Granddaughters

THERESA and BRANDY

Forever Hold Your Peace

Queen Mimi's most recent meme included the fact that the Speaker of the House of Commons doesn't speak. This isn't specifically true as the Speaker doesn't speak about issues but rather represents the whole of the Parliament. He or she has functions that would be similar to combining our Vice President breaking tie votes in the Senate with the Parliamentarian who rules on procedure plus speaking to the Crown on behalf of the whole of Parliament. As you can see we even got our office title Parliamentarian from Parliament.

Here is some basic historical and present form information:

The office was first held by Sir Peter de la Mare, knight for Herefordshire, in the 'Good Parliament' of 1376 when the Commons refused to grant the crown any new taxes until its grievances had been acknowledged.  Sir Peter acted as spokesman for the Commons as a whole, and the Commons was successful in the dispute.

De La Mare Coat of Arms

However: as soon as parliament was dissolved John of Gaunt, son of Edward III had Sir Peter imprisoned and the next speaker, elected in 1377, was Sir Thomas Hungerford, John of Gaunt's steward. He presided over what came to be known as the 'Bad Parliament' which reversed most of the gains of the previous year and introduced a 'poll-tax'.

John of Gaunt

Shakespeare was kinder to John of Gaunt than the above history might indicate he deserved.  In Richard II, old Will gives him a love poem to England that is still quoted in all sorts of circumstances today:

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm this England....

The office of Speaker continued to be fought over by Crown and Commons for many centuries. In 1629, Speaker Finch took the king's line as he declared "I am not less the king's servant for being yours". In 1642 Speaker Lenthall placed the interests of the Commons to the fore, proclaiming "I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me".

The Speaker today is expected to act as a non partisan in their actions as the presiding officer or spokesperson of the Commons. He or she rules on procedure, has the power to limit debate and to call members to speak, acting always to protect the interests of the House. Other functions are to maintain order, sign warrants of committal for contempt, reprimand members when necessary, and sign warrants for by-election writs. The Speaker doesn't vote unless a vote is tied.

Watching debates in the House of Commons can be great fun and my favorite of all the Speakers was Betty Boothroyd. the first and so far only woman to hold the positions.  Betty definitely wasn't silent.

Below is Betty giving the squabbling boys of the Commons a piece of her mind and speaking very forcibly.

The Queen's Meme #36 ~ The Weird, Unusual and Amusing Meme

Queen Mimi of Bloggingham has produced another challenging meme.  To join in, click on the link for instructions.

Sometimes silly. Sometimes serious. Always fun!  Step out of the box.  Be creative.  Use your imagination.
No one's answers are quite like yours!

#36 The Weird, Unusual and Amusing Meme

The following statements are true. Your job is to explain why you think they are true. Just offer up your usual amusing quips! I'm betting we'll have some hysterical responses. Remember that somewhere somebody in the world needs to know these things and your tax dollars probably paid for the research that went into proving them true.

1. More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.

Donkeys are truly asses.

 

2. Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

They were worried he hadn't finish or flush

3. If you keep a Goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.

Everyone knows you need sunlight to make gold shine

4. The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes. Why were they fighting in the first place?

England was sans a bar and zans had one.

5. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

They are fanning their mascara.  Adam Lambert blinks four times as much.

6. The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

Holding liquor with left hand and doesn't want to spill any,

7. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Lives in Australia.  More to see than think about.

8. In England, the Speaker of The House is not allowed to speak.

The prime minister won't stop talking long enough to let it happen.

9. By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand.

But you could get a surprise from your significant other

10. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

Thereby gifting their parents with a nice hefty settlement for baby's college costs.

12. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
 
See that drill isn't all that scary now is it.
 

The Things We Do For Love

This week's Take This Tune as suggested by Linda of Are We There Yet is "The Things We Do For Love" by 10 CC.  It is from their album Deceptive Bends whose cover is shown below.  This sent me off on a wild tangent.

The Deceptive Bends cover art immediately reminded me of The Creature From The Black Lagoon. and all the early 3D movies of the early 50s and as the fad faded all of the apocolyptic monster movies of the era.  Whoever the monster happened to be, they just couldn't seem to keep their hands off the leading lady. 

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Robby the Robot of Forbidden Planet

Now Forbidden Planet was based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" so naturally I leap frogged to a new movie currently getting ready for release.  The lead character Prospero will get a sex change and become Prospera with Dame Helen Mirren playing the role as directed by Julie Taymor.  During the filming in Hawaii, the cast took advantage of the surroundings and the 63 year old leading lady showed that she could still be something any self respecting monster would be glad to grab.

Does anyone have a way to dam the stream of consciousness?