Lie Back and Think of England

“It reminds us of the potential in our societies that is yet to be fully unlocked and it encourages us to find ways to allow all girls and women to play their full part.” —Queen Elizabeth, on the Commonwealth overturning a centuries-old law requiring male primogeniture in Royal successions. [Daily Mail, via ThinkProgress]

Our guest columnist is National Review’s Frank Miniter, who is totally not gay.

With London succumbing to looters and muggers, it’s time to ask what happened to the once-manly English people. The August 9 issue of the Daily Mail, for example, includes a photo of a young man taking off his pants on the street as an impatient looter waits with the emasculated Briton’s sneakers and shirt already in his hands. Luckily the feeble Englishman chooses boxers over briefs, but I can’t help wondering if men such as T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, or Lord Acton could have stomached the state of manliness in this generation of Englishmen.

England Used to Be a Country of Men [NRO]

As London prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Blitz, parts of London are engulfed in flames as rioters engage the police after a father being shot to death by a policeman provided an excuse for looting (pronounced Loo-ting for those unfamiliar with the English Tongue).

Here is a linque to a West London newspaper featuring pictures and a blow-by-blow account.

BTW. When reading of riots please try not to snigger at place names. Yes, there really is a placed called Chingford Mount (Ching-ford Mount). Same goes for Dorking (Dork-ing) and Wapping (Wop-ing. And no, that does not mean Italians live there). Tottenham is pronounced Tott-num. Enfield is pronounced En-field.

When asked to comment, Margaret Drabble (Drab-ull) admitted that she had heard of Brixton (Brix-ton) but had never actually been there. “So long as Hampstead’s (Hamp-sted) safe we’ll manage somehow,” the celebrated lady novelist opined. “Has anyone seen Piers Morgan (Ass-hole)?”

Part two of Harbottle and Lewis’s instructional video series to teach even the most regenerate Aussie yahoo how to address a parliamentary commission.

In case you dear sweet people are not aware, H&L did not only represent I, Benedick, before the bar at the Old Bailey (I was in a navy suit, club tie, very clean-cut, athletic, upstanding youth) against Her Majesty’s government but the firm also represents HRH herself.

Queen v Queen? [Independent UK]

Rebekah Brooks gives herself up to the police and Margaret Drabble admits to having middle-class friends!

The prime minister is hopelessly comprised (even worse than before) and so is Scotland Yard!

So, are we having fun yet?

The Guardian:

Journalists from across News International repeatedly targeted the former prime minister Gordon Brown, attempting to access his voicemail and obtaining information from his bank account, his legal file as well as his family’s medical records.

Daily Mirror:

Desperate Rupert Murdoch yesterday flew to London to try to save his crumbling empire.

He arrived in a cowboy-style hat to be hit by claims News of the World reporters hacked the phones of 9/11 victims.

Read more »

Hugh Grant tackles a weasel on the Beeb and shows why grammar school boys (weasel) can never win when confronted with public school boys who were once jolly good at cricket (Grant).

The scandal is now off and running. Grant makes some very serious allegations. That noise you hear is the sound of pols distancing themselves from Murdoch.

The question remains: what will HRH now read over cornflakes of a Sunday?

Hugh Grant: How I exposed hacking [BBC]

Hugh Grant revisits his role in News of the World’s demise [LAT]