Well done William and Harry - helping with sandbags in flooded area

[claig]

William and Harry are helping by laying sandbags in Datchet.

Very well done and to Prince Charles for visiting the Somerset Levels earlier on.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2559329/William-Harry-chip-flood-effort-help-soldiers-lay-sandbags-Thames.html

'What does 'forelock tugging' mean?? I don't get it!'

It means deferential and obsequious behaviour of servants to their masters or people to their betters. I think it was meant to be people tugging the front of their hair if they couldn't raise their hats when meeting their betters.

I've never heard that before, thanks Janine! I had some sort of devil visions in my head

onedev

Hmm, I regard TeamHank to be enlightened rather than bitter.

Cross posts with lots of others explaining forelock tugging - thanks all

LtEve, how did you donate?

OneDev, there was a link on another MN thread, it's a JustGiving page for Somerset flood victims Link Here

Thank you.

Er, bitter in what way?!

Thank you Margot .

I've had conversations with my 5 yr old about the principle of hereditary monarchy and he can understand what a load of bollocks it is - I struggle to comprehend why so many adults can't!

I devote large portions of every week to unpaid community work, as to many millions of people in this country. I don't then get to fuck off skiing for a fortnight at taxpayers expense to recuperate.

I'm not in the least bitter - I don't want to be a national figurehead. But I believe strongly that anyone who does want to be one should get there on merit not by accident of birth.

And before everyone shouts at me about useless politicians a good proportion of you must have voted for them!

'And before everyone shouts at me about useless politicians a good proportion of you must have voted for them!'

But we only found out they were useless after we had cast our votes.
Once bitten, twice shy.

'I don't want to be a national figurehead. But I believe strongly that anyone who does want to be one should get there on merit not by accident of birth.'

Yes, I am not a big fan of a herditary monarchy. But I didn't see many of the elected politicians or Lords swinging sandbags about at the crack of dawn, and correct me if I am wrong but I didn't see any of the top echelon of what is called the 'Environment Agency' mucking in. Where are they?

I think it is fair to say that Wills and Harry, irrespective of arguments about the hereditary principle, are "jolly good eggs" and a pair of right old muckas.

Like I said upthread, claig: I'd rather the top echelons focus on managing the situation. That's their job. Any able-bodied person can lug a few sandbags around.

Why the quotation marks for the Environment Agency, by the way?

Why on earth would we want the "top echelons' to waste their time filling sandbags???

The problem with 'getting there on merit' is look who we've ended up with in elected power?

I understand your point about hereditary power being unfair but I'm a damn sight happier with the job our Royals family do than I am with elected parliament.

I thought this would be a sarcastic thread when I saw the title. I can kind of see your point, but the PR certainly isnt doing them any harm...

There are some really spiteful commentd on Facebook about them...it's good that you can see thd good in prople OP.

They didn't have to get stuck in, but they did. I just can't help being a teeny bit cynical.

'I'd rather the top echelons focus on managing the situation. That's their job. '

Yes, we all wish they would have managed the situation. Have they done their job adequately?

'Why the quotation marks for the Environment Agency, by the way?'
Because I think they have let people down.

'Why on earth would we want the "top echelons' to waste their time filling sandbags???'
Because it might go some small way in justifying their large salaries paid for by the public. William and Harry spent their time shifting sandbags and they had nothing to do with the decision making that led to a lack of dredging of rivers etc.

There was a collection on ?Buzzfeed of photos of Politicians Looking At Floods. Nice Hunter wellies (Niggle Farridge had waders on) but just pulling concerned faces.

Bet they're gutted now they didn't think to roll their sleeves up.

Why the quotation marks for the Environment Agency, by the way? Because I think they have let people down.

That's a total non-sequiter. But if it makes you feel better...

'Bet they're gutted now they didn't think to roll their sleeves up.'

Exactly, Horatia. It took the Royals to show them and to shame them.

Personally, I'd like to see the top echelons of the 'Environment Agency' in waders wading through water chest-high, doing a 12 hour shift from dawn building sandbag walls and following that up with an 8 hour shift of patrolling flooded areas in canoes and apprehending looters. I think it should continue for the weeks it takes until the flood waters recede.

Haha. Yeah, that photo op made a huge difference.

I'm with bubblegoose haha!

I think we should use royals as sandbags

Perfect.

Harry was out again this morning, but in an area where journalists weren't interested in reporting. By all accounts he was pissed off yesterday (although the locals had nothing but good to say about them both - and they are the people that matter, not us in our nice dry homes.)

Good on them. They can't win whatever they do, so it's good that they have gone to give practical help anyway.

You see I'm not the least bit happy with the "job" the royals do Lottie but I can do nothing about it and therein lies the problem. Nobody with that level of influence and power should be unaccountable at the ballot box in the 21st century, it's a nonsense.

I have absolutely no idea whether the Envionmental Agency has done it's job adequately or not. Because, unlike, apparently, most readers of the tabloid press, I am not a geologist, a climatologist or an expert in major incident management.