To spend my morning watching the funeral of Maggie Thatcher (on BBC) ?

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

She was our first woman prime-minister - a significant personal achievement, especially for the daughter of a grocer from Grantham, born in 1925

Also I agree with those that say these ceremonial occasions are something we do really well in Britain.

So AIBU to be watching this morning - in spite of disagreeing with many of her policies ? Will you be watching ?
And what do you make of both her personal achievement and her legacy ?

Exit it was me who said Disney do it better. I was actually being facetious, although there seem to be suggestions that events like today are good for tourism. Personally I'd rather they saved the money sent on crap like this for a few years and built a bloody big theme park.

Better for tourism AND the morale of the rest of us.

I just hope they remembered to cut off her head and drive a stake through her heart.

Or we might see the rise of Thatchula!

juggling if he is the VERY young man at the front (left?) then yes

Someone said he looked like he'd been in the dressing up box; all the lads manage to look very young in Navy No 1's. I think the haircut helps give that appearence, although all Armed Forces No 1 uniforms are tailored to the individual to look as smart as possible. Most bases have their own tailor/tailoress in their employ to cater for the demand.

And to be honest, the men and women of the Armed Forces today at the funeral would have been being paid anyway; so they were no extra 'expense' really. Most would have been holed up at local bases for the week where food is Pay as You Dine, so minimum expense to the taxpayer.

Obviously I don't know too much about the rest of the costings and how they were worked out, but Sate/Official funerals are part of our terms of service and we are happy and proud to do our duty

slattern, tell that young lad (pall bearer), I'm very very proud of him, his family must have been choked up xx Hope he has a stiff drink tonight!

The BBC news report mentioned the protesters and gave them what appeared to be a proportionate amount of time for the number of them there.

It's not a political debate where they are obliged to be even-handed and give equal time to all views. It's a funeral.

Although maybe I should watch it just to make sure shes really dead.

land I'm sure he will!! They're servicemen who have just been set free in London

pass on my best wishes as well slatt.

I think I'll paraphrase all the nice comments, print them off and pass them onto him, I think he'll be rather flattered that lovely women all over the country have noticed him

ok maggie aside am i not only one angry about mp expenses.

most of them buy to let landlords and renting to their mp freinds.not in their interests to reform rental laws.

now being paid to come back early madness.

i get annoyed some in commons gordon brown/george galloway one of them.

feel they all as bad as each other.

one thing that struck me about expenses is how expensive some of things they brought why couldent they have tesco value toaster and kettle?

10mil for funural even with security sounds barmy.
wonder if tv channels pay for tv rights and if family went halfs.

It was a wonderful funeral. I think it was done very indeed. I love singing that Faure and the hymns were good choices. I had to turn the left wing bearded clergy chap off for a good while - they can be very misguided.

Re the extra costs, they said on the BBC that an extra 4000 police were on the streets today, so that's 4000 on top of those who were already working in central London, I guess most will be being paid overtime, because they aren't going to want to leave other parts of London without police for a day when you've got huge crowds in the city.

£10m sounds about right if Queen Mum's was apparently £8m, (which is why that figure was being bounded about last week as it was the last to compare too) she wouldn't have needed all those police and same level of security, people liked her! (I've yet to hear anyone who had a bad word for the Queen Mum - even the most anti monarchy people seem to have thought she seemed alright as a person)

Didn't watch it.
I've been feeling really upset all day today,because I feel so so angry.
Both at the money spent at the funeral and the memories stirred up.
And,yes,I am old enough to remember only too well.

Maybe they should have privatised the funeral and the great and the good could have bought shares tickets.

?Remember she called Mandela a terrorist and took tea with the torturer and murderer Pinochet.
How should we honour her? Let?s privatise her funeral. Put it out to competitive tender and accept the cheapest bid. It?s what she would have wanted.? - Ken Loach

The Sky helicopter has just shown my old house in Barnes. Thought you'd all like to know that.

Xenia wot no invite?

usual - they didn't open the coffin to show you... You missed some very lovely looking dignified young men of the armed forces, one nearly losing his footing carrying the coffin down the steps (but no comedy moment of dropping her, that would have been rather good). You missed Thatcher's pretty granddaughter who read very well and is apparently is already being seen as the next pippa middleton. You missed George Osborne crying and Fergie texting on her phone. You missed John Major looking exactly like he did on the day he left office (leading to some to question if he's got a portrait in his attic). You missed Katherine Jenkins in a very nice hat and you missed Carol Thatcher looking like she wanted to be anywhere else in the world, like she was hating every moment, and even I felt a little sorry for her. HTH.

xenia - if by the 'beardy' cleric you mean Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, who gave the address, he's actually of conservative tendencies I understand (including socially - is against ordaining women priests and bishops).

I love the Fauré 'In Paradisum' too!

I didn't watch it. I went to work.

I turned by back on it symbolically, through my own industry.

Valium, that is pure genius.

I had understood that Thatcher had wanted the mother of her grandchildren invited and that she had therefore been invited. Did anyone see her? (First wife of the son)