President Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama arrived in England yesterday morning for a full day of Very British Activities. If “running off with a vicar’s wife” had been on the agenda, I would not have been surprised in the least. First on the Obamas’ agenda was a lunch date with the Queen and Prince Philip. The meeting featured Elizabeth and Philip greeting the Obamas as their helicopter landed, then Philip driving the whole entourage up to Windsor Castle. For that part of the day, Michelle wore a purple (!!) Oscar de la Renta floral dress. The Obamas gave the Queen a special 90th birthday present too: a photo album filled with photos of all of the Queen’s trips to America. Decent gift?
After lunch with the Queen, Pres. Obama then had to do a meeting and a joint press conference with David Cameron. The presser came on the heels of Boris Johnson throwing a tantrum about Pres. Obama daring to have an opinion about Brexit, and let me just say… Boris Johnson’s “part-Kenyan” comments did not go over very well in America. But Obama, even-tempered as always, calmly reiterated his point that he’s allowed to have an opinion and in his opinion, Britain should stay in the EU. Plus, Obama was basically just helping out anti-Brexit PM David Cameron, per Cameron’s request, correct?
Following the press conference and a costume change for the Obamas, they then traveled to Kensington Palace for an informal dinner with Prince William, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate wore an LK Bennett dress, one which I don’t think we’ve seen before. The group happily posed outside of KP, then inside, the Cambridges’ on-hand photographer captured some intimate moments of Pres. Obama meeting Prince George for the first time because Will and Kate let George stay up past his bedtime just to meet the Obamas. George greeted the leader of the free world in his robe and jammies, because of course he did.
Just know… Pres. Obama is very good with children. But George seemed… suspicious. Like, George was not sure why these people were in his house or why he was forced to ride a rocking chair that he had never seen before (given to him by the Obamas!).
You know what else I love? That Harry and Michelle couldn’t help but kiss each other in greeting. Everyone else did stiff handshakes. Not Harry and Michelle. In another lifetime…
.@BarackObama and @MichelleObama arrive at Kensington Palace for dinner with The Duke, Duchess and Prince Harry pic.twitter.com/ZdXMj24pCL
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 22, 2016
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News, @KensingtonRoyal.
Prince George looks like he’s ready to whip out some karate moves 😂
This photo would be so much more awesome if George was wearing a smoking jacket.
Hahaha a baby smoking jacket!!!!
His attitude was like Henry the Eighth mixed w Churchill as he greeted them!
Mrs O plus Harry. Ohhhh that would be divine and I don’t blame her or him! Go, my dears, run free to your hideaway in Tuscany for one ever to be remembered summer of bliss! All will be forgiven.
OH my god, Megan, when I saw that I wondered if he has a poster of Cary Grant over his toy box. I can’t think of anyone in my generation who has the same vibe!
Liberty: People keep going on about his resemblance to Mike Middleton, but i honestly see Churchillian resemblance. He started out as Mike, but now he is a throwback to the Churchill branch of his Spencer-Churchill lineage.
I was killing time in a waiting room yesterday when i came across a current pic of George Blandford, the heir to the dukedom of Marlborough, and i couldn’t unsee the resemblance with G.
LOL………….Megan, that is great. LAK & Liberty, George does carry those Churchill genes and they seem as if they are getting more pronounced, don’t you think?
He truly is much more interesting than his parents! HONK for George!
LAK ooh there is a resemblance to Duke of M!
I agree that I used to see Mike in him and now 100% Churchill!! Such posture and presence for a tot in his pyjamas! Adorableness! Kid has more kingly deportment than Daddy, lol.
Bluehare, the Cary vibe–yes! I think I veered to Churchill as he had a more assessing expression, and because I am working my way thru C’s volumes. 🙂
I thought I read somewhere that these photos were taken by the White House photographer, not the Cambridge’s personal favorite. I could be wrong, though. George is cute. This will come back to haunt the Cambridges in their privacy issue, I suspect. The British press pack isn’t going to let this go without some form of discussion.
Love that Harry gave Michelle a kiss. The Obamas look comfortable and at ease. Kate looks terribly uncomfortable, her posture (as usual) could be better. William, Harry, and Kate could all use some tailoring!
And that interior decor – awful!
And the exterior stairway – filthy! Don’t they have a pressure washer at KP?
I read it was the White House photographer too. Souza, I think?
Love it! They’re all politely shaking hands and then Harry dives in for a kiss. And he has to lean past her husband, the leader of the free world, to get his lips firmly planted on her cheek. The friend chemistry between Harry and Michelle is epic.
It will haunt them vis a vis privacy AND ‘we are so normal’ image particularly dressing their kid up as little Lord Fauntleroy.
It’s understandable in official outings because there is an argument that can be made for his public persona, BUT to do so in private shows very clearly that they are not normal nor is he.
We know they aren’t normal, but to carry the theme, G should have been dressed like a regular person, not little Lord Fauntleroy, especially with the fiction that he was simply hanging about to meet the important guests before he went to bed.
Lol @LAK Little Lord Fauntleroy lol. He looks cute but more like my grandfather who actually smokes a pipe.
Their PR is a mess. It just never ends. Poor Jason needs to abandon ship and save himself.
I agree, Vava. If they want the press antipathy to let up, there should have been a Brit photographer there too. They *will* regret it!
Back to the theme dressing and in private; so much for their version of normalcy. I’m not surprised that after the firestorm of criticism over their workshy ways, pictures of George with the additional bonus of their private digs should be released. But these photos will indeed bite the Cambridges in the butt for the favoritism again given to foreign photographers and not to the British. I understand that they probably couldn’t deny the President his photographer, but for the sake of equality someone from the British media should have been present, too.
LAK, Spot-on! Little Lord Fauntleroy is precisely what I thought, too, when I saw the little fellow erm Prince!
To be fair to Marie Antoinette I have to point out that there’s absolutely no direct evidence for the whole “let them eat cake” comment.
Edit:
Wrong place for this post.
Press pack is getting it started
Tom Wells (The Sun)
Kate/Wills let vice-like grip on ‘privacy’ slip momentarily to push #ObamaInUK visit for GB. World melts. Lesson? #PRisnotrocketscience
But the pix also expose a daft double standard. ‘Privacy’ jealously guarded…unless apparently openly traded for politicians’ gain.
Mark Cuthbert @markacuthbert
Prince George pictured in pyjamas, could be interesting “privacy & intrusion” discussions in the future over the next unofficial pictures.
Niraj Tanna @IkonPictures
When all else fails, deploy your secret weapon.
I read there was one official WH photographer, and one British photographer, and that’s it. No one else allowed.
@Vava, who wrote: “I thought I read somewhere that these photos were taken by the White House photographer, not the Cambridge’s personal favorite. I could be wrong, though. George is cute. This will come back to haunt the Cambridges in their privacy issue, I suspect. The British press pack isn’t going to let this go without some form of discussion.”
I don’t think these photos were taken by a White House photographer. I just visited “Hollywood Life” and the photos they have of the Obamas, George, and his parents were sourced courtesy of ‘Kensingtonroyal,’ and when I clicked on the ‘Kensingtonroyal’ link I got this message:
“Kensington Palace Photos and videos direct from Kensington Palace about the work and activities of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. http://www.dukeandduchessofcambridge.org”
Here’s the link to the article “Prince George Meeting the Obamas in His Bathrobe – See Cute Pics”
http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/04/22/prince-george-meets-obamas-robe-twitter-picture/
Bettyrose…. yes!
Why is it all day I have waited for this post to magically turn into “The Obamas enjoy dinner with Harry in his pyjamas” photos. Sigh.
Harry’s appreciation for Michelle and vice versa is darling. She has the POTUS and the cute ginger prince both vying for her love!! “Pardon, Mr O, i am planting one on your delectable jolly wife!” And she still had the time to salute Prince via her dress. Bravo, I say!
yeah the kiss was too cute i like to think they have a crush for one another 🙂 and that it makes potus smile 🙂 Harry is the real HM for me and he have more presence than william
Wax On.. Wax Off….
He looks like he’s ready to smoke a cigar.
If Obama wanted to be President of the World, I would be OK with that. (Or Michelle either.)
I think the rest of the world might not be.
After the last couple of days there are probably some in Britain who thinks he believes he already is.
ITA, 25.000 people were demonstrating against TIPP today in Hannover ahead of Obama’s visit to Germany tomorrow. I don’t know whether this is shown on international news…
Britain is not happy with Obama at all (me included)
Sarah, I just left the country a couple of days ago. Until earlier this week, Britain – or at least my part of it – seemed quite happy with Obama and hoped he’d talk some sense into Boris’s Bremainers. Could you elucidate on how “Britain isn’t happy with Obama”? Wondering what he could have done in a day!
It’s the fact that he feel’s he has the right to tell the British what is best for us. The everyday people of Britain don’t like being preached to, especially by someone who has no right to do it.
Everyday person of Britain here: I’m very happy with both Obamas, thanks.
I do sympathize as I too as a U.S. Citizen was furious when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to our congress and tried to dictate and scare us from negotiating with Iran. Especially since he was using scare tactics (Iran is going to break out into full nuclear mode in 1year, a phrase used EVERY year that has never happened and our press is too chicken to challenge).
However President is not doing this for our own selfish reasons or using war threats. It’s about preventing destabilization of Europe and eventually the rest of the world. We will be fine. But just as the crap that happened with our Wallstreet had a global impact so do major actions in Britain.
He is simply advocating for the smaller countries that will be harmed. That said it’s just his advice and opinion, just food for thought to our major ally and friend. At the end of the day Britain will make the final decision, not Obama. So please don’t be too upset at us 🙂
British citizen here. Like Pip, I’m happy with both Obamas. He has the right to an opinion on an important issue which could have a catastrophic effect on the global economy, which he’s expressing, not dictating, to the British people.
Not British here, but I’ve lost out on teaching jobs in Europe to Brits who didn’t need visas. Spent an evening in Berlin once chatting with a young British woman who said her uni degree amounted to little in England but was valued in Germany, where she was quite content living.
According to Sky News (which is the best of the news streaming services on Roku, so I watch frequently), there’s real concern that the youth vote, the ones who stand the most to lose from leaving the EU, will stay home.
It sounds to me like twentysomething voters feel lectured at and patronized by British politicians, so if there was any chance an outside voice – i.e. Obama – could rally the youth vote in the UK just as he once did in the U.S., why not try?
Oh please. The entire world tells us every single day that something or other that we are doing is evil, greedy, motivated by our stupidity, obesity or general repulsiveness. He expressed an opinion. Get over it.
@Original T.C.: Oh, I’d forgotten about Netanyahu (Don’t know how, as it pissed me off to no end).
But the reality is, as already mentioned, politicians advocating policy/voting in a country not their own isn’t new, or unusual. It may be annoying, but acting as if it’s some special insult to the average Brit is ignoring history.
@GoodNamesAllTaken
Absolutely. If you don’t like foreigners having an opinion about you, stop providing yours. Every one of my trips to [fill in with any Euro country], people were quite happy to tell me what they thought of Americans, freely and frequently.
Obama’s not the Queen, he can speak his mind. He pointed out the consequences of a Brexit and gave his opinion, that’s all. A Brexit will have consequences, why even do it if nothing changes? If the results are good or bad remains to be seen.
Obama’s opinion is correct, if Britain leaves the EU, we are totally f**ked. This whole referendum is a waste of time and money, a Tory ploy to get Ukipper votes (a plan that failed). Why on earth are we letting a load of racist, uneducated old white guys decide the future of Britain? Utterly ridiculous. We can only hope that the older voters this about Britains future and not themselves when casting their vote. Its the young that will have to deal with the mistakes of the privileged OAPs, who left an ugly mess for us to clean up whilst they shout at us for trying to do so.
@Sarah: he was requested to by Cameron. Also… it’s not like the British don’t have a long and storied history of throwing around their ‘opinions’ to the rest of the world.
There’s a distinction between what Obama did and what Netanyahu did. Netanyahu came and spoke before the US Congress at the invitation of Republican members of Congress for the specific purpose of embarrassing a sitting US president.
I have no issue with Obama correcting any misconceptions the Leave Campaign have been attempting to trade upon with false claims of ease of UK-US trade deals in the event of a Brexit.
We’ve now heard from the horse’s mouth that such a deal would be unlikely in the short to mid term and that US priority would remain with EU negotiations.
It is not in the best interests of the US to prioritise a non-EU UK ahead of the remaining 27 other member-states as a bloc.
Leave are using the same type of mythology the Nationalists used in the Scottish Referendum over both the EU and Currency Union. It’s a good thing that people like Obama are prepared to debunk these myths ahead of such a crucial vote. I just hope once the vote takes place people will accept the settled will of the UK either way. That hasn’t happened with the Nationalists is Scotland and we continue to be divided as a consequence sadly.
I so related to what NYer said. When I was oversees I heard a lot about what America does/did and what we should do. Why would we expect Obama to visit and not give an opinion on the matter?
What Sarah’s point brought out is that you can’t say a whole country feels a certain way. Someone might even have a good point but as soon as you say “everyone feels like I do and it is…..” you start on weak footing because of course you can’t speak for an entire group of people (we miss this point in the US a lot imo). It just makes people, rightfully so, defensive and say “no I don’t!” without even listening to your point. And it sounds kinda preachy.
Lots of people in the UK are upset with Obama. And lots of people in the UK aren’t upset with Obama. And lots of people (like me) think that it was ill-advised of him to have made his intervention, but know that what he said wasn’t wrong.
And that’s why he did it. Because people can be annoyed that he waded into the debate, but no one can rationally say that he was incorrect when saying that we would go to the back of the queue when the US is negotiating its trade deals. The Brexit campaign has now lost the economic argument. Now, maybe immigration alone will be enough to get the British people to vote for Brexit, but I don’t think it will.
What Tina said.
Thanks Sixer. @SpareRib, young people are not voiceless here. You have a vote – use it! Don’t let the fact that older people are both more likely to vote and more likely to support Brexit stop you from exercising your democratic rights,
I def don’t need a president of the world. I find that a very bizarre idea.
But you get one any way. They don’t call the U.S. president the most powerful person on earth for nothing.
The pj/slippers/robe on George are overloading me with cuteness.
Harry and Michelle looked like they wanted to hug but didn’t for decorum’s sake. Pres. Obama seems amused by this.
I don’t get why that kid is constantly dressed like it’s the 50s.
Well, I have almost identical pics of my kid at that age, dressed in jambes and with a monogrammed bathrobe. Parents think it’s cute, grandparents like to gift them.
Exactly, I’m obv to poor to know how to properly dress kids but I’m pretty sure 99.9% of children are rocking either Spider-Man or Elsa from Frozen nightwear, with or without monograms. Thanks again to the Cambridges for letting me know how it’s done!
Yes! Every time I see pictures, I’m like, are they behind the fashions over there? It all looks dated and out of style.
Omg LOVE the pjs. The little robe and slippers!!! I giggled and looked like 50x
There was a photo of Michelle getting out of the car when they first arrived and it was awesome! It was on the DM and you know it was intended towards Harry. The two of them together are great! I look forward to seeing them together at the Invictus Games in May.
Michelle got out of the car and had this very friendly, non-professional expression like she was there to greet a friend.. With her arms out like, here I am you big hunk of ginger biscuit love! Too cute!
I saw that. Didn’t the article say something like Michelle said “we’re here” almost as if they had taken a long road trip to see the new baby?😊 I thought it was very cute BUT it made me angry too.
Michelle & Barack seem like nice people and a good couple. I was angry that they were probably asked to trade on that niceness and goodwill to help Will-less and Clue-less.
I don’t usually comment on the George pictures (cause I don’t think he’s cute or exciting). I’m commenting now because I’m so tired of them pulling him out as a distraction. What the difference between them & Sarah Ferguson clinging to her daughters as a mark of her goodness as a person? Nothing. What’s the difference between them pulling out George & shamelessly using him as compared to parents using kids to get money from people via internet scams? Nothing. They kind of remind me of the people I knew who would put the light bill or electric bill in their child’s name.
@Cricket, who wrote: “Michelle got out of the car and had this very friendly, non-professional expression like she was there to greet a friend.. With her arms out like, here I am you big hunk of ginger biscuit love! Too cute!”
LOL!! This comment is beyond awesome … and is oh so true!
🙂
🙂
🙂
yeah i think so too maybe they have a crush he makes her laugh like a teenage girl 🙂 an i am pretty sure potus find that cute and/or funny 🙂
Love the Harry and Michelle pic! She is so stunning. And I love that she’s wearing purple. I know that it’s probably in honor of the queen, but a part of me thinks she’s showing some love for Prince.
Now why can’t she be running for president? That would make me happy.
Maybe in a few years she will be? She’s a lawyer too, isn’t she? If Hilary can do it I hope MObama can, too!
But wasn’t Hilary much more active as a first lady? Her initiative was education. Michelle’s is healthy eating which is much blander.
Define ‘active’. Michelle does more than just ‘healthy eating’. But she also had her own career before becoming First Lady.
But I don’t think she has in interest in running for election.
ETA: I’ll note that all First Ladies probably are more influential behind the scenes than we’re usually aware of, that’s been the case for some time. But when you start to look too involved, whatever that means, there’s backlash. It happened to Nancy Reagan, it definitely happened to Hillary. So there’s a fine line to tread, and how to appear in terms of active involvement, especially in policy. Some of what you perceive as Michelle’s ‘blandness’ is quite deliberate.
CR,
100% agree with everything you said.
Mrs. Obama is also really active in supporting military families, especially those with soldiers overseas. She’s been supporting veterans and veterans issues too.
I think she’d make a great president someday but I don’t think that’s something she wants to do, she’s much more private and wasn’t really active in politics like Mrs. Clinton was during her husband’s administration.
Hillary was the famous “you get two for the price of one” First Lady, and she was a total disaster, especially her health plan that no one could make heads or tails of and was never heard from again.
@GNAT, actually many could make sense of her health plan and portions of it were passed into legislation in later years, particularly provisions for care for children, immunizations, and pregnant women. However, little coverage was given to those accomplishments. Other portions of it, like the state exchanges for health insurance, were revived into The Affordable Care Act.
@Locke Lamora, who wrote: ‘But wasn’t Hilary much more active as a first lady? Her initiative was education.”
Two of Laura Bush’s initiatives were Literary and Education as well.
Hillary Clinton isn’t running for President because she was an active First Lady. Hillary Clinton is running for President because she was an active U.S. Senator from the State of New York and afterwards an active U.S. Secretary of State. But more importantly, it was her girlhood dream. What a personal realization if she actually wins! 🙂
@cr, all this and more. We should also not underestimate the importance of confronting childhood obesity and FLOTUS’ admirable achievements. We saw some impressive drops in rates of childhood obesity, thanks in great part to her competent leadership over all the different departments and agencies working on this – the CDC found a 43% drop in obesity for children aged 2-5. America’s kids will be far better educated about nutrtition and healthy choices because of her.
I have the *biggest* girl crush on Michelle Obama – she’s wondrous & the best role model evah!
Having said that, her husband is also incredibly impressive – is there nothing the man can’t look good doing ….? He makes our shallow posh boy look desperately inadequate (although he doesn’t need much help achieving that).
Michelle is stunning. Her glow and those legs(!) are to die for. I love that she sets her own example for good eating and actually working out with the muscles to show!
Love that she and Harry did cheek kisses instead of the impersonal hand shake 🙂
I swear she gets more beautiful with each passing year. I really want to know her secret.
I love Michelle Obama. Huge fan here!
Call me cynical but given all the Cambrige backlash, a George picture was totally always going to be on the horizon. Not that I mind, that kid has so much more personality than his parents!
I totally fell for it until reading your comment! I was like “of course Wills and Kate would introduce the Prez to the most charismatic part of their family unit). But yeah that picture of George and Obama will trump the one of Flotus Michelle and Harry’s, at least in the U.S. “Serious newspapers”.
But Dam George is my favorite royal along with the Queen and Harry. Although that thick robe on George is overkill for a little kid!
Yes, I was waiting for a George picture too after the so so result of their last tour, and this one is pretty good! Can’t believe it took a visit from the US to force them to allow us a picture of their adorable son. Maybe he won’t be so hidden away going forward.
To me, he looks afraid to meet new people even while he’s in the safety of his own home. Speaks volumes.
There is a high probabilitybthat he is going to be raised in an ivory tower, which is unlike Diana’s wish of raising her kids with an awareness of people outside the tower.
Notasugarhere – I thought so too…
He’s 2 (or maybe 3). Total age appropriate shyness, even when in his own home.
My nephew has 2-3 minutes of shyness when you first meet him. After that..brace yourself he becomes a tornado. It’s common i think. Plus he is playing in the other photo with no care in the world. Children are like that.
As for the opinion Obama has, lucky you he just has an opinion. For countries like mine (small unimportant one) the Americans have plans and orders we MUST obey or else.
And yes baby pics when they have nothing else to give or need a good PR. It will go on like this forever. Shame on them for having everything and giving nothing to the world not even the pretense to care. And i envy the house or at least that i can see. Just shows you how privileged they are. No wonder they can’t relate to the rest of the world.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but he’s being raised in Norfolk. I suspect he’s never met anyone like the Obamas before.
Tina, that is exactly where my mind went too. I have a five-year-old and live in constant fear of what she might say in…situations such as this!
I wouldn’t want my 3 year old to be uncautious of strangers.
I was most fascinated to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Cambridges’s farcically named “apartment!” (you know, the one they renovated with £4.5 million of taxpayers’ money, although they paid for the furnishings “themselves”…side eye). What struck me most was how dreadfully boring it all was; in a word, BEIGE. Sure, it was somewhat elegant; yes, it looked expensive; no, I wouldn’t mind it for a hotel lobby. But there was no personality there. I understand this is a sort of “working residence,” but for all we’ve heard of Kate collaborating with an interior designer, and how cozy and homey it was, with scented candles lit by some underpaid staffling with Helicopter Carole hovering over them…I remain underwhelmed. More than anything, it looks like every National Trust country house sitting room I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot) – the same non-descript, aristocratic formula of stuffy sofas, pianos covered in shawls and framed pictures (does anyone in that family even play an instrument?), with a few completely unappreciated antiques and paintings mixed in. So, in essence, it was to me what the Cambridges are in life: un-inspired, decorative without purpose, and above all, desparately trying to fit into some aristocratic code that says nothing about your personality or your passion. Et voilà.
The decor is awful! A few good antiques drowned out in a sea of beige blandness and tacky furnishings. Don’t even get me started on the horrible lamps, the frumpy sofas or the ugly lucite table – and then there’s the sofa table masquerading as an ottoman. I am aesthetically offended by this decor.
ArtHistorian All of this! As a fellow art historian, I am as equally offended and above all feel sorry for the antiques and paintings unlucky enough to have been handed over to these two philistines.
Yep!
That lucite table was the only thing I saw.
Yeah, a fellow art historian!! I always feel the need to do battle when ignorant posters condenscendingly labels Art History a fluff degree women who aspired to become ladies who lunches.
If I had gotten the chance to decorate a room such as this, my approach would have been very different. Some colour on the walls (perhaps in the form of rich tapestries). Then a mix of antiques and Scandinavian modernism – and some frigging PH and Le Klint lamps! Some contemporary art on the walls.
I shouldn’t be surprised that Kate would be able to spend a lot of money on something that looks both bland and tacky.
I would have thought there’d be a lovely cabinet to store those liquor bottles in rather than sitting out in plain view on what is probably an antique tea table. Something like that just puts me off. And do you think that stuffed toy was strategically placed so that it gives off a “the children play in here all the time” warm vibe? Or is that one of Kate’s wiglets gone bad?
They brought the toy as the Obamas gave it to William when Charlotte was born.
I see, thanks.
It is a crime to see all of those beautiful antiques going to waste. As AH said an eclectic look would have been very nice and contemporary.
The decor is so underwhelming and bland, but that’s hardly surprising considering these two. As so many commenters are saying, it looks like a room you’d find in a hotel.
What really gets me is the wall to wall beige carpet with rugs on top — such a design mistake. And so much beige, no focal point or pop of color, bad lamps, horrible lucite table and overall it’s so boring!
I’m worried about all the sharp edges (tables, bookcases) around toddlers.
I hate the wall-to-wall carpet as well. In fact I don’t like wall-to-wall carpets at all!
THIS! It seems nicely furnished, but the white walls give it a very sterile quality. No warmth there.
George steals every picture he’s in! But, as someone upthread has remarked, he does seem to be dressed all the time like it’s the 1950s.
Thumbs up for the purple dress; thumbs down for the photo-album gift (you think the Queen doesn’t already have pix of her visits?). Think a basket of only-in-America foodstuffs, like maple syrup, etc., would’ve been more fun.
I’ve yet to meet a person outside of a North American who is impressed by maple syrup. I find it offensively sweet myself and achingly, painfully sweet seems to be the opinion i’ve ever encountered of anyone afflicted such a present. But I could be wrong – perhaps there are people who like it.
I thought the Obama’s gift to be sweet. What do you give a 90-year old monarch? (Apart from something that will probably stop her heart from a sugar rush, that is?)
Um, maple syrup is at least as closely identified with Canada. Our flag is a maple leaf!
Photo album is probably beautifully produced and totally appropriate to the occasion.
I like maple syrup – I have it on my yoghurt with fruit every morning. It has had a bit of an exotic quality here in Scandinavia where sugar generally is made from a type of beet.
I love Canada but hate maple syrup. I think the photos are a lovely gesture. Perishable gifts are tricky if you don’t know someone’s tastes and is usually best for informal occasions. A company may give a basket of their products to woo a client or as a Thank you. Things of that nature.
This is more personal for a woman who can buy anything but not intimate, which would have been inappropriate.
Yep, in my country maple syrup is also considered typical Canadian. Interesting!
This is the silliest conversation. No one outside of North America likes maple syrup? Ok.
GNAT,
Perhaps there are. It doesn’t matter. My interjection was that saying that maple syrup made a better gift for a queen’s 90th birthday than a retrospective of some form was not quite as unilaterally agreeable as the original poster imagined.
You find it silly that maple syrup is not popular. I find it silly that something as specialised as maple syrup is trotted out as a better gift than something as individual as a retrospective of the Queen’s personal “connection” to the US. Potato-potahto.
@Is_boston, no I find it silly that you say no one in the world outside of North America likes maple syrup. How on earth could you possibly know that? You don’t. I happen to agree that the gift given was nice because it was personal and thoughtful. Not because I claim to know how the entire rest of the world feels about maple syrup.
I like maple syrup. Jus’ sayin’.
@Is_boston, no I find it silly that you say no one in the world outside of North America likes maple syrup.
Nope, GNAT, I said, *I* have never met a person outside of NA that could stomach it. That I can know – and i’ve traveled a fair bit. Evidently there are people who like it. But it’s fair to say that it is something of a niche taste and far more universally liked within NA with people who’ve grown up with it, than outside of it.
One might as well say, give a Stilton blue cheese as a gift. I love it. Plenty of people do. Turns out, vast swathes of the world’s populace think it’s vile! (Peasants!)
But Stilton or Maple Syrup – these are niche preferences. Much more palatable – and less silly – to give a photo retrospective of the queen’s trips to the USA. 🙂
Alix – maple syrup’s largest producer is Canada – in fact the province of Quebec. It’s hardly an “only in America” foodstuff. God almighty. Stunning.
Slice sweet potatoes very thinly. Arrange in pan. Dot liberally with butter. Drizzle with maple syrup. Sprinkle on some sea salt. Roast at high temperature until potatoes are crisp at the edges, turning occasionally so potatoes don’t stick to the bottom. Heaven.
@regirl Good heavens, apologies. I was thinking of Vermont maple syrup. And it was only an EXAMPLE, not a dictate to raise HM’s blood sugar levels. Calm down, everyone.
In support of GNAT, my husband loves Maple syrup. He’s from Southern Europe.
I have tried so many recipes with maple syrup because it has become a favorite of my mom’s In recent years. No matter what, the sweetness is just too much for me. Maybe it is an acquired taste?
There’s nothing wrong with the way the child is dressed. Children do wear non-commercialized pajamas and robes. Not all kids are dressed like walking advertisements. He’s a toddler who very likely hasn’t been overexposed to all the promotion for movie-related products and also probably doesn’t go into stores and hangs around kids whose parents are rich enough to buy quality clothes, so where would he even get a burning desire for the tie-in clothing in the first place? Children beg for such things because the desire is artificially stimulated.
Advertising to kids is like shooting fish in a barrel. Kids who are raised away from the stimulus don’t have the artificially-induced desires. I’ve seen TV advertising for clothing aimed directly at six year olds today, in addition to the endless promotion of toys and sugary cereals. Just limiting children’s TV viewing and avoiding the onslaught of kid-targeted ads as best you can helps reduce the “gotta have it” syndrome.
It was much easier to have limited family resources while I was growing up a few decades ago. We had much less commercial pressure on us to buy pricey things. We had commercials, but nothing like we see today. Candy ads actually showed what the candy was made of and toy ads actually showed children of the right age playing with them. I don’t recall a lot of clothing ads aimed at kids. Today, the ads seem mainly aimed at telling you how cool you’ll be if you eat or drink such and such (and very effectively). Toys are typically shown with children significantly older than the target audience and of course they are aimed at enticing kids to demand an endless series of new purchases on the theme. Parents have a tough job counteracting these pressures to fit within the family budget.
The decor is a taupe nightmare. It is ugly and it does look like some remodeled hotel concierge floor common room in a landmark hotel. Sterile and impersonal. I am eyeing the what looks like a Sevres tureen behind the Queen. She has a collection of Sevres items.
What y’all are saying.
To think they changed it from Margaret’s striking decor to this!!
They’ve taken Diana’s apartment to use as a reception space – glimpsed at the Huffpo blogging/mental health/pre-India and Bhutan reception, and made that more bland, at vast expense.
It’s sneaky how they took Diana’s apartment because that was done on the quiet, and probably won’t show up as an extra item in the accounts ie it will be buried in the general accounts.
I guess they didn’t spend as exhorbitantly on that apartment as opposed to their own.
I’ve never seen an apartment so bland for the money spent.
There is nothing in that room that holds your attention except to lull you into falling asleep.
I didn’t know they took Diana’s space, I remember reading it had been divided up into smaller ‘offices’ for non-profits etc and they were being moved out, wasn’t there some art work displayed there and it was open to the public? But then nothing more was really said. Yes, agree with you, Margaret brought in color and personality. What a safe, nondescript change, reflecting Kate’s wardrobe and shoes.
Was the blue and any of the ornateness still there? They easily could’ve worked with it, (and it would’ve proven to be most inspiring), kept some of that character, and it probably would’ve worked out better than as @GrinlingGibbons nailed it, creating just another fluffy, cluttered, nondescript country house-style home, where taupe goes to die. I was tempted to say “kept some of that character but modernize it”. But modernizing was clearly not on the agenda.
Is this the 1st official reception they’ve even had at 1A? The public use/working palace argument would be BS anyway since we know that the “public” will nevah, evah, even see the rooms where the bulk of the money went, (like the 50 kitchens). Just think. This is it. And we aren’t even seeing a scrap of the £4.5 million reno and £1.5M for decorating. Then again, neither will Bill and Bucket since they hardly spend time there. (Plus, don’t you love how things like the asbestos removal were included in the original two million estimate? But they tried to pretend that it was just a few unforeseen costs, and of course no running water!, that blew up the budget.) I felt that way before the subtle mentions of “K.P.” using Diana’s apartment like an office/reception. Yeah we haven’t really talked about that. I noticed at the time of the polka dot incident that the reports were vague on where exactly the cheesy snacks were being served. Of course we also had Kate and Huffington Post in Apartment 8. Now I understand Harry doing an interview in Diana’s apartment, because he lives in a cottage. But William and Kate have no reason to do so.
You know my favorite part though? The “public domain” photos that decorate this room. We’re not just talking formal portraits and publicly available photos. There are also several pictures that are actually framed pap shots on display. Oh yes, and all seemingly of only William, Kate, Diana and the Middletons. No Windsors allowed, ‘cept Harry. I also find it “interesting” when people have individual photos of themselves in their homes. William and Kate have a few…
Amber : the charity resident in the apartment, before WK took it, kept the blue walls.
If you google historic royal palaces wedding dress exhibition. + Princess Charlotte’s wedding dress you will find some pics of the apartment under their care.
Also, it was so strange that their private family pics appear to be ones taken by paps and or are in the public domain. Then again, the middletons used to askmpaps for copies of pics for their private albums.
Do you think the snatch-and-redo of Diana’s space will show up in the accounts anywhere? Or be hidden?
Nota: I’m guessing it’s going to be hidden because they don’t appear to have spent vast sums on it.
The little we’ve seen of it implies very basic refurbishment. The biggest job being the wallpaint from yellow to magnolia whJune easily hidden in building fund of the Sovereign grant.
When the various accounts are published in June, let’s keep a beady look out!!
I absolutely remember seeing photos of that exhibition. I couldn’t recall what the extent of the work was that the charity had done. But mostly, I hadn’t had my coffee yet 😀 Literally when I hit refresh I thought, “You remember that exhibition and you saw the blue and the tile, Amber.” Oh God, what do you think they did to the dining room? Beige, with eggshell colored trim? They would have had a much better shot at impressive and iconic if they had mostly left 1A alone. You would know immediately where that blue was. (Like the yellow and the Flemish tapestry in 8&9.) They should’ve borrowed some of that majesty and grandeur from Margaret. I was pretty surprised when I saw that this was in 1A for realsies. First because they’d never allowed it previously. But it also looked like a million other drawing rooms. There’s no way of distinguishing this and nothing to look at or remember. I was expecting something for all that money, in the grandest apartment in a palace.
Ahh, so this might be evidence that the Middleton do indeed request photos from the paps? I don’t even know what to say.
OK, I’m bland, bland, bland because overall I liked it. Except for that lucite table, which is a crime against furnishings. I grew up with parents who liked stark modern, and I’ve rebelled against it and now I much prefer settings like this.
I get your point, totally modern wouldn’t seem right either, but I could see more modern art work? Where is their love of art showcased?
I was very disappointed in the wall to wall carpeting but quite impressed on them not using coasters 😉
My biggest take away was.. do they not have any personal photos to frame? Every photo – aside from the one of the Midds at the pyramids (most likely because Tanna wasn’t invited) are pap shots.. for being a ‘normal’ family.. this room looked like a set from Downton Abbey
That was an interesting hand shake protocol in terms of who greets whom when. William to Michelle first is proper. Then Kate enters. Then Harry.
George is a little doll shaking Obama’s hand.
I agree, interesting. Ugh, protocol! But I absolutely love the fact that Harry made his presence known (stole the spotlight) by giving FLOTUS a kiss on the cheek. That makes for a good photo by showing a warm greeting as opposed to a stiff handshake. Honk for Harry!
That dress and coat Michelle is wearing looks gorgeous on her. Very similar or could he tge same that Blake wore. It’s so chic and elegant.
I love that, I want that and I would not look half as good in that.
Yes, and I love the shoes Michelle is wearing – Kate take note, please switch it up!
The young royals look like they’re genuinely thrilled.
I find all of this show bizz treatment of a president annoying. I get meeting the Queen, but meeting Will, Kate, Harry and especially George seems unnecessary.
It’s not new, and it won’t go away, especially if the First Family is considered more ‘glamorous’ than usual.
And as for meeting the others in the royal family, why not?
I think the dinner was really with Harry but after the disaster that was India, the Cambridges hitched the that wagon at the last minute.
HONK! HONK! me too!!! It was totally a Harry meeting that the Cambridges photobombed with George.
It certainly was last minute. I doubt that Harry would have entertained them by himself. But Harry was their ace and they used him.
“Show biz” treatment? 🤔 It was the President of the United States, not Tom Cruise! I don’t see how it differs significantly from the photos we saw when the Chinese dignitaries were visiting, when Kate wore that purple D&G dress.
The obvious difference is George, but I think we only saw him because they *desperately* needed some good PR this week and they knew it. (And it’s not inconceivable to me that the Obamas would have wanted to meet George, because who wouldn’t? he is adorable!) And he is going to be the King of England someday, so the Obamas were smart to meet him on their “farewell tour” IMO.
W&K are probably not happy *at all* that we even got this glimpse of the apartment. Although it is their “personal” residence, I get the idea that is still more of a formal sitting room and not one that the family actually spends a lot of time in. It isn’t child-proofed at all, and it looks like it is there for occasions exactly like this. I doubt we will EVER see a room they truly live in.
And they’re such privacy freaks that I’m sure they removed any personal items (actual personal photos, not ones we’ve all seen online) or traces of themselves once they knew photographers would be there.
I recognize the Testino shot of Diana and the boys, but which ones are the pap photos that other commenters have referred to?
The British people are not happy with Obama right now. He has seriously misread the British mood. This visit was meant to be his glorious farewell, when in reality most of Britain cant wait for him to go home. He should sort out the mess his own country is in before he starts telling us Brits what to do. The British people are more than capable of making their own decisions. He has really embarrassed himself (and by extension America) on this visit.
Agreed.
I understand the annoyance with his oped, but ‘sorting out the mess in his own country’ is going to be difficult with a Congress that has no intent in even attempting to work with him, and intends to undermine him at all costs.
@CR you are right! it’s not like it is a one man show.
@cr – If he can’t control Congress in his own country (no matter how difficult it may be) he has no right at all to come to my country and demand people of Britain follow his orders. Normal, everyday people in the UK are very angry at him. He hasn’t upset just politicians, but the actual “real people” of Britain. He must be living in a fantasy land if he thought us Brits us actually listen to him. He’s a joke and powerless in his own country, and has even less influence in the UK.
Sarah – the legislative and executive branches are completely separate in America. Obama cannot “control” Congress because he has no authority to do so. Congress elects its own leadership and that is who is responsible for control. If you think Congress is out of control, shout at Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.
Sarah, he cannot control congress. It was set up the way it is, specifically so the President *cannot* control the legislative branch. And the Republican majority have thwarted him every step of the way, and refuse now to even hold hearings on the Supreme Court nominee. Won’t even consider it because Obama’s term is over next January and they don’t want him nominating another judge, even though the man nominated is not by any stretch a screaming mimi liberal. It’s pathetic and has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Obama himself and his ability to govern.
@ Sarah: immediately after Obama was elected in 2008 and before he even took office, Mitch McConnell, the Senate republican leader, said “The sole item on the republican agenda will be to make Barack Obama a one-term president.”
That should give you some idea of how Congress intended to cooperate with President Obama from the very beginning of his presidency. It has continued to this day and will continue until he leaves office. The republicans hate the whole fact of a black man in the White House.
or may-be he was never gonna work with congress, there is the other side!!
Despite the insistence of some morons, Mitch McConnell among them, Congress rarely, if ever, has a mandate, and it certainly does not have one now. The decision of which party will control either the House or the Senate is NEVER on any ballot in this country. And, as Tip O’Neill said: “all politics is local.” When voting for a congressional representative, people vote for the person they know or the one who has delivered to the constituents, or, in the case of Scott Brown, for something shiny. The only office that has a mandate from the American people is that of the presidency. Congress does have the authority from the Constitution to check and balance the presidency but not just for the fun of it or to put forth the agenda of a political party or to obstruct for the sake of obstruction, no matter how much it hurts the people. And that last is what Ryan and McConnell are doing deliberately.
And I know when I cast my ballot in 2008 and 2012, I was not directing the President of the United States to cooperate with women-hating scum like Boehner, Ryan, and McConnell.
I do not believe that, msthang. There’s too much evidence to the contrary.
@Sarah: “demand people follow his orders” ..? You need to look up the definition of an op-Ed.
I can absolutely see how his weighing in at all could be off putting to some people, but what you said is just factually incorrect. The “op” = opinion piece, not marching orders.
Interesting. I didn’t think well informed British would read that far into it. To me, it’s a farewell visit to the Queen and Obama simply gave a speech on behalf of a political ally while in London. Obama’s job is to promote/protect American interests. People are surprised??
I think it’s odd that you’re claiming to speak on behalf of all of Britain?
He gave his opinion. He didn’t order anyone to do anything. Take it or leave it. If the UK stays or goes from the EU, there will be an effect on the US and as the President of the US, he offered his opinion on why it would be prudent to remain. Ultimately the UK will decide their own fate, and the rest of the world will shift accordingly.
As for your comment that he’s a joke here, well, that’s your opinion which thankfully has no basis in truth.
Sarah, I posted this upthread to you but I’m going to repeat since you’ve got your own post here.
I just left the country a couple of days ago. Until earlier this week, Britain – or at least my part of it – seemed quite happy with Obama and hoped he’d talk some sense into Boris’s Bremainers. Could you elucidate on how “Britain isn’t happy with Obama”? Wondering what he could have done in a day!
As far as ordering about, he made it fairly apparent that he’s voicing an opinion to consider from someone looking on from the other side of the fence. Something that Merkel and others from the EU have done. There are implications to this pretty extreme step – an idiotic one is my vote – that the UK is going to resolve for itself in a couple of months. The voters need to consider the full implications of such a retreat rather than jumping to this “Little Britain” posture. One way of understanding that is to get the view from others the country interacts with to see what the feedback effects are. Britain in isolation next to a Union of States (the EU) is not a particularly attractive prospect for relationship building – nobody don’t want to have relationships with, say, Massachusetts, when you could do with the United States of America.
And Boris is just espousing what is politically expedient for him to get a leg up in the Tory party – even if it means someone getting a leg over the country. He’s not worrying about the good of the country. Certainly not the good of the city he’s mayor of – as every bank in London has told him he’s off his rocker.
“There are implications to this pretty extreme step – an idiotic one is my vote – that the UK is going to resolve for itself in a couple of months. The voters need to consider the full implications of such a retreat rather than jumping to this “Little Britain” posture.”
Couldn’t agree more. I still find it hard to comprehend that we actually might withdraw from the EU in a couple of months time. I simply don’t see how the country can flourish on a long-term basis, without being part of a greater entity. Inevitably Europe has to be reformed – it’s ridiculously bloated & overgrown – but the thought of going it alone, real Little Englanders, genuinely terrifies me.
It terrifies me too, I do agree with you, but I am also extremely worried as to what will happen if we stay in. That also is unknown. I think it really depends on where you live and your job etc on how it will personally effect you. For example, lack of school places where I live. In 10 years we need the equivalent of 7 new secondary schools for the increase numbers of children currently in the primary schools. Hopefully, this will happen as my daughter is one that will need a space. How can you plan for schools and health services if you have no idea or control of the numbers of people who may come and live here? Just my personal experience and opinion.
Absolutely agree with you, Nicky, no-one really knows either way. I think the only absolute certainty is that, should we vote to come out, chaos will ensue. But long-term the EU cannot continue as it is. Bit of a Catch-22 really.
I agree with you with the pressure on infrastructure – certainly the southern half of the country is ready to burst. I’m from immigrant stock so don’t feel I can ever argue against immigration – my partner works in construction so comes at the issue from an entirely different direction having seen his industry affected hugely by uncontrolled immigration. We have some heated debates!
It’s a massive decision & it’s nice to see that we’re finally getting some grown-up, thoughtful debate rather than the likes of Boris & Farage ranting their usual drivel.
I agree Pip, we need to have some sensible, honest discussions about the pros and the cons on both sides. I think that David Cameron has handled this really poorly, from his “negotiations”to the dubious £9 million leaflet. I think some people feel a bit disillusioned and depressed about it all. I think it has been a really bad week as we have lost our beloved Victoria Wood too.
I know: I get that Prince’s death is a much bigger deal for most people but for me Victoria Wood is much sadder. I grew up watching, & loving, her & Julie Walters – I do a mean Mrs Overall 🙂
So, yes, really not good times.
Same here. I’ve watched everything she has done since 80’s and love it all. Haha, love Mrs O! My favourite is Pat and Margaret. At least we have loads of great stuff to rewatch as it is so good I never get bored of it. She seemed a lovely lady too.
You should be outraged that you have elected official who made racists comments about Obama. London is one the most important metropolitan cities in the world and the mayor is Boris Trump.
Giving an opinion is what it is but how would you think that the POTUS wasn’t going to give a opinion about an issue that affects American interests?
No one takes Boris seriously. He makes idiotic comments ALL the time to collective national eye-roll. He is our resident idiot dujour, and no one takes his buffoonery seriously.
Besides, he hasn’t got a leg to stand on in this instance because he is of *Turkish descent and he is married to an Indian Sikh woman.
*His Paternal grandfather changed his name to the English sounding Johnson when he settled in England after his father, Ali Kemal Bey, was killed by TPTB of the Ottoman Empire for his support of Turkish liberation from the empire. His maternal grandmother is also Jewish (Russian Jewish)
I’m afraid he’s our Trump & I apologise profusely for him. He’s a knob.
LAK and Pip You have my sympathies. It seems to be the season of the buffoon.
The fact that his grandfather was Turkish and his wife is Indian makes him even more absurd.
Trump is a private citizen who has won 37% of the vote in a party nominating process. Boris is an elected official in one of the most important cities in the world. Boris’ behavior is far more meaningful.
Boris’s public buffoonery doesn’t translate into policy. Not because he is held back in that respect, but because it is merely for show. His actual policies show a more nuanced person, at odds with his public image.
That’s why his buffoonery is publicly met with a collective eyeroll. Everyone knows he is playing a character. A bumbling, idiotic character who is forever doing or saying idiotic things in public.
But that doesn’t excuse him outright racism, LAK. There’s fannying about on high wires at the Olympics for laughs, and there’s racism.
But you’re right on the show: I don’t believe he even wants to Brexit. It’s just a positioning for when the Forehead of Doom steps down.
Sixer: Racism is inexcusable, BUT this is Boris we are talking about. He has said many, many problematic things over the years about every group, and he is saying them for effect.
Not the first time, and not the last time. And no one has ever taken him up on anything he has ever said.
In this case, it was a cheap shot borne of colonial stirring of the kind that cries reverse racism, but I’d sooner pay attention to the raving loony party than take Boris’s public utterances seriously.
“I don’t believe he even wants to Brexit. It’s just a positioning for when the Forehead of Doom steps down.”
Or to force it to step down, as more than one little bird has said.
Boris is truly not an idiot; I’ll even go so far as to say that, for a politician, he is intellectually quite … well, fairly all there. Why he chooses to play an idiot on TV is beyond one. He does have a remarkably poor filter for a public persona, it must be said. He has high personal aspirations, it is true. But the number of times he has had wide public recriminations for his words must surely have sealed the fate on his ever being anything more than the former mayor of London – one of the most important cities in the world (and, if Brexits like Boris wants, likely one of the former most important cities of the world).
Dear Boris; please come back to Boston so we can bury you in a snowdrift again. Just like we did last year.
What Johnson said was appalling – I refuse to call him Boris, it’s far too matey. He is an unpleasant man who apparently successfully hides that from much of the populace with all the blond bombshell nonsense. And he is taken seriously by the large number of people who seem to think he will be the next leader of the Tory party. I really like and admire the Obamas but the POTUS needs to tread carefully when talking about the EU referendum. Not saying he shouldn’t have a view, but the choice of words mightn’t have been all that.
I’ve posted above too but will reiterate as this really chaps my butt. You are *not* speaking for the whole of Britain. I’m very happy with the Obamas, thanks very much.
Not a fan of people speaking for me.
This is why I didn’t want him to come. People getting their knickers in pointless twists is contagious. Obama can say what he likes, Sarah. Nobody’s forcing you to listen. If you think he spoke in the interests of the United States and not the interests of Britain, you can take your bat and ball and go home by putting your X in the relevant box.
I think he spoke in the interests of the United States and not the interests of Britain what with him being American an’ all, but I’ll be counting every opinion I hear before putting my X in the relevant box.
Personally, I would counsel you to place your X in the box YOU believe is best for Britain. After listening to as many opinions as possible, so you are the best informed you can be. Alternatively, you could put your fingers in your ears, shout la la la and how very dare Obama, and then put your X into the box that you decided you’d put it in ages ago. If this is the case, why do you give a flying proverbial what Obama said?
Wow. You really seem to have taken a simple op Ed column quite personally, considering how many times you’ve brought it up. Too many people disagreed with you previously, so you had to start another thread?
You know, prominent persons (from heads of state to celebrities) have commentaries on the situation of countries not their own all the time. If you don’t think ‘an outsider’ has the right to an opinion, just ignore it! And if it is the opinion itself that bothers you so much, perhaps you should be aiming that vitriol at your own prominent person expressing it coughWillcough.
@msthang:
“or may-be he was never gonna work with congress, there is the other side”
Except there’s far too much evidence that he tried to work with Republicans once they took control of Congress after the 2010 elections. And the Republicans who tried to do what once was normal, comprise when necessary, and work with a President, were ostracized by the hard right.
It took the President a while to realize that they really had no intent on working with him, or even trying to have a functioning government.
There is no ‘other side’ in this.
Sarah, I don’t think you understand how the American government works. At all. And it would be strange if the leader of the free world didn’t make any remarks on a situation that could profoundly affect the economy in his own country.
Obama didn’t “tell us Brits what to do.” He gave his opinion, which he is perfectly entitled to do. But Brexiteers aren’t really mad about that. What they are really angry about is that he completely destroyed the key economic plank of their argument, which is that we can just negotiate free trade deals with our allies. He explained (and as the person is charge of arguably the most key ally, he ought to know) that it is not as simple as that and we will go to the back of the queue, behind more powerful blocs of nations.
It is pathetic that we need a foreigner to articulate a key plank of the argument for remaining in the EU and don’t have any domestic politicians who appear up to the task of doing it, but that is unfortunately where we are at the moment.
I think Remain are a bit stymied because the much vaunted “renegotiation” comprised mostly of Dave having two fingers waved in his face. I’m assuming they were intending to brandish that about to make the argument but it never happened and they had no Plan B. So that’s the government side of Remain caught short. The new Labour leadership is equivocal anyway and everyone knows it. The pro-Europe remains of New Labour are all as incompetent as they ever were and know no other language than PR that makes no sense to anyone. It’s ridiculous really. They’ve all got the right of the argument and an opposing side offering nowt but dog whistles and STILL none of them can say anything worth hearing.
You’re absolutely right. I’m actually very annoyed with the likes of Juncker et al, who are now saying things like, “Yes, our EU laws are too restrictive, we understand completely why people object to them,” which is of no use whatsoever now. If they had thrown Cameron more of a bone at the time, it would have been much more helpful.
I understand why she’s not using her political capital on this, but if she chose, Nicola Sturgeon could speak well for the Remain camp. I have a lot of respect for her, she’s a great politician. I wish I agreed with her on more issues. And I have to say, if David Miliband came back from New York to speak for Remain, I’d listen. He would have been electable. No one else in Labour, New or otherwise, would be influential.
Yes, it seemed like a fairly normal thing to do, explaining what the impact of leaving the EU would have on interactions between the U.S. and the UK (straight from the horse’s mouth). It wasn’t a threat, just explaining how things are prioritized from the standpoint of the U.S. It sounds as though proponents of leaving the EU have been incorrectly assuming it would make no difference, but it will. The existence of the EU has changed things considerably from earlier times. Voters need to know all the ramifications before casting their ballot.
I am British/Scottish and have no problem with Obama speaking out about Britain leaving the EU, just as my student daughter is in her element mis-calling Donald Trump and the American gun regulations. Boris Johnson is ghastly as is Iain Duncan Smith. I don’t think Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron are comparable. One has a responsible job and worked for everything she achieved. Samantha Cameron designs handbags and is immensely rich.
I think George didn’t acted naturally with President Obama because everything looked very staged by his PR expert dad. From the “casual” decoration to the artificial laughs, to even find himself dressed in a costume from the 50’s having to ride a toy he might have never played with before.
Somebody needed good press. Is it “normal” to embroider your 2 year old kid’s name on a bathrobe? Or trot him out for a photo op?
The utter dissonance of capturing an “intimate” moment with the presence of an official photographer. Is that what photo ops are called these days?
I love good snark but some of these comments are ridiculous nit-picking. I’m just a nobody in fly-over country but my son had little bath robes/terry cloth towel robes that were monogrammed. What is so egregious about that? I think the photo op of George meeting the Obamas is darling. What a great photo that will be to look back at many years from now.
The Obamas look good. Love Michelle’s looks. She is fabulous. Harry and Michelle look like great pals. Love it! The gift of a photo album is very touching and personal. I think it is a perfect gift. Who doesn’t love to flip through a photo album?
What is up with Kate though? Could she get any more mousy looking? Her styling is dreadfully boring here. She look really thin and appears to be fading into the background. Her clasped hands are making me insane. It’s like they are glued together never to move unless it is to mess with her hair.
Granted, meeting the Obamas would have me hyperventilating so I understand if she was nervous but she should be really coming into her role now and instead she seems to be struggling with it.
George’s ensemble is giving me a major “gift from Grandma Middleton” vibe. My mom was really into personalized gifts when my nieces were little.
I agree about the nit picking, Anare. He was going to be photographed, and I’d have dressed him in something other than his Thomas the Tank pyjamas too. And I agree about the “gift from grandma” vibe, Megan. That is exactly the sort of thing my mother bought for her grandboys when they were that age.
I have to say, when my nephews were little, I got them terry bathrobes with their names embroidered on them (to wear out of the bath, out of the pool, etc.). They LOVED them 🙂
Nit-picking? Geez. Talk about nit-picking.
Do I care that the little guy was wearing a robe with his name embroidered on it? Not much. If it were thee or me, it’s a cute thing.
Now take a look at the optics. As some have mentioned, given his status, the class system and the message this conveys about a future king, Georgie comes across like a Richie Rich. Not common to *most* of us. Not even cute. It’s a statement of exclusivity. Definitely not cute.
Ready for the Obama reality show? Used to live him….not kinda ready for the family to move on.
Hey Kate, look at Michelle. That is how you should dress!!!!
I think both women looked great. Michelle has had some fashion fails in her time too, as we all have.
Big time. And I hate that dress she changed into. She looked gorgeous on arrival. She looks stunning in simple lines of classic clothes. She fails when she goes frilly.
I love Obama, but he needed to butt out of the Brexit issue.
Now, on to the interesting stuff! I love the face on the Obamas as they are walking toward the royals: it’s like, “Oh, Lord, vacuousness. Thank God for Harry.”
Harry and Michelle seem like they have a real bond. Michelle looks fabulous!!! Kate looks horribly awkward, clutching her hands even when walking. To expect a woman who has done nothing since graduating from college to hold her own with the likes of Michelle Obama is unfair. And Kate looks like she knows it. And she looks like she’s very close to being seriously ill with how skinny she is. When pictured with a healthy, fit woman, she look scary skinny. Kate is in way over her head. And I think she’s in trouble, health wise and emotionally.
George is adorable, but that robe and pajamas? So awkward for a little guy. I would have loved to see him climbing the furniture in feety pajamas. So much for being “normal.”
Wills looked like he monopolized the conversation with Obama, probably scintillating stuff he was spouting. Harry looked totally chill. He’s just comfortable in his own skin and likes people and it shows.
The British paid too much for that “apartment.” And I love that the Middletons’ picture is front and center! LOL!
While Michelle is much more acomplished than Kate, currently they’re in the same position – they are where they are because of the men they’ve married.
And in the picture Harry looks like hes hungover from a hard night out.
@JIB, Michelle is far more than her title as FLOTUS. Michelle can leave her title behind and return to practicing law. Kate can barely function as the DoC. If she ever became the former DoC, she’ll continue doing what she does best: shopping and exercising. Kate looks out of place. Out of her depth. I would be embarrassed to not have anything interesting to add to a conversation.
That’s an odd comment. Spouses , regardless of gender, are where they are in whatever capacity due to who they married. The same could be said about Philip.
It’s ridiculous to equate Michelle with Kate. Clearly you know little of Michelle’s background.
Michelle is an accomplished lawyer who carried the family until Obama run for President.
If you followed the original campaign for the presidency in 2007/2008, you would know that Obama made it very clear that IF Michelle had objected to his intent to run for president, he wouldn’t have run. Can you imagine Kate being consulted on anything William might do?
Michelle’s initial ambivalence was seen as a problem during the early stages of the campaign and they were both very public about her putting her career on hold for the duration of the presidency and that she would go back to it afterwards.
As a first lady, she’s taken a HUGE step back to support him, but it was very clear during the campaign that she would be fine without Barack.
Finding herself as first lady doesn’t put her on a par with Kate. If anything, it puts her on a par with SamCam. Different careers, both women who made a conscious decision to step away from their thriving careers for the duration of their husbands’ top job terms, but who would have continued to thrive if they’d married Joe Bloggs.
It’s a HUGE insult to Michelle to compare her to Kate.
If Michelle were interested in politics, you could compare her to Hilary minus the dodgy shenanigans. That’s how accomplished she is.
I don’t think you can compare Kate and Michelle – obviously the former is a waste of space and the latter is an accomplished, charismatic woman.
But I think Locke was comparing the *roles*. And I’d agree with her that making up some fluffy role for a person because they are a “spouse of someone” whether that be a royal or an elected politician, has no real place in the 21st century. The roles are kinda comparable. But I’d personally equate the role of FLOTUS with the role of royals generally, whether married in or born to it. Both anachronistic throwbacks we really should be getting rid of.
What everyone else said, plus Michelle married Obama when he was an unknown, not for his money or position. There is absolutely no comparison. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
@Sixer:
“But I think Locke was comparing the *roles*.” Considering what else Locke has written about Michelle, I’d say it’s more targeted at Michelle specifically, just my take.
And yes, the perceived roles for FLOTUS (and the VP’s wife) are anachronistic. And will be even more so if Hillary wins. Not only will we have our first male First Spouse, we’ll have our first former President as First Spouse.
Exactly Sixer. I actually think that it’s sad that a woman as acomplished as Michelle will forever be remembered as the “wife of”.
What have I written about Michelle? I really respect her as a person and her career is amazing, but I think that the role of a first lady is equally meaningless as that of a proncess.
@Locke, if this is what you mean in previous comments:
“What have I written about Michelle? I really respect her as a person and her career is amazing, but I think that the role of a first lady is equally meaningless as that of a proncess. ”
It wasn’t reading that way, and not just in one comment, and not if in comparison to someone else. Your comments were reading more as a a slight against her, and not just the role of FLOTUS.
I don’t have anything against Michelle, so if it came across that way, my bad. She’s just the first FLOTUS I actually remember. I was born in the 90s so I don’t really remember Hilary, and Bush’es wife was not in the limelight as much, or if she was, I wasn’t paying attention.
I generally don’t understand the idea of a First Family.
@Locke Lamora, to be fair, the great Abigail Adams, the second First Lady, first to live in the White House, herself the mother of a President, generally didn’t understand the idea of a First Family either. And she lived in an era without paparazzi, internet, and First Lady cookie recipe competitions. The modern concept is extremely rigid and pretty much an idealized fantasy of the perfect 1950s era wealthy housewife. First Ladies probably have struggled under its restrictions from the start. Abigail certainly did. Eleanor Roosevelt struggled greatly and she was practically raised for the position. Hillary Clinton had always been the top wage earner in her family but had to step away from her own career when her husband was elected. Michelle Obama had to do the same. Michelle is an extremely accomplished, extremely intelligent woman. You didn’t hear much about Laura Bush because, for the better part of her husband’s second term, she pretty much hid herself away. She was far more in line with the old school First Lady model and, despite her claims otherwise, and the great build-up of “she’s a teacher and a librarian who loves teaching and being a librarian,” she did not work in either career for long (less than four years as a teacher, less than four years as a school librarian) and gave up working when she married Bush – they didn’t have kids for at least another 4 years. I do wish that the US could move away from this outdated glorified housewife notion as other developed nations have. But we apparently seem to be stuck with it. When Romney ran for the presidency four years ago, Ann Romney was held up as some paragon of what a First Lady should be. I’ve met Ann Romney. The term Stepford Wife springs to mind.
Michelle was the money earner in that family until she left her job when Obama ran for President. My fantasy is that she serves on the Supreme Court, as she is a Harvard educated lawyer.
Kate received what, from all accounts, is an excellent education but then she just stopped developing -she’s still 21 from how she acts.
“Michelle was the money earner in that family until she left her job when Obama ran for President. ” – so isn’t it sad that she’s the wife of the President, and not the President?
@Locke: ““Michelle was the money earner in that family until she left her job when Obama ran for President. ” – so isn’t it sad that she’s the wife of the President, and not the President? ”
No it isn’t. She was a top-flight lawyer and hasn’t heretofore shown any predilection for politics. It’s not like she was overlooked for the position and a Presidency isn’t a promotion for excellence in … well, any other position really.
“I don’t have anything against Michelle, so if it came across that way, my bad”
Cool.
I’ll add again that I don’t think Michelle wants to run for elected office, she doesn’t want that. She might be qualified, but she’s well aware of what it takes to get there and doesn’t want to do it. Running for elections, even statewide, is brutal and she’s seen that. I don’t blame her.
I think an opinion can be expressed on an issue that could have international impacts.
This doesn’t make sense now because the comment I was responding to was apparently deleted.
Is Harry (honk!) wearing blue suede shoes?!? Awesome!
Yes, I noticed those too!
I love his blue suede shoes (would like them for myself), but not with those pants! Get a tailor, and some better pants — Harry looks like he got dressed in about a minute and grabbed whatever was around — anything blue and threw it all on, and was out the door to see his buddy Michelle.
The Obamas meeting with the Queen and Phillip was nice and respectful. Seeing Phillip behind the wheel driving all of them away was rather cute. The picture book was a nice idea for a woman who both the woman and the Queen. It’s something she can peruse through with her kids and grandkids.
It’s obvious the Obamas and Harry are friends. Their greeting was genuine and familiar. The opposite of the Cambridges, who really need to be better at this thing. I didn’t think it was possible for Kate to look any smaller, but she seems incredibly insecure when compared to FLOTUS. First time I kinda felt sorry for her. She looked like an aide to William, instead of his wife/partner.
George was cute, but the emroidered bathrobe in white satin was a wee bit Hugh Hefner for me. Why not leave him in his regular clothes until the visit was over?
As for the decor, the splashes of blue were a nice break in an otherwise dull beige room. Have no idea why there was a lucite table in the room. Weird. And all the pictures that were all publicily available photos. Nothing new.
I will so miss Michelle Obama and her style. What an elegant, classy lady. Kate’s dress, while probably lovely in person, just looked frumpy, especially next to FLOTUS.
I’m laughing at all the weird photos in the room- not sure anyone’s noticed but most of them are big, blown up portraits of themselves that you can get from google images. Is it just me, or is it weird to sit and look at close ups of your own face while sitting in your front room? (Perhaps not if you’re Kim k, but then you would expect that of her).
That’s what i thought too.
Much like Marie-Chantal and her wall filled with magazine covers of herself and her formerly-royal husband.
Lol. She is shameless. She always looks bitter now. The Miller sisters haven’t really lived up to their 90s hype.
I’m also not digging the George thing. The kitsch jammies, the gifted rocking horse, it all smacks of a pre-planned pr tactic to make us think, awwww- they put their kids to bed when they have friends over. They’re soooo normal.
Nah, don’t buy it.
Also feel sorry for kate- I think she is dreading George going to bed and having to engage with the massively starry and intimidatingly accomplished dinner guests. What on earth would her and Michelle chat about?! I mean, honestly?!?!
Yeah, they should have at least offered George a cocktail and a seat at the dinner table.
Lol. I’m dying.
Yep.
Ditto. Katie (as always) looks out of her element and, like Lak said above, the LLF look on George was really overplaying it for the press. Maybe they’re starting his King-in-waiting training, but IMO there was no reason for him to be there but for the benefit of mom and dad’s public image. There’s no subtlety in their PR game.
She could share her chutney recipe and talk about her keen charity work.
Actually, based on photo evidence, it looks like Kate was playing gooseberry.
Just popping in to say I love our President and he is going to be sorely missed by many. I love the George pics, even if the Cambridges kinda messed up and put the kid in a costume instead of what he really sleeps in. Pete Souza, the official White House photographer, has an awesome instagram that I highly recommend! He regularly captures President Obama with kids and babies and it is precious. I think there is a hastag something like Obama with the kids? He really comes across as such a kind gentleman. I am going to miss him so much!!
Harry will make a wonderful King. He’s a natural. He’s got gravitas, an actual work ethic and he likes people. There is a humility about him that I really admire. You could talk to him without him looking over your head. Darth Workshy (Will) is annoying. He’s always wailing about something. Kate is aging so fast she’ll one day emerge from a car and melt into a heap. I can see her pores from the ISS. Why are so many rich women so haggard looking? I’m sorry not sorry to get on her about her appearance. She goes to so much trouble to show off. Yet manages to … Her buttocks look far more attractive than her face. There, I said it.
In fairness it may be a bit easier for him. He doesn’t have the weight of it all on his shoulders. He can be more free because he knows he won’t have to be King. I’m not a Will fan; but that is a lot to have to carry on your shoulders. It all reminds me of Charles and Andrew. One could make mistakes and it would be brushed away. The other didn’t get that.
I’m just trying to fair minded.
But how is his future weighty? Waving to people, doing some charity works, meeting the most interesting people in the world, all paid for by someone else? The Queen puts in a lot of work, but let’s be honest – she isn’t digging ditches or leaning over toilets cleaning them. Their work may get boring but it’s hardly taxing….he’s an entitled knucklehead.
YES to Jib!! The whole “heavy is the head that wears the crown” is a more than a little irrelevant today. William swans about bemoaning his life as if all Britain’s future policy and military decisions will be laid upon his shoulders. Please. He is granted a lifetime of unlimited wealth and privilege in exchange for a retirement gig of cutting ribbons, laying wreaths and accepting flowers from children. Ridiculous.
If she smokes, tans or drinks, she hits the wall at 40. I’ve seen so many stunningly beautiful females have to take it straight on the cheek bones. The loss of beauty is a sad thing. In the shallow society we live in, it is a tragedy.
I think George looks absolutely adorable. I read after this photo came out his little bathrobe sold out within minutes.
Seriously? Just….why??? Not George being cute as he undoubtedly is but a kiddies dressing gown? What is wrong with people?!?!
I actually think he’s adorable and I love freshly brushed boys hair after a bath. It’s just too cute. My kids have robes and slippers and find them comforting. We had them too growing up but not as formal.
I think the criticism largely comes from the bad PR messaging.
From a PR point of view, anyone know why Charles & Camilla didn’t have some time with the Obamas?
They are in Stratford-on-Avon to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare death.
Valid question. He may have had another engagement since this was a busy week because of the TQ’s birthday.
ETA: Just saw your response, Megan.
That’s a very good reason, thanks Megan and thanks Olenna.
Charles did a quick skit on stage with Dame Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Cumberbatch, and many others. To be or not to be!
POTUS and FLOTUS look younger than William,Kate AND Harry .Lol
LOL. Yes, they do look younger than Will and Kate.
Harry looks fine.
George is absolutely adorable but the cynic in me believes it was just a PR stunt. Toss the peasants a picture of the cute kid and everyone will like us again.
The Obamas and Harry looked comfortable with each other. Kate seemed out of her depth. Previous posts have mentioned her lack of accomplishments compared to Michelle and i agree totally. Also, yet another new dress that looks much like most of her other ones. At least there were no Marilyn moments
I found the body language in the pic where the Pres was meeting George to be very telling. Michelle, William, and the Pres are all crouched down engaging with George at his level, and Miss Prim Bucket is off to the side clutching/wringing her hands. She really does seem to think of herself as an after thought for some reason, it is quite sad. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but it smacks of low self esteem to me. After the years of chasing “the job”, maybe she is just now realising that she is really not qualified, or “up to it”. It surprises me to say that I actually feel a little sorry for her. In over her head is a very apt summation. For a thirty something woman in this day and age, it is almost tragic.
^^^all of this. Not everyone is naturally gregarious, but self-confidence is developed through accomplishments. But when has she ever been allowed by PMC to excel at anything?
She seems to be shrinking and disappearing if that makes sense. People social climb all of the time but the “good” ones know that they have to be prepared once they succeed. They erase the aura of social climbing by owning their new role and excelling in it. Her parents did her no favors.
ITA, Magnoliarose. She appeared smaller than usual, and I’m not talking about weight, but presence. What a sad life she lives. All personality is gone.
I think you’re right, and to add to the mix, I think her mother bullies her about it relentessly about what a disappointment she is after they invested so much to get her in to this position. I think Kate is in way over her head and her ability to understand all the forces at play and I actually feel sorry for her.
You know what I want to know? I want to know what Michelle and Barack said to each other about Barbie and Ken Cambridge in the car on the way back to their hotel. That is my burning curiosity!
Mine too! Oh to be a fly on the wall when they got into the Beast.
Maybe the driver will spill the beans!!!
Why is the queen holding her handbag for the picture in the palace?
Just in case she needs a hanky, or a quick reapplication of her lippy, just like any other lady would! (Tongue firmly in cheek, by the by)!
MO is holding hers too.
LOL! In her later years, my Omama, the queen of our family, took to carrying her handbag from room to room. We teased her about it all the time. Thank goodness, she had a great sense of humor. She said she wanted to keep her money nearby.
@MrsK, this is such a lovely reply, and I have a picture in my head of your cherished Omama being lightly ribbed by your family. There was a generation where every penny was a prisoner, and had to be carefully kept and looked after, maybe your Omama was one such. I hope she is doing well.
Every family deserves a queen, I like to think that I am such to my wee family. I am also thought of as “the lady of the house”, and I also like to keep my handbag nearby at all times. I have a “Mum” bag that contains everything you could ever need from aspirin, combs, nail files, and emergency band aids, it has come in handy many times over the years, and everyone looks to Mum to have the requisite supplies!
I will concur on the maple syrup thing. People outside of North America don’t know what to do with it. I gave one as a gift to my Spanish host mother in Spain and it was clear it was not the first time she had been given the gift since she had hosted Americans in the past. Pretty sure it stayed in her food pantry and never was used. So yeah don’t give maple syrup out as a gift to foreigners! They will most likely not use it. That and peanut butter.
That’s so funny to me. I’m not American by birth and peanut butter very much was an acquired taste, I agree there. I literally know 1 person who liked it right off the bat, most others aren’t used to eating it on sandwiches and don’t know what else to do with it.
However, maple syrup has gone done very well with my foreign friends. My family back home loves it, I bring a bottle every time I go there. They use it much like we do here: on pancakes and waffles.
I don’t want to come off as the Defender of Maple Syrup, but what is with you people? If you’re from Provence, don’t give lavender products because some people don’t like them smell. If you’re from Russia, don’t give those stacking dolls because my grandmother has claustrophobia and they remind her of it. You know, the smallest doll inside all of the bigger dolls must feel crowded. If you’re from Hawaii, don’t give anyone a lei because I know someone who is allergic to flowers and he died wearing one. If you’re from Germany, don’t give anyone a wax Christmas ornament because one person I heard about thought it was a candle and melted it, setting his house on fire and burning down the entire village. Quit picking on maple syrup. Some people like it. Some don’t. Same with everything else.
@GNAT: thank you! Again, folks, it was the first thing that popped into my head and only as an *example* of something that could be included in such a basket. Clearly some southern BBQ is the way to go…
Alix, really, it has gone sort of crazy here today. It’s nice to give a basket of local products to someone from another country. Maybe they won’t love everything in it, but I’m sure they would appreciate the thought. I will now think of today as the maple syrup wars. Lol
I’m not from North America and I really like maple syrup. And peanut butter. The only problem with that is that it’s pretty hard to find in these parts. Peanut butter is becoming a standard in most supermarkets, but I’ve only ever seen in Lidl during American Week. BBQ sauce I don’t like. Too sweet to go with meat.
Now, the thing I have to ask is – do you guys really eat it with bacon? I see it in TV shows and find it hard to believe. Because that sounds disgusting.
@Locke Lamora
Do you mean do we eat maple syrup with bacon? (I’m pretty sure you don’t mean peanut butter, but just in case…) the answer is that we eat the maple syrup on pancakes and have bacon on the side. I can see how that would sound gross, but it’s really good because the saltiness of the bacon is a wonderful balance to the sweetness of the pancakes and syrup. I wish I could fix some for us to share. You would like it, I think.
@Locke Lamora, one way of bacon preparation is to brush maple syrup on the bacon before cooking. It is delicious.
Oh for heavens’ sake! What is with you lot?! As a mean, Americans have sweeter preferences in their sweets than do other communities as a mean. I suppose it stands to reason that things that are naturally (or artificially) sweet or sweetened are therefore more popular in the USA than others. Want proof? American chocolates and sweets are made considerably sweeter than those sold – even by the same brands – in many other countries? Want proof? Check the public positions of Lindt, Nestle and others (including Coca Cola) – they’ll reveal on their position papers that they make their products sold in the US sweeter than what they sell in their home countries. Or, in the case of coca cola – their drinks sold outside of NA are less sweet than those they sell in the US. (Whew, I think I’ve covered all my caveats.)
It’s not an abrogation of any nation – US, Canada or any other – to like or not like their junk food sweet or sweeter. This whole personal-offense trauma has kicked off because someone thought that a thought-out and personalised gift that couldn’t be bought was a poor gift whilst trotting around to the back of the nearest nbrhood shop to buy taste-specific items was a better one. This has nothing to do with stacking dolls and lei’s; it has to do with a provincial mentality and an easy tendency to affront. Simmer down chaps and appreciate (or not) that the Obamas went to visit the Queen and brought her a a present for her 90th at all and forget what you would give her when you see her. (hint! You’re probably not going to get to. And if you do, that’s good too! Nobody cares!)
Loving the ongoing row about maple syrup 🙂
Just to say: a) most mainstream British supermarkets stock maple-cured bacon, so it’s pretty common this side of the pond too. & b) peanut butter is pretty much a staple here too – I’d imagine a fair proportion of households have a jar of the stuff somewhere.
Also, there’s a chain in the UK called Sprinkles which serves up a plethora of incredibly sweet puddings: there are often queues of people waiting to be served. & maple syrup is a component in many of their puds.
Um, Is_Boston, I was not responding to your comment. I think you’re the one who needs to simmer down. You’re being ridiculous. Again.
I use maple syrup in cooking. Sweet potatoes or squash roasted in maple syrup is just heavenly.
ITA, lilacflowers. I do the same with sweet potatoes and squash, add a pinch of cumin and cayenne — love it.
I also add a little bit of maple syrup to a mustard vinaigrette sometimes, and it helps bring everything together in a nice, smooth way.
Granulated maple sugar is good too.
OH GOD!!! Sprinkle that on buttered toast. DEATH!!
I’ll have to try that! It would be good sprinkled on basic butter cookies or plain scones too, instead of turbinado sugar.
There is also maple butter.
Is maple syrup North American? I’ve always associated it with Canada and thought that’s where it was produced. I guess my country mainly imports the Canadian brands, not the US ones. It’s pretty popular here, I’m surprised it’s considered a niche flavour.
We make it in the very upper Northeast – Maine, mostly.
Canada is part of North America, so yes. Also a product of several states.
I cannot believe maple syrup has become such a huge topic here! Rather sorry I ever mentioned it…
Some of us on the wrong side of the Pond have the maple sugaring-off scenes in Little House in the Big Woods seared into our memories, we read it so many times when we were just wee things. That is to say, ME! Laura got Charlotte for Christmas that year. Even so, the book about Almanzo had the best food in it.
You’ve read Little House in the Big Woods. I think I love you, Sixer.
That’s all.
No, wait.
The Lens. My newest euro-drama binge. Czech Policie drama.
I’ve read ALL of the series, Nutty. Multiple times! I was the lucky bookworm of a child whose mother worked for Penguin and who was given an entire bagful of new stuff to read every Friday. Quite aside from the whole Americana/pioneer thing, no children’s writer has ever written about food as well as Ingalls Wilder. Ever ever ever ever. That’s why the maple syrup thing made me laugh. And how I knew you guys said biscuits wrong from a very young age!
Oh! I was thinking of going for Kabul Kitchen next. Explain me why I shouldn’t!
Don’t understand the fuss about Georges bathrobe. In NZ plenty of children and adults have a towelling bathrobe ( not monogrammed though !) I read on DM it cost £27 so not ott price wise… Kate looked fine, no one commented on the length of her dress which i thought was much more appropriate than the shorter girly ones she wears.
I was amazed Prince Philip is still driving at 94… I wonder if Obama’s aides were comfortable with him being driven by the old guy?!
The DM makes a point of mentioning W&K’s KP apt is 22 rooms. 22 “private” rooms which means we’ll probably never get a view of other rooms other than the sitting room….. too bad 🙁
William probably hated having a photographer there.
Didn’t mind the decor too much though it was overwhelmingly neutral.
Anyway, I started to wonder how many rooms did Diana have at KP? I read apt 8 and 9 were combined for Charles and Diana shortly after their marriage, but still wondering how many rooms? Judging from the photos taken outside of W&K’s apt compared to Diana’s apt, W&K’s apt looks massive.
W&K’s apartment is the biggest on e in the palace, complete with it’s own walled garden.
Even though two apartments were combined for Charles and Diana, the end result was still smaller then the one currently occupied by WK.
Yes LAK it must be smaller when you consider the following info from online sources: W&K have four floors of living space at KP… highlights: two sitting rooms, two kitchens, elevator, three principal bedrooms, nine bedrooms on top floor and their basement includes a gym, laundry quarters and a luggage room. W&K’s country home Amner has ten bedrooms while Highgrove has nine bedrooms. In addition, W&K use the late Diana’s apt for receptions etc.. So let me get this right…workshyWills at age 33 has more personal living space than his father Charles; a full- time working Royal did at age 33.
That little boy is adorable in his little bathrobe. They all look very comfortable with one another. I have to laugh at the criticism of her decorating. We’re seeing a small portion of a room. The English are the nastiest of people sometimes. The RF is here to stay. The people have voted and majority rules. Get over it and be thankful you don’t live in Syria or Korea.
“The RF is here to stay. The people have voted and majority rules.”
Um. Small factual point: none of us Brits has had the chance to vote for them. Ever. That’s not how royalty works. Not sure what the result would be. Blimey, if we get this het up over Brexit, I think the abolition of her Maj would be a humdinger!
But countries do vote to stay in the commonwealth. That’s what I meant plus I’m English too.
Joannie: The people have never voted in Monarchy.
Being apathetic about it isn’t the same thing as approval.
The high approval ratings are for the queen specifically. It will be a different picture when she is gone.
Further, being in the commonwealth is not the same as having the royals as your head of state.
All countries in the commonwealth are sovereign nations who’ve volunteered to be part of the commonwealth club. HM is it’s first head, and the countries vote to keep her as head out of affection. Charles and William are not automatic heads after HM. The commonwealth will have to vote on their next head once she’s gone.
Further to voting in the monarchy system, at best we can have a referendum, like Brexit. They can’t be voted out in a normal election process.
“Something as curious as the monarchy won’t survive unless you take account of people’s attitudes. After all, if people don’t want it, they won’t have it.” – Prince Charles
At least he recognizes that it isn’t Divine Right and they can be removed at any time. I expect a lot of change when HM passes, a much smaller realm for Charles, none for William. Commonwealth may stay together for economic reasons, but many countries will eject the British monarch as their Head of State.
The people in countries which have allowed them to vote have almost universally voted to replace the monarch with their own head of state. QEII was crowned monarch of 32 realms; she now has 16. Jamaica is currently taking steps towards removing her and many more will do the same after politely waiting until QEII passes.
That s just your opinion, not fact Snap. I disagree with you on that. Time will tell.
Joanie, what do you disagree with? That 1/2 of the realms that had QEII as head of state have voted her out? That Jamaice is in the process of doing so? Those are facts and you can’t disagree with facts.
If you are disagreeing that this will continue, ok, that’s opinion, but the way the tide has been going should be considered in forming an opinion.
George is super cute but he’s like ‘who ARE these people and why do i have to meet them?’ Kate looked awkward in all these shots, both looked out of their depth. Harry was the only one who looked like he was enjoying the Obama’s company.
Loved that Harry when right in for a kiss in front on the Pres. Am with Kaiser, these 2 in another time and place 🙂 I totally ship Harry and Michelle!!!!
Ha! I’m not sure her husband would agree.
Just wait for Invictus in May!
I LOVE that our Mich is wearing purple for Prince. What a gal.
Once again, PRESIDENT Barack Obama is holding an umbrella over Michelle as she greets foreign dignitaries. LOVE IT!
I want to know why the car parked.do far away from the front door. What’s that about?
The room is so blah! Exactly like a hotel lobby. This is definitely the ‘public’ working space. All those lamps are hideous. There is no focal point. The paintings – old Masters? – are so heavy looking. Do William and Kate really like them? When you think what these 2 have access to in terms of design advice and probable warehouses of furniture – it is so disappointing. Princess Margaret must be shuddering at the bland boring changes which have replaced her arty and stylish interiors!
Kate always looks relieved when Harry’s around. I’d love it if he’s the cad who steals the kisses in the kitchen and gets more sugar in return.
You have to love it – a few posed pictures, and everyone knows how the conversation went!
Always love watching Michelle on the world stage -she just rocks it. Gold high heels to meet the Windsor’s?! Yes please!
Do wish Obama hadn’t stuck his nose into UK-EU politics. Would hate it if Cameron tried to influence my vote for Prez.
Been watching a fascinating BBC doc on the EU from the mid-90s. “The poisoned Chalice”. Interesting to compare it to Nick Robinson’s patronizingly puffy puff piece ‘them or us’. Sugary sycophants put me into a diabetic coma…zzzz
And Hazza forever. Wrinkled clown pants or not 😉
Michelle Obama looks so fabulous in that tan outfit. I love her and I love the glimpse of camaraderie between Harry and her.
Prince George is super cute.
Obama’s the only politician I’ve ever liked.
OK I also might have a soft spot for Bill Clinton.
Who knew a cute toddler outfit and toys would end up being debated so fiercely? Good Lord people. The robe and pajamas are so cute, and if a current President and first lady were having dinner at my house, I would want to put my kid in something cute. Also, babies are difficult to keep up for a short time past their bedtime, but toddlers are not, so it’s normal that they’d introduce their son at least, why not? The outfit is not hoity-toity, what are they supposed to do, dress him in his stained pajamas? I wouldn’t publish pics of my kids (if I had them) in stained clothes on my Facebook page, and clearly, I am not famous or royal. I think the at the end of the day, WHO CARES, it’s a cute outfit and he is adorable.
As for the toys, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t be a part of his nursery toys. I’m sure George was probably a little overwhelmed by the fact that two strangers are in his house, and everyone is watching him play…not to mention the photographers’ presence too. But being a typical toddler, he’s going to NOT do that, just because everyone is watching. I mean, my niece is outgoing and super cute, but as soon as we ask her to say or do something that she ALWAYS does, she acts like she has never heard of it, and she’s the same age. So yahhh, the conspiracies here over, “He doesn’t recognize the toys that’s why he’s all reticent, ooo PR stunt…” are just ridiculous.
My friends who have young kids will bring out a toy I had sent their kids by mail (if it’s the first time I see them after I had gift them), because they appreciate my thoughtfulness and want to show me that their kid liked the toy. So what? I always think that’s sweet of them to do so. It teaches the kid to be appreciative. My siblings and I grew up with knowing and practicing our manners and what the various social protocols are.. there’s nothing stuffy about having good social graces, regardless of your heritage, title, job, circumstances, whatever.
I think Will and Kate are lazy royals who could do more in their position and with their name recognition world-wide. And I’m sure they are not beyond pulling PR stunts either. However, I don’t think this is a stunt to show how “normal” they think they are…
A group that comes to mind ,that looks at these as an illustration of : modern, elegant, and upper class yet what one should aspire to as new modern normal family,
1950 clothing , icon adoration of Diana, fictional stay at home mothers who yet finds time to look fabulous?
The Mini van majority.