growing up in the US, you went to the school that the government said was for everyone in your neighborhood. The only exceptions were the rare Catholic school kids but in my circles this was unheard of. Special interest schools existed, but they were merit-based; gifted-talented centers and music immersion programmes.
Those of us in the Bridget Jones demographic are more likely to work lots of unpaid overtime. She says as she sits at her computer for the 12th consecutive hour. Yes, I’m taking a break to blog, but I will get back to my work task for the evening shortly. And then, tomorrow morning, when I am waiting for the arrival of my awesome sister, I will again be at the evil machine.
You may recall, last year my sister arrived on May day, ironically enough. This year she arrives in March, and we are heading to Dublin for a bit of Murphy’s. Cheers!
Not From Around Here 
It is interesting that the press did not dwell on Harry’s “I do not like England much” remark. In my view, the reason was that if they did, they would have had to report why he said that because he said he does not much like the shite the press write. (That even rhymes!). So they just mentioned it in passing.
Mary Beard’s needless polemic notwithstanding, I have to say that personally to allow royals to enlist in the army and be a combatant is not suitable to the British context. It mixes what Bagehot calls the “dignified” with the “efficient” (see “The English Constitution”). The Royals are supposed to remain politically neutral, something that no war that Britain is fighting is ever likely to be. I think they need to find another way to earn a living.
Enjoy Dublin. I shall explain that cryptic note about your staff’s surprise about Ikea in person 🙂