) Liz Rawlins, a successful PR Manager in Tenovus Cancer visited the university this week to tell us about the world of Public Relations, her experiences and the path she took into her career.
She studied BA Journalism at the University of Glamorgan before achieving a 6 month placement in Ghana, Africa working on a daily newspaper, and local radio station.
It got me thinking about the experience I had before university, with a regular slot on a local radio station, Editor of a magazine, published work in local newspapers, successful applicant of media courses such as Zoom Cymru, and freelance writing on WICID.tv
Her interest in the health and charity sector began when she started working in Ty Hafan before moving onto Tenovus where she is currently employed.
My family are all carers, so it is inbuilt into me. I’ve always had great interest in charity work, but it was previously an area I felt wouldn’t form a journalistic or publicity-based career.
A lot of my work has been about promoting good work, so her job was of interest to me.
She is the head of a team of four responsible for all of the publicity work over Wales – a small group for a relatively large area and demographic.
She told us that PR work is “unpredictable, it’s never a 9 – 5 job – yesterday I had office work, last week I had to speak to Journalists and last month I was having lunch with Leona Lewis!”
My previous Editor was involved with their “Sing With Us” choir and the Channel 4 documentary “Sing For Your Life” so it was important for me to ask how it came about as I had seen the amazing personal journey – for a radio assignment last year I visited the Cardiff choirs first ever meeting, so it was amazing to see them on television.
“I have to admit it was an accident – a production company came and pitched it to us. I can;’t take all the credit, but the team worked very hard!”
She also talked about what she looks for in candidates: Enthusiasm, Passion and experience.
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Scandal is a buzzword that is being thrown about a lot over the last few years. It seems that every part of the world is facing an inconvenient, embarrassing or disreputable – the BBC have the Jimmy Savile case, ITV with the “This Morning” Lord McAlpine blunder, the Food Industry and Horsemeat, MP’s and the expenses fiddling, the list goes on.
Huw Lewis, Public Affairs Manager at ITV Cymru Wales spoke to us about how reputation is key to organisations. Personally, I feel that sometimes the public have a tendency to jump on the bandwagon, whinge for the sake of it, complain about something they’ve previously had no interest in, and slate people before knowing a great deal about the story or person.
Huw highlighted that his work was about building an industry-standard framework for publicity, and that organisations were “learning from mistakes, even small ones” in terms of their P.R teams. He highlighted that in the BBC’s case, the Jimmy Savile case was not handled well by the CEO or Acting Service Director post-coverage, perhaps due to the exclusion of the Public Affairs team from management structures.
In terms of Journalism, he made it clear to us that in order to sell a story there are rules – “gone are the days when you have long lunches with Journalists, gave them some pictures, now .. There’s no lunch!” he emphasised that knowing the audience and media you’re writing for, so the story is relevant.
Something I had never considered before is how much more important you could argue a public affairs team are to ITV than the BBC. ITV is a commercial business with stakeholders, in contrast to the commercial Channel 4 that puts all profits back into programming, and the BBC and S4C that are public bodies, supported by the license fee.
A strong P.R team is paramount to attract advertisers and revenue.
He told us about the ITV campaign, “From the Heart” a two-week run of programmes and features on organ donation – he remarked how it did not attract large viewing figures, but did received acclaim and credit from notable politicians, one even writing a blog “commending ITV’s efforts” he Welsh Government also reported that 142,000 people became donors during or immediately after the campaign.
He summed everything he said up into “The Marketing Mix” a term encompassing everything needed to make an effective P.R strategy and team – marketing, publicity, communication etc.
The ever informative Huw Lewis ended his session telling us that becoming employed in Public Affairs means you must have great “Communication skills, curiosity, knowledge and understanding of your organisation, news sense, an authoritative nature and ability to engage. Be talkative!”
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Am I a social media addict? Yes!
The social networking site I probably use the most is Facebook, whereas the one I enjoy the most is YouTube. The one I interact with the most is Twitter. I did have Bebo as a teenager and loved it, it was what everyone used! I had MySpace but used it once, and I do, unfortunately, have Tumblr.
I’d say that I probably spend 1 – 2 hours through the day on social media. I am a member of a lot of group pages on it, so I use it to keep up with them. These range from drama groups where rehearsals and songs are discussed, to my work’s page where relevant information is shared, to my university page where deadlines and advice from peers, among other things, is discussed. Other than that, I read through one or two pages of my feed, maybe three times a day from my mobile phone. I did recently decide to read it less often and I have to say it made me happier – between people’s relationship dramas, pictures of people’s food and terrible use of the English language, I was ready to join a convent!
Twitter is a home from home in a way. For the first few years it was where you went to talk about people on your Facebook behind their back, where your parents couldn’t see what you were posting, and where you could talk to people and become their best friends very quickly. Soon though, the “Fangirls” moved in, and my feed is full of “I <3 Justin” or “I’M A DIRECTIONER FOR LIFE #marrymeharry” – you follow one, and you are in for a bath of R.T that will not make you feel clean! I find myself reading Twitter far less as well, kind of just going back to my favourite users and checking what they’ve said – I probably read Twitter two or times a day, for 20 minutes at a time.
As far as my engagement, I tweet or update anywhere from 5 – 20 a day (my record is 84) but more and more I’m filtering the compulsion in my head, seeing what other people tweet and thinking “No one cares!” and stopping myself from doing it.
I don’t I realised how much I use YouTube until now, but I probably watch videos on it for at least an hour a day – I also make YouTube videos, and frequently check my comments and statistics. YouTube is where I escape from people though. It replaces T.V a lot of the time, and I haven’t commented on a video in years, and never posted a video response.
I recently started blogging to compliment my YouTube channel – I set up Tumblr for the same reason as I could re-blog artsy, pretentious pictures and the teenagers would jump on my bandwagon (which sounds slightly perverted. I’m innocent, I assure you) but I simply CAN NOT STAND IT! It is full to bursting with fandoms – fandoms started from Tumblr and they’re leaking onto Twitter, which I’m not o.k with. Even as a fan of “Glee” I don’t know anything sadder than fan-fiction, or glowy pictures of Kurt and Blaine’s first kiss, just stop it, please! I cannot abide by another “One Direction” photo defending Harry Styles, an ‘artistic’ Doctor Who shot, or another Taylor Swift quote written in swirly font. I will defend cats however; cats have made the internet a funnier place!
In response to research, I do get a compulsion to tweet – I think of events I’m going to come across in my day and plan tweets to do with them. I take pictures of things and come up with witty, interesting or otherwise entertaining captions. And, if I don’t have access at that moment and hours later I forget what I was going to say, I feel disappointed and that I’ve missed out on ‘Likes’.
I’m quite a confident person with a lot of friends and a busy, fulfilling life, but there are moments I am annoyed, a little melancholic, or even angry – and six ‘Likes’ on a status can give me enough of a boost to pull myself out of it?
Would I struggle to give it up? I think Facebook and Twitter might be better with a ballot box model. I put my slips in, but I never see inside the box. Is that narcissist? Maybe, but I get likes, RT’s and comments every day. People have come up to me and said “Your Facebook is hilarious, always cheers me up” others have said “Every Sunday I leave your page open and see what links you put up, they’re great!” so excuse me, maybe I do think I have an audience to entertain? Do I think I’m online famous? No.
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Horsemeat and Me: Cleaning My Plate
It is perhaps the biggest scandal the food industry across Britain and Europe have faced since the Foot and Mouth outbreak – despite the stringent Food Standards and hygiene regulations, the “5 Fork” rating by the British Food Standards Agency, and the growing appetite for Fairtrade and Organic produce, traces of horsemeat have been in found in our food. Excuse me if I’m not outraged.
Photo by Gene Hunt, licensed by Getty Images.
As far as I am concerned, horsemeat carries no more health risks than any other meat granted it is cooked correctly and is not diseased, and it tastes remarkably similar to products such as beef. Furthermore, assuming regulations were adhered to, it was slaughtered and processed in the same, humane way (I use humane strictly as a technical term) as any other animal that ends up on our plate, what is the uproar? So, why is everyone throwing their saddles in the air over this?
Culture
I have heard it cited that: “The British people are not accustomed to eating horsemeat” and this is true. Any public house or local restaurant on a Sunday will probably serve beef, lamb, turkey chicken or pork. That does not mean we eat nothing else? The British also eat geese, mutton, fish and other seafood. Throughout history, people (yes, even the British) have eaten everything from sheep’s heads to swans, turtle soup to tubs of maggots – suddenly, a horse burger doesn’t seem too outlandish.
False Advertising
Yes, I cannot dispute this. If something says “Beef Lasagne” then by strict British licensing and trading laws, it must contain beef. Same with any other product, anywhere in Britain and most of the rest of the world, I’m sure. But, just humour me – take a look at the back of your Findus package, for example and check for me just how meat it contains? 20 – 30% is an average. Digressing for a moment from the meat content, I once looked on the back of Iceland’s “Three Cheese Pizza” and found it contained less than 25% cheese. Fruit juices don’t have to contain real fruit, British wine doesn’t contain a single grape, crab sticks sometimes have no crab. We’ve far bigger issues than horsemeat Britain, far more!
I consider myself to have quite a strong stomach and a curious mind. May I direct you to the utterly fascinating Channel 4 series “Food Unwrapped” in which they investigate products within the food industry: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/food-unwrapped Channel 4 and BBC Three have made countless programmes dispelling myths about food – the truth is that for years we have accused McDonalds of lying about using “100% Chicken Breast” in McNuggets, and years ago at least, they had a high water content. We slander kebab shops and takeaways almost every weekend as containing, among other things, horse! If I had a penny every time someone said “I can only face it when I’m drunk!” I’d be richer student.
Cost
Not particularly applicable to the horsemeat scandal, but the food industry indeed – cheaper products contain less meat, which has led to an increase in the popularity of vegetarianism. Bangers, for example, form one half of a popular, classically British dish, and can contain less than 20% of beef or pork, with the rest made of cartilage, bone, you name it – we still eat them?
Digressing again, I know takeaways awarded a 1 out of 5 on the FSA scoring test, with a cue of people outside – it would seem, the British rarely care.
My issue is that this may cause us to lose faith in our Food Standards Agency, which remains one of the best, most stringent agency of its kind in the world. Maybe I’m speculating, but are takeaways going to go out of business? Are our favourite, value brands going to go out of business? Or maybe planes will fall from the sky? No, none of that will happen.
The truth of the matter is, statements issued by the FSA state “we cannot be sure whether the meat sold dates back more than a year” so a large portion of us have probably eaten traces of meat. If you’re reading this, it didn’t hurt you!
I ask, let the inquiries find the source or supplier and then brands can choose whether or not to end contracts, and we can choose whether or not to buy these products, let’s leave the kicking off to our humble horses.
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Surviving University: What the class of 2012/13 have learned so far.
“You believe and you doubt. You’re confused and got it all figured out .. We live and we learn. We find the reasons why, one step at a time” – Jordin Sparks
I’m a 2nd year student, and I didn’t know if I’d ever make it – I seriously considered dropping out in my first year. After the first term I spoke to my parents and grandparents about how I didn’t know what I was doing. They told me to stick it out. I mean it, three separate times I told them “I’m thinking of quitting” I’m glad I ignored the little voice in my head.
Primary and high school are your life, university is your future, and that’s a hard thing to get used to. There are still times I’m in work thinking “I should be doing uni work” and vice versa.
Coming back to the 2nd year felt very weird – it was crazy to me that it had been nearly 5 months, and so much had happened. I went back a different person, but it was as if nothing ever changed.
“Take a deep breath in the mirror. I think it’s strange .. I watched it begin again” – Taylor Swift
Who or what has inspired, surprised, disappointed you?
As with most things in my life, my friends have inspired me! I have some friends who started their first year in 2012/13 and the pride I felt for them – it was nice to be on hand to answer some questions they had and reminisce about my first year, even though it was not that long ago!
Other people on my course as well who have shown passion and initiative, and getting great opportunities from work experience and volunteering. I have a bad habit of resting on past success – seeing other people succeed and experience exciting things fires me up again to go and get something else to celebrate!
What surprised me was how alike we really are, it’s comforting to see other people unsure of their present and futures, and we can figure it out along the way.
I don’t feel like university or the people in it have disappointed me at all – it couldn’t have been to scarring if I can’t remember it, in this case. Sometimes I’ve been a bit disappointed in myself, and I’ve felt my best isn’t good enough, but that’s a universal worry and I’m getting strongerr.
What have you enjoyed most/least?
I’ve enjoyed growing up and maturing a bit more – being treated more like an adult by tutors, and to have tutors who act like teachers, not babysitters.
Meeting new people and new friends has been great, and getting to see a world beyond the town I grew up in – my university isn’t that far from home, but it’s a train journey, so it’s a different place.
Exams are not as bad or stressful as you first think, especially if you’re prepared and you feel you’ve done all you can. I’ve least enjoyed the stress that news days bring. Even if I’m not stressed, the tension that builds up is between people is horrible. I have suggested meditation, with no materialisation (as of yet).
Have your first real steps into adulthood and independence been what you thought they’d be?
I thought it would be harder, but growing is the most natural thing in the world. Sometimes, allowing unversity into my life as a priority with a large list of other things in my life has been a struggle, but i’ve been a busy-bee since I was 15, I think I’ve my whole life to struggle with that scale.
If you could start again, what would you do differently?
Although my decision has worked out quite well, I might have pushed myself a bit more to move from home into halls or other student accommodation. It is just more effort and time to socialise and make friends, you can sometimes feel so out of the loop. But, I’m not the only one on the course, and we do fine.
The summer between first and second year was incredibly emotional for me, if I could change anything, it’d be that I didn’t let those emotions stop me achieving what I originally wanted to e.g work experience, more time on other projects, hours in work etc. But, it made me grow in a different way, and I wouldn’t trade the lessons.
Can you offer some top tips & helpful advice to those who might be contemplating university or who are in their first year & wondering what the second year holds?
I feel like, in the first year we were treated like students, and in second we are treated like Journalists. We know the basics, and this year’s work has to be to a higher, more professional standard.
University is an incredible experience, and it gives you time to find out who you are and what you want – take your time, pick an institution and course that sounds like you’ll enjoy it, and apply. You can always change your mind later. Don’t be pushed into university though, if you need a few years, take them. University is only worth it if you want to be there.
Enjoy each year of university though, and make an effort on the module evaluations at the end of the year; be honest, and think about what you want to change. I miss some of my modules from first year, but you’ve learnt them! That’s a good thing.
“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, it’ll soon be here. It’ll be, better than before. Yesterday’s gone!” – Fleetwood Mac.
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Photo by http://www.rihannafentyforum.com
Recently there has been attention placed upon the over-sexualisation of children, with BBC 3 documentaries tackling bikinis, padded bras and high heeled shoes for children as young as 6.
I have to admit that before I watched these documentaries, I assumed that people were just being prudish and paranoid, but the shows did get me thinking of how many things children are exposed to today that they were not before.
Example one – pop music.
Now we all know that pop music is based on one saying ‘Sex sells’ and it seems that as sales drop, there’s been more and more sex added. The videos almost always contain clothing that doesn’t leave much to the imagination; if they’re wearing anything at all! There’s usually a mention of getting a guy or a girl, usually through a routine of hip-shaking and chest pumping choreography, and it doesn’t stop at the video.
For example, although not limited to, Rihanna’s award winning, multi-platinum album ‘Loud‘ which is sitting in my 7 year old cousin’s bedroom right now. Now I’ve heard some mothers say that as far as sex goes, this album is packed with it, to the point where they thought that there were only one or two songs on the album that could possibly be made into a single. One of it’s biggest chart topper is ‘S&M’ which Is just one song that young boys and girls know the words to all over the world.
Another example is a disco full of children around the age of 7 to 13 singing the lyrics ‘I kissed a girl and I liked it!’
Example 2 – The Disney Channel.
It seems the days of innocent fairy tales and colourful drawings are gone. Introducing the likes of Zac Efron with his 6 pack abs or Miley Cyrus in hot pants. Now the Disney Channel do seem to try and keep the flesh off show, and one kiss at the end of the film, or once in a series isn’t too much, but what about when the stars become 18 and start showing themselves in more ways than how talented they are…
Is this what young children are going to want to be? And can we blame these Disney stars for us wanting to grow up more quickly.
The facts are that we all develop at a different rate, and wanting to be mature and grown up at such a young age is becoming something teenagers in particular are reaching for, wanting to be an adult when they’re still a child. This can lead to sinister and dreadful consequences, such as rape or abuse, or something less abusive, but something that still affects you – the feeling that you lost out on childhood, and that you did things you were not ready for.
Example 3 – the pornography industry.
Now you’d hope that that in the same way as alcohol and smoking, this is something that the under 18 age group is exempt from, but we all know that that isn’t true of any of the above.
Studies have shown that the biggest consumers of free online pornography is the 12 – 17 age group, who can’t legally buy it.
There’s a common saying ‘The Internet is 90% porn, 9% spam, and less than 1% of anything remotely useful.’ so with so much content out there, there are a lot of stuff for younger people to come across.
So this is clear – it is out there, and young people are accessing it. The real question is, what are they looking at? Is it o.k to experiment with it and decide they do not like it in the privacy of their homes, or would we prefer that they went out into the real world and tried it out themselves; which as I said earlier, could lead to trouble.
And then there is the issue of older people and how they perceive young people. If a 16 year old in a tight skirt and high heels gets into a bar (and it does happen) and a 30 year old mistakes her for someone of age, can we instantly accuse that guy of being a bad person?
Example 4 – teenagers on television
There are several shows nowadays that depict characters under the age of 18 in relationships, having sex and appearing partly naked. Now although the actors are of age, can we be attracted to their characters?
It seems that with all influences of the media, the concern that young people want to grow up and experience adult things before they’re ready; and the harsh stigma attached to relationships involving under and over 16/18 year olds, etc, etc that sex doesn’t just sell, it can cause a LOT of trouble.
I’m raising all the issues for a simple reason, what can we do as Wicid.tv members (Ranging from 13 to 25 years old) to help this grey area?
Perhaps a series of articles for young people who are perhaps under the age of 16 about accessing and experimenting sex in a safe way (in a way that obviously doesn’t encourage them to have sex, but to be safe.)
When experimenting, reading stories of others experiences can seem like a less graphic way of accessing sex (yeah right, have you read a Mills and Boon novel?!) Or, chat rooms and dating sites that help people to connect to other people who can shed light to their questions, or offer to help them experiment – now that is a whole new bucket of dangers.
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T-shirt by Fluid Design
Disclaimer: This contains some moderate language which may cause offence to younger readers.
Reality Television, Fly-On-The-Wall, Game shows, whatever you want to call them I call them a waste of airtime!
Please note: this is a completely opinion based rant, therefore, please feel free to not read it you want to read something happy and positive – I recommend Stuart Little.
Here’s my hit list and I’m going work my way through it:
1) The worst of the worst: Big Brother
Big Brother to me is the epitome of trashy television! Take a group of strange people made up of the sex-hungry “hunk”, the oompa loompa with extensions, the squeaky and stupid gay guy, the one Ghetto Girl thinkin’ she’s Jenny from the Block and the Conservative bore. Starve them, film them and make them perform tricks for reward – if you’re only reading now, I am in fact talking about Big Brother and now West Midlands Safari Park.
What bothers me fundamentally about the show is not Davina McCall’s being, not really the contestants, not even the unrelated name, but the fact that it makes these everyday people famous. People go on this show to become famous and we are left to suffer for it.
2) The X Factor
The X Factor A.K.A the place talent gets sold for money. Hated the show ever since Sharon Osbourne left. In the beginning, you could dismiss the terrible auditions and the rowdy failures that picked a fight with the body-guarded Simon as entertainment. But, one by one the show just became what it is today.
• Sharon Leaves
• The private audience is ditched and the format of Britain’s Got Talent is copied completely
• Cheryl Cole and her Geordie tear ducts infected our screens
• Everyone leaves except Louis yet he’s still treated like s***
I can’t watch this show, it makes me physically want to hit something – a talent show which promotes the exact opposite and it’s inescapable. Despite the fact I do not watch it I can still tell you who is in, out, shaken all about and probably what song they butchered. It also pains me that Gary Barlow was ruined for me by this show and I now cannot stand his terrible impression of Simon any longer!
What’s more, the winners are almost never as successful as the runners-up, and even then other than Leona, who can really say they shot to fame. Three years later, The X-Factor seems to be the only place gig Alexandra can book!
Congratulations to Olly and Stacey though – runners up in a singing contest and one’s on the same show playing presenter and the other’s the new Kerry Katona. Poor darling.
3) The Only Way is Essex
The one that everyone thinks started it all, but remember Snooki? No, neither do I? Literally camera’s following around walking mannequins as they attempt to move their facial muscles and b**** each other off – unfortunately, some do manage to speak and they unleash and the cheese grater of all accents!
It bothers me that it’s lasted so long, that people are interested in the lack of storyline and that the Government can complain the economy is down when these girls have bought so much slap!
Don’t worry Essex, we don’t blame you.
TOWIE also launched so many knock-offs, Made In Chelsea being one – it’s the same documented boredom, but it appears they’re speaking English.
I’d like to however say a huge thank you to entertaining reality shows such as Wife Swap, Come Dine with Me and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here for not making people think they are famous (In I’m a Celebrity’s cases they already know!) And they’re just a tad more real and not this scripted rubbish that we are to believe is spontaneous!
Quickly I’d like to add how boring I find game shows, particular Deal or No Deal – a game that lasts over an hour that could be played in about 3 minutes, and Noel Edmonds presents, need I say more?
Thank you for letting me rant and please give your opinions, what do you hate about television and why?
P.S If I ever have to defend myself over the above, I’m gonna plea “Haters will Hate!” okies?
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Royal Family on the infamous balcony.
In light of the soon-to-be royal wedding day of his highness, Prince William and Catherine Middleton, I’ve decided to give all you wicid.tv readers and members a lesson in “The British Monarchy.”
Now, this is only a brief bunch of facts and trivia really, because if I were to review over 1000 years of history – well, we could be here for a while!
I think it’s so important to know about our history, so here is a brief one of “The British Royal Family” (I promise, I don’t cover all 74 of them!)
The first 200 years or so is pretty complicated. It was the rule of the Anglo-Saxons, but the very first “King of England” is in dispute between three people (To be technical, one was the “King of the Anglo-Saxons”, one was the “King of Wessex” and the other, the first claimant to “King of England” – confused.com!)
You probably remember from your history lessons that commonly, William, Duke of Normandy is considered the first “King of Britain” after 1066 (Hastings.)
Here are some key dates in the “British Monarchy’s” diary.
The term “King of England” was not official until 1154, with Henry II being the first recipient of it
In 1172 the pope (at the time) decrees that Henry II is Feudal lord of Ireland (If you want to learn more about the “Feudal System, then please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism)
King John signs the Magna Carta (Great Charter) in 1215 (If you want to revisit your history lessons, then here’s alink about the Magna Carta –
Henry III summons Britain’s first parliament in 1265
The Principality of Wales was controlled by the controller of England in 1284
King James of Scotland takes the official title “King of the United Kingdom” however, Scotland was not added until 1707
In 1532 Wales was officially united with England.
After the Tudor House fell apart due to deaths and conflicts of succession, The Bill of Rights 1698 was the result of the “Glorious Revolution” which gave Parliament more power than the monarchy, giving citizens certain rights.
Between 1701 and 1800 many “Acts” were created addressing the issue of union – finally, in 1800, the “Act of Union” created “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.”
In 1876, Queen Victoria is named “Empress of India” sparking the beginning of the Commonwealth. (More on that later.)
In 1922 South and North Ireland separate
Present Day – The monarch is Elizabeth II, Queen of the Commonwealth realms, of the House of Windsor. She has reigned for 59 years, making her the Second-longest reigning monarch in any of her realms, surpassed only by Queen Victoria who reigned an incredible 62 years.
Royal fact – Queen Elizabeth II is actually an Empress – she is the sovereign of 54 countries known as the Commonwealth. Here is a full list of the countries she rules
The Queen, our Queen
Queen Elizabeth II is known as one of the most powerful women in the world, although, she exercises little power at all. “the Sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy … three rights—the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn.”
The Queen has the power to appoint or dismiss Prime Ministers, dissolve parliament and call elections and give honours, such as knighthoods. However, she must act in accordance with the people’s choice. A famous lesson of not conforming to this came early in Queen Victoria’s reign – she refused to dismiss Lord Melbourne (Prime Minister of the time and Liberal party leader) after he lost the majority vote to Sir Robert Peel (Leader of the Conservative Party) the result were attempted assassinations of Her Majesty and riots outside Buckingham Palace.
The Queen’s ultimate and most important role is to show the unity of our country, through visits around the world and infamous speeches to the likes of the United Nations. Her role is usually ceremonial, retaining a traditional and formidable view of Britain to the rest of the world.
Other powers include the power to declare war and sign treaties, and also claim any land within the Royal estate for her use.
A Royal Fact – In the film “Johnny English” Pascal Savagé lists the powers of the Queen incorrectly. He states that she can claim any piece of land within Britain – in actual fact, 89% of Britain is held by Parliament, and restricts the Queen from purchasing it privately. Most of her palaces are also owned by Parliament; she privately owns Balmoral Castle and Sandringham Palace, and around 100,000 hectacres of land, within her estimated £230 million personal wealth.
A hugely misunderstood piece of information is how the Royal Family is financed, what does it cost us? A report in 2009-10 stated that the Royal Family costs every single person in the U.K 62p a year, derived from V.A.T and other taxes – that’s barely a chocolate bar? This money pays for what is known as “Head of State expenditure” involving transport and ceremonial/administrational cost – not to mention, the Royal Family employ 1,200, 450 of which are payed from this expenditure!
Reports of funding can be found here
A Royal Fact – The Queen does pay tax. She pays tax on her income, V.A.T and even on postage and stamp costs! I would answer the cashier with a “Excuse me, one is on that postage stamp you are charging me for!?”
Weddings and Manner
Relating back to the wedding theme, there seems to be some good examples for Wills and Kate for follow. William’s grandmother and grandfather; Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh have been married over 61 years, making her majesty the “Longest married Monarch ever.”
Perhaps you’re attending a street party soon? Then my dears, let me provide you with some etiquette lessons – royal style!
When greeting royalty, you begin with “Your Majesty”, after which, you may use “Ma’am” – Ma’am as in ham, not ma’rm as in farm!
If you are not a citizen of the Commonwealth, such as America, then you do not have to bow or curtsy, however, you may nod or bob your head.
You must wait for the Queen to extend her hand to you to shake, shaking only shortly and loosely – touching a member or royalty in any other way is deemed as inappropriate.
During conversation, which the Queen must begin, you cannot call her “Liz” and you cannot question her on current affairs, including her grandchildren.
You must never turn your back on the Queen, until she dismisses you.
As for dress codes, the Royal family states “Members of the Royal Family do not wish anyone to be put to unnecessary expense by buying special clothes, hats or gloves.”
Now, onto eating – you need only raise your cup from your saucer, and then replace. Take small sips and bites and everyone must finish eating when the Queen has taken her last bite.
A Royal Fact – Icing sugar was renamed “Royal Icing Sugar” in honour of Queen Victoria, whose wedding cake in 1840 used it instead of marzipan”
Summary
I’ve covered history, finance, The Queen, etiquette and touched upon some politics – the only issue left is Succession.
This is simple – as it stands, Prince Charles is next in line to the throne, however there is speculation that he may be forced to abdicate his throne to Prince William due to his second marriage to Camilla Parker-bowles.
One day, we could have King William and Queen Consort Catherine – but, good ol’ Lizzie shows no signs of stopping, and remember, her mother lived until to 101!
I hope you’ve enjoyed and learnt about a great part of British history – Britain’s Monarchy is one of the few remaining monarchy’s in the world, and possibly the longest-surviving. In light of all this information, I do have a request.
In 2001, there were campaigns and polls released asking whether the Monarchy should be abolished in light of the United Kingdom becoming a republic. The polls showed a majority that were against the abolishment, so the Queen is here to stay. But, what do you think?
Does the monarchy have a place in modern day Britain?
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R – L: Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, Betty White.
Front: Estelle Getty
Photo by prayingtodarwin.wordpress.com
The shocking and tragic news emerged this afternoon on June 3rd 2010 of the passing of Rue McClanahan, the 3rd Golden Girl to pass away.
For those who don’t remember, there was a little show in the 80’s called “The Golden Girls” which starred four women; Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty. The show quickly became a piece of television history gathering a cult following among its fans.
The show ran for a magnificient 7 seasons, with 180 episodes each filled with moving storylines, controversy and humour beyond comparison. The show remained in the top 10 shows on NBC’s network for 6 season running, before dropping to 30 in it’s final season. The hour-long finale aired on May 9, 1992 drew in 27.2 million viewers, that was 38% of the viewers at the time!
The show won “The Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series” twice, along with Three “Golden Globe for Outstanding TV series comedy/musical” awards and each of the four main characters won an Emmy for their work on the show.
The show was considered groundbreaking in it’s 80’s heyday. The story centered around 4 fifty- something year old women living in Miami, USA. “The Golden Girls” was one of the only shows on television to consist of almost an entirely female cast and became the first show where sex after fourty was acknowledged and discussed openly, of course the show gave their own ingenious twists to controversial issues ranging from homosexuality, ageism, animal rights, organ donation, gambling and many, many more.
The actresses themselves were a part of television history and helped make this show the success it is to this day.
Estelle Getty played the role of “Sophia Petrillo” a feisty and sarcastic 80-something year old mother to Dorothy and oldest of the 4 women, amusingly, Estelle herself was 14 months younger than her on-screen daughter Beatrice Arthur and 18 months younger than their dim-witted friend Rose, played by Betty White. In 1985 Estelle won a Golden Globe for “Actress in a leading role” and won the Emmy for “Outstanding Supporting Actress” in 1988. Estelle Getty sadly died on July 22, 2008 after her long battle with Dementia, Osteoporosis, Parkinson disease and suspected Alzheimers.
Beatrice Arthur, commonly known as “Bea” played the witty, stern substitute teacher in her role as “Dorothy Zbornak”. Bea herself enjoyed a full career before “The Golden Girls” that spanned seventy years! The actress is most famous for her role of “Maude Findlay” in the 70’s sitcom “All in The Family” and “Maude” for which she won an Emmy and her role of “Dorothy Zbornak” in “The Golden Girls” both shows were canceled because she decided to leave. On top of her television accomplishments, Arthur was a Tony winning actress on broadway and had a singing career. Beatrice Arthur become the second “Golden Girl” to pass away, less than a year after her co-star Estelle Getty on April 25th 2009 from cancer. With her Death Beatrice Arthur donated $300,000 to help homeless LGBT youth, she was both an LGBT icon in life and death.
Rue McClanahan passed away from a stroke just today making her the 3rd and youngest of “The Golden Girls” cast to pass; aged 76, after a heart bypass last year, and breast cancer in 1997 (which she fully recovered from), Rue had lived at home to recover however the news broke of her death this morning. Rue McClanahan won an Emmy for “Outstanding leading actress in a comedy series for ‘The Golden Girls’ 1987” an Obie award in 1969, Golden Apple award in 1986 and two TV land awards in 2003 and 2008 for “The Golden Girls”. Rue also became one of the first celebrity supporters of PeTA and was a dedicated vegetarian.
Betty White, the last remaining Golden girl is yet to chuck off her boots, at the age of 88 with a career spanning over seven decades, Betty shows no signs of slowing down after she recently appeared just 2 weeks ago on the hit American TV show “Saturday Night Live” making the oldest person to ever host the show and last year she starred alongside Sandra Bullock in “The Proposal”. Betty White has won 6 Emmy’s becoming the first woman to ever receive an Emmy for hosting a game show and she is the only Golden girl to be presented with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” which she received in 2010. Betty is clearly still going strong and has said she could never imagine retiring, she is also a pet lover and in April 2008 donated $100,000 to L.A’s zoo and botanical gardens.
“The Golden Girls” was and to this day remains to be one of the most popular sitcoms ever made and featured some of the most talents females of television spanning back seventy years! In 2009 all four of the actresses were awarded honarary “Disney Legends” awards for their work on “The Golden Girls” (which was distributed by Buena Vista home entertainment).
It is with great sadness I write this piece concerning the death of the 3rd legendary Golden girl, having been a fan of the show myself for almost ten years, I still find myself watching clips on Youtube regularly and going blue in the face from the laughter and comedy of this piece of television gold. I hope you will all join me in saying rest in peace to the 3 Golden Girls who have passed and in hoping the last remaining Golden girl, Betty White, good health and a long life.
Thank you for being a friend, Estelle, Beatrice, Rue and Betty, “The Golden Girls”
Martyn Said What? 