Wordsworth

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8565937/Meghan-Markles-gossip-columnist-friend-emerges-potential-source-claims-deep-rifts.html i find this quite interesting for a couple of reasons: (1) I basically quit reading Lainey when she pivoted to having such an ongoing focus on the royals, which seemed an odd switch to me (but that could be selfish on my part, as that’s not what I’m really after in my North American gossip sites) but (2) before I did quit reading her site, I had a suspicion the daily mail were lifting some (royal and non) stories from her site, as the same stuff would show up a day or so later, so I think she’s been on their radar for a while. Edit: I forgot to say, I know Lainey was going in hard on Prince Andrew, so who’s to say this isn’t driven by someone who’s trying to put her off?

Of course Harry and Meghan contributed to that book, and in the same way William and Kate got their “close friends” to talk about how devastated they felt about that book. The truth is probably once again somewhere in the middle. ?

Love Serena, and frankly the influence she is having on her husband to put his money where his mouth is as well.

Here’s the vanity fair story on the complaint (I chose an accessible source that wasn’t a U.K. tabloid!) https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/07/prince-harry-and-prince-william-respond-charities-funds

Also the charity accusation has come from someone with an agenda against the concept of a constitutional monarchy, he literally heads the Republic group - so far there’s nothing to suggest anyone is trying to skim off cash.

Ha they suggested she was pregnant, on the basis she appears to have been avoiding full body shots on her social media. So who knows ?

I wondered if the sleeves were added due to the tradition of covering shoulders in a chapel. I love the tiara, I think it might be my fave of the various weddings.

About a pregnancy duration ago, he was seen drunk on a balcony holding hands with a costar. Pretty mild as cheating scandals go, i was just being a b*tch (again). https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10409561/justin-timberlake-holds-hands-alisha-wainwright-strokes-knee-boozy/

Justin and Jessica have reportedly welcomed a second child...I can’t help but wonder if it’s a band aid baby, given his cheating scandal? https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/18/justin-timberlake-jessica-biel-welcome-second-baby-secret-pregnancy-13009049/

Bold move to crop the Queen out of the first photo. ? one way in which social distancing helped! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53457958

The British press have been mentioning that she’s the first member of the queen’s family to become a stepmother. The timing did always seem suspect. (If the dude is dodgy maybe she’s gone for the old cliche of falling for a man like her father....)

Beatrice has married in a “private ceremony”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53445109

I went into a shop for the first time since March today. And then got my hair coloured for the first time since February. Wearing a mask for both as it’s mandatory here now.

Scotland moved to phase 3 today and our pubs and restaurants opened for inside dining. More importantly hairdressers opened so I am getting my roots done tomorrow ?

Yup, I had the same reaction when I saw this.

Bet Prince Andrew is shitting himself right now.

More Pitch Perfect 2. (Love the first one. Couldn’t get past the first 10 mins of the second.) I like anchorman and blades of glory, but not a huge fan of much else.

I thought Dan Stevens was epic; loved the George Michael hair! Rachel macadams was good but I’m a bit bored of will Ferrell playing the same character and getting slightly worse at it each time. And it’s wasn’t very funny as a whole film to me. i live in the city where the contest was supposed to be taking place so I enjoyed the absolutely inaccurate geography on show. ?

I sort of understand what you’re saying re you being the only person you can control, but equally I don’t think a position where some people feel they can’t leave their house due to others being (frankly) selfish or inconsiderate is what any functional society should be aiming for, or accepting as appropriate. We all have to exist together on this planet, surely an important part of that is (or should be) being considerate to and thoughtful of others. If protecting someone more vulnerable means that I can’t do everything I would otherwise like to, I’ll take the hit, because fundamentally I would rather not endanger others, even if the risk for me is low.

As someone outside the US, the pictures, rise in cases and numbers we see being reported for the US are frankly terrifying. And given the circa two week time lag between infection and symptoms I fear it’s going to be worse. I only hope it is because we are seeing the worst being cherry picked for reporting, rather than a balanced view. And to confirm the UK as a whole is not doing well either, we were too slow to close down, but I feel we did abide by lockdown more generally for a longer period. I consider myself fortunate to live in Scotland for this, as our devolved government have (as they should, in my view) put health considerations above the economy more than the U.K. overall government have. We have unlocked slower than England and we have now had 4 days without any covid related deaths in Scotland, but as we start to ease we may see that rise again.

If you like Black Mirror, I think US Netflix now also has Inside No 9 - it’s a BBC anthology show that I love (I prefer it to Black Mirror). It’s written by the two stars and has different guest stars in the cast every episode (mostly British though so not sure others would recognise LOL). The stories can really span the genres so if you don’t like the tone of one, you’ll get something different next time. Theres a general consensus that two of the best episodes are A Quiet Night In and The Twelve Days of Christine (although I’m not sure either is my fave, it’s hard to pick a fave!). I loved the Favourite but the ending was so weird, I was on a plane and thought maybe I’d had too much free booze for a mo. ? Olivia Colman is always great but I think Rachel Weisz was robbed for that movie, her perform was stunning and I have never been a huge fan.

Oopsie! https://twitter.com/christiancalgie/status/1270106081969213444?s=21

I saw that on twitter too, it’s delightful to see people actively using the things that can make twitter problematic, for good.

Read a story about this today, they are potentially being sued for the payment. The article started by suggesting the Queen would step in to pay it off to prevent a court case, but it ended by saying the Palace was denying this, so....clear as mud!

Yeah, if I’m remembering rightly even at the time it basically came across as, she didn’t want to open up the marriage but felt like she had to, if she wanted to stay with him.