Climate Change & Tradition

 

I think that it's absolutely potty to have the Yeomen of the Guard, the Lords & Guardsmen, (never mind the horses), dressed in thick, heavy, & extremely hot traditional costumes on the hottest June day for more than 40 years. This poor man had to be helped out when he collapsed.

 

Similarly having men in morning dress & the Queen wearing dress, coat, hat, stockings & long white gloves at Ascot. (Is she really going to be contaminated by touching her loyal subjects)? I was only wearing a linen strappy dress & knickers & I melted. I stayed in the shade & had a fan too.

 

I do understand that many Brits treasure our traditions - not least the Royal Family. So I think Pince Harry is both brave & right to say what he did about being King / Queen. Who would really want to go through this torture?  

Look at other European Monarchies. Some of them seem to have managed the transition into the 21st Century.

Luxembourg - Grand Duchy - whatever that is.
Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco - Principalities.
Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden - Monarchies.

Also look at Japan - The Japanese seem to be able to combine hundreds of years of tradition with technology & ultra modern living.

Tradition is all very well, but we should start to think about what we do & why. It's a really great opportunity.

Climate change is here - Summers are hotter & drier, Rains are torrential downpours, we don't seem to get really cold winters any more. We need to adapt to survive.

While I'm at it - there are some really potty traditions in the Houses of Parliament too, although nothing to do with climate change. e.g. Voting - When MPs vote on debates or legislation it is called a division. When MPs vote they say 'aye' or 'no'. In the Lords, Members vote saying 'content' or 'not content'. For major votes the House divides into the voting lobbies, two corridors that run either side of the chamber, and members are counted as they enter into each.

Really!?

Have they heard of the Scottish Parliament who vote using a version of PR & have an electronic voting system. I'm sure the Scots would be happy to explain it all to them, but are we happy to be so anachronistic?