Wedding summary
Well, they got married all right, didn’t they?
I am now in Wellington, at the bottom of the North Island, and fairly near the bottom of the actual world. Of course down here, maps of the world tend to have Australia and New Zealand in the middle, and us tucked away in the top corner like a postage stamp, almost as if Britain is actually rather small and insignificant. But I think we showed yesterday that we still definitely rule the planet.
It was odd watching it from this end of the earth, not least because we alternated between NZ’s own coverage (whose anchors kept going quiet in puzzlement at the sight of Nick Clegg and other people they couldn’t identify) and, at the other extreme, the reverent boom of Alistair Stewart and the charming witticisms of Philip Schofield. And in between of course, a mixture of British and Kiwi voices droning on about hats and how happy and composed Kate was and what a magnificent building the Abbey was. Meanwhile there was the sight of all the lunatics who’d been sleeping outside the Abbey draped in their Union Jack cloaks since 2003, cheering and whooping as the royal car sailed past them for a couple of seconds. London looked – from this outside viewpoint – like a made-up place you would see in a film. There were a lot of surreal moments, like when the Queen couldn’t really sing along to God Save The Queen because it would look a bit needy.
Anyway, good luck to the buggers (and by the buggers I mean their Royal Highnesses). Now we can get back to talking about something else. There were some good nominations for less important things than the wedding. I shall soon compile a definitive list of the least important things in the world in our opinion, so get your votes in while you can. If possible, cite evidence of unimportance. Thank you.
Posted by Deanna on May 5, 2011
It definitely said “south” when i wrote that comment. just so any later readers know i’m not (very) insane or illiterate.
Posted by Deanna on May 2, 2011
Oh Mark, Wellington’s not at the bottom of the South Island! Glad you’re here, sorry I’ll miss you, hope you have a good time.
Posted by Beau Brummel on May 1, 2011
Less important than the Wedding? Mmm…
1. Thursday’s referendum on whether or not to change the voting system. Sounds quite important, doesn’t it, but a) 80% of the population don’t seem to understand the Alternative Vote (AV) concept b) the 20% who do understand it think that it would hardly make any difference to the results c) nobody’s going to vote for it because they don’t want to see Nick Clegg looking smug and d) nobody really cares anyway.
2. Video games. People queue round the block at midnight to get their hands on the latest game. Sad and pointless.
3. Hats
Posted by Ethan Tucker on May 1, 2011
Thanks for venturing down to Wellington, Mark. I lived there for seven years and we were always grateful to British comedians who would make the effort to come to NZ and then not just to Auckland. It’s a fun place, apart from all that wind; try videoing the clouds on a brisk day and you’ll probably be able to convince people you were recording in fast-forward. Another game to try is to test Wellingtonians’ coffee fanaticism – see what reaction you can get by going into a funky Cuba Str coffee shop and asking for a filter coffee…
Posted by Andrew on May 1, 2011
Without even trying too hard (thank you World Snooker) I didn’t see any of it. But I had to get up at 7 yesterday for work, and I put the news on while I was eating my breakfast. They cut to a reporter standing outside of Buckingham Palace. It was deserted. They asked her where they going on honeymoon. She didn’t know. Then they cut to a reporter outside the hotel to which guests returned at 3am. Nothing was happening (surprise). Like many others, I might have less of a problem with it if the media overkill were not so relentless.
Posted by Cathy (traineeflorist) on May 1, 2011
was busy at work on the “big day” making bouquets, buttonholes, etc. for another big day (could say less important but I can’t bring myself to) so still haven’t seen any of it. Not into the royals that much but would like to see the dress and in particular the flowers as one of my friends Emma did them, needless to say she is very big and important now so I will probably not be allowed to speak to her ever again x
Posted by Lucy on May 1, 2011
Lovely wedding but was almost fed up of it before it has even started as tv schedulers the week leading up to it seemed to feel that a moment of programming not dedicated to the royals, their ancestry, weddings, outfits, best clangers and favourite cheese was a moment wasted. Was worth it for the sight of Prince Philip taking several tries to get into the carriage after the ceremony though.
Nominations for less important things; can I put forward all the programs that proceeded it, the unnecessary interest in whether or not Samantha Cameron wore a hat, and also the idiots who think that stem cell research is to do with cloning people rather than saving lives. They have nothing to do with the wedding (at least I hope not) but they annoy me anyway.
Posted by MusicalLottie on April 30, 2011
Interesting, kind of-related fact: my friend’s brother (Barney Smith of Voces8) was the last person to get married in Westminster Abbey before Prince William and Kate Middleton, back in December.
I actually haven’t seen any footage of it, as I was in London for a radio recording (Cabin Pressure – it’s a comedy) though of course I have seen newspaper reports. There was actually a quote in the newspaper from a couple of people who’d not slept after hanging around outside the Abbey for two days, which I thought was just insane. I know it’s a historical occasion, but still.
Less important things? A few things spring to mind but if we’re going with importance/worth as you were discussing yesterday, the reality would be quite depressing so I’m not going to vote for anything. I would however argue that moss is important, but I’m far too tired to start explaining why. Also, Sunny Delight has probably had a negative impact on many people, so it probably counts as important but for all the wrong reasons.
Posted by Rachael on April 30, 2011
Watching the Queen looking awkward when they sang God Save the Queen was very odd indeed.