Wordsworth

Taylor Swift was amazing on it, I liked her so much more when I'd finished watching it. The episode with Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Hugh Bonneville might be the best ever episode though. The Graham Norton Show is the best chat show on UK tv.

I quite like some of his stuff (I love Gosford Park, and have enjoyed - in a beach read sort of way - his novels). But I think you have to watch/read as a soap opera and not as Jane Austen. As a soap opera fan, I can do that ;-) I think soap opera is a really good description for Downton! I think Gosford Park shows he can write a particular type of work well, but I don't think he can sustain quality over a longer show.

I gave up on Downton Abbey years ago, but I think the Enmys have fallen into the "they have British accents so it must be brilliant!" It isn't; it's crap. Even devoted UK fans will admit that. Julian Fellowes is not a good writer IMO - I don't know whether you guys got his Titanic miniseries in the US but it was terrible. He always chucks in lots of exposition instead of properly developing characters. And end rant, LOL.

Was just reading that she cancelled her recent LFW show saying items weren't ready. Bit of a shocker.

^ honestly you didn't miss much by missing the Starz Torchwood; it was awful to the point it has potentially killed the show. Considering how much the show had improved with the Children of Earth series, it was a weird decision. It wasn't really Torchwood. I've got the White Queen on my TiVo box but haven't watched any, apparently you guys in the US are getting a slightly different version from us. You're getting to see more flesh, or so I read!

Luciana's dress looks v pretty. I must admit to having had a bit of a thing for Matt Damon since the first Bourne film.

I reckon if anything she was going to say "dog" then realised that wouldn't be good.

Since his sister replaced Katie in the Batman franchise, maybe Jake got confused and thought he was meeting up with Maggie?

There are some quality parody Royal twitter accounts too. :4biggrin: plus the Pippa's Tips one parodying the suggestions in pippa middleton's book on entertaining. The best part is the parody tweets aren't that different from the actual book!

No problem. The Queen has actually done a pretty good job over her 60 years to modernise the monarchy and avoid alienating people - paying tax, ditching minor royals from the civil list etc. it's still happening, with them changing the rules of succession so first born girls can inherit. They're also abolishing the clause that goes back centuries that says a royal gives up their place in line if they marry a Catholic - Peter Philips's Canadian wife converted her faith before they married as a result of that rule.

Technically the Queen is still our Head of State with all of its associated power; it's just that the power is wielded by parliament (and the prime minister) on her behalf. That is why the Queen formally opens parliament every session and dissolves it before elections - I imagine in a major crisis she could also act. Outside that it is largely ceremonial. The Queen is currently given an annual grant through the Civil List, although this has been trimmed down and is in the process of being reformed again to the point of replacement, partly because its not good for business if people see the monarch as a drain on public finances. Technically the Queen receives this in exchange for giving up income from the land she owns (of which there is a lot, given she's Queen). It is a really sensitive topic and trying to manage it also led to the Queen agreeing to pay income tax. They also now publish public accounts for transparency - you can see a lot of stuff here http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/...s/Overview.aspx Re the wedding, i believe all of the police security etc that was required was funded by taxpayers. The royals did fund other elements. Edit - a quick google suggests the security cost the government (so taxpayers) c£20m.

Princess Anne's children don't have royal titles at all; they have no automatic entitlement through their mother because Anne's a woman (and therefore lesser under the old rules) and none through their father as Mark Philips was a commoner. So while Edward's daughter is Lady Louise, Zara is plain Miss Philips/Mrs Tindall. Kate will be Queen Consort if William becomes King. Camilla would technically be Queen Consort but I believe they intend to go with Princess Consort to appease Diana's fans. I think it's a bit harsh on Camilla, to be honest. That said I'm a Brit and a republican (which in this context means I don't believe we should have a monarchy), so I can't say that the idea of the royal line being assured fills me with delight. I obviously wish William and Kate a smooth and happy pregnancy but no more than I would every other pregnant woman in the country.

I see royal boobs every time I see pics of prince Andrew. :4biggrin: Sorry, wait, that's a royal tit. (this might b a very British joke, sorry)

If they simply depict a young couple in love, why print them? Crap argument. i think it's a invasion of privacy and one that can't be justified, no matter how you try. That said, they're just boobs. Why are people so interested in seeing them?

Congratulations!

I am actually going to the Olympics tomorrow! :4biggrin: Flying down to London to take in some of the tennis on centre court at Wimbly. I'm very excited! The BBC are doing a great job with tv coverage - as well as their main two channels they've a whole bunch of extra ones on the red button (interactive on digital) which means you can watch uninterrupted coverage of all the sports you choose. The atmosphere at Horseguards Parade for the beach volleyball looks great, and because it's usually one of the last sports live at night we find ourselves watching it instead of sleeping. Glad Team GB picked up two golds, a bronze and a silver today.

She's a Briish soap actress, appears in Eastenders. The photoshopped pictures are weird...

It would certainly be a way for her to control the story, which she might need given she's not just going against Tom but the church of Scientology too.

I've read she wants it to be in New York because she's more likely to get sole legal custody there, is that true?

The daily mail article on this is entertaining, looks like its from katie's side as its definitely painting Tom in a bad light. I also liked this quote: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...cing-years.html

Lainey has mentioned a few rumours in her piece on this http://laineygossip.com/Articles/Details/2...from-Tom-Cruise -Her public play will be to paint him as a workaholic, taking job after job and having no time for family. This certainly helps her on the custody side of the argument. -He was asking her to reconsider and wait another 6 months. She told him she’d think about it but, with support from her family, went for it anyway, and stopped taking his calls two days ago. -There’s a rumour going around that I can’t lock down that she wants new staff around her and doesn’t want to be spied on anymore. -Tom was papped on set in Iceland the other day but there’s some confusion now about where he is. No one can find him.

What's so mysterious about the fact she wanted cash for doing the interview but didn't want to take responsibility for her problems? It's always the same old story with Sarah Ferguson.

We had our second Royal wedding of the year - Zara Phillips got married yesterday in my city, we even managed a sunny day for it! The hats were frankly not as interesting and everyone seemed to be wearing the same pair of nude court shoes...clearly no one told them it's tough to navigate the cobblestones in heels... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-...-rugby-ace.html

Agree. The fine itself might be chickenfeed to him, but you know that there are other celebs who just wouldn't bother coughing up.

I'm confused - it says they met in South Wales but all the other places mentioned are in London.