London visitor

A Jaguar previously owned and driven by the Queen has been donated by Chris Evans’ CarFest as a prize for Red Nose Day.

The 2009 Jaguar X-Type estate was first owned by the late monarch, with its original vehicle handbook confirming its registration as PYN 1F, belonging to the Queen.

She was widely photographed using the car, including at Windsor Castle.

Finished in emerald fire green paintwork with a barley-colored leather interior, the car also comes with a Jaguar Heritage Trust certificate confirming its authenticity.

The Jaguar has been donated by current owner, radio DJ, and presenter Chris Evans, who runs the CarFest motoring event, as a competition prize for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day.

Evans said: “I’m so grateful CarFest is able to support Comic Relief, and I’m thrilled that we are able to donate this very special historic car, and so pleased to be able to share it with another enthusiast, especially for such an important cause.”

The 2009 Jaguar, which has covered around 73,000 miles, was sold at auction in November 2022 by Historics for £43,000 – more than four times what an example without its provenance would go for.

Samir Patel, chief executive of Comic Relief, said: “We are enormously grateful to Chris Evans and CarFest for this generous donation for Red Nose Day – this truly is a prize like no other we have ever been able to offer our supporters.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to own a real piece of history and will be such a special prize for the lucky winner.”

CarFest is the brainchild of Chris Evans, a huge car enthusiast. It takes place on the last weekend of August at Laverstoke Park Farm near Basingstoke, Hampshire.

One of the most important symbols of the Crown’s authority and wealth, the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom have a long, interesting, and sometimes controversial past.  These objects have been part of royal ceremonies for centuries, most often in the coronation of kings and queens.  What’s more, the Crown Jewels aren’t just a few accouterments, but represent over 100 objects, including crowns, tiaras, necklaces, rings, sceptres, orbs, and more.  There are also different items for the Sovereign, the Prince/Queen Consort, and the Prince/Princess of Wales.  It’s a lot for us to cover in a simple article such as this, so we’ll try to focus on the most important elements.

To that end, it’s worth noting that the Crown Jewels used for the coronation are the most important and well-known.  The Coronation Regalia, as they’re known, include items such as St. Edward’s Crown, the Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, the Sovereign’s Orb, and the Coronation Spoon.  St. Edward’s Crown has been part of the Crown Jewels since 1661 and is used for the actual crowning of the new Sovereign.  Despite the name, it was actually made for King Charles II after the previous golden crown was melted down by the Parliamentarians after the English Civil War.  Since St. Edward’s Crown is only used for the actual crowning, the Imperial State Crown is the one the monarch wears when he/she leaves Westminster Abbey.  The Imperial State Crown contains some of the most famous jewels in the collection, such as the Black Prince’s Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, and the Cullinan II Diamond.  The Cullinan Diamond has a particularly controversial history as it was mined in South Africa and is seen by some as a symbol of British Imperialism.

The next three important items help to convey the authority of the new Sovereign.  The Sovereign’s Sceptre is a staff that conveys royal authority and, since the Medieval Period, has been topped with a cross as a symbol that the Sovereign is God’s chosen instrument.  The Sovereign’s Sceptre contains another of the Cullinan Diamonds, the Cullinan I, which is the largest of the stones cut from the original.  The Sovereign’s Orb is another Christian symbol of royal authority and is meant to remind the Sovereign that their power comes from God.  The orb has been a part of the Crown Jewels since Queen Mary II needed her own regalia for her joint investiture with co-monarch King William III.  Lastly, the Coronation Spoon is one of the oldest items in the Crown Jewels and dates back to the 12^th Century.  It was saved from destruction by the Parliamentarians by an official who’d been in charge of King Charles I’s wardrobe and sale of his effects.  The spoon is used to anoint the monarch with holy oil, further cementing his/her divine authority. 

In addition to these items, the Prince/Queen Consort also has their own crown, including the State Crown of Mary of Moderna, St. Mary’s Crown (made for Mary of Teck in 1910), and Queen Elizabeth’s Crown that was made for Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.  Prince Philip wore his own coronet for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.  The Prince of Wales also has his own coronet, with the first one made for King George II’s eldest son, Prince Frederick of Wales, in 1727.  These items are normally only used at Royal Coronations.  The most recent version is the Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales, which was made for Prince Charles in 1972 after the abdicated King Edward VIII took the previous coronet with him. 

The Crown Jewels are kept under armed guard within the Tower of London, and some of them can be seen by visitors who go on the tour.  Many of the jewels that are not part of the Coronation Regalia are still used for other state functions, such as the State Opening of Parliament, and will be replaced with an “In Use” sign when the Sovereign is utilizing them.  So if you see the sign-out, you may miss out on seeing some of the most beautiful jewels in the world, but can be excited to know that something special is going on right at that moment.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have marked St David’s Day with a visit to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at a barracks in Windsor.

William and Kate were greeted by a young girl in traditional Welsh costume.

The couple watched as troops marched past to mark the royal visit.

In the pantheon of British comedy legends alongside the likes of Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers, and the Monty Python troop is Rowan Atkinson.  For years, Atkinson has perfected various forms of comedy, from the slapstick of Mr. Bean to the sardonic wit of Blackadder.  He’s also had quite a prolific turn at standup with several TV specials from the Secret Policeman’s Ball to Rowan Atkinson Live!  Having entered showbusiness in 1978, 2023 marks the 45^th year Atkinson’s illustrious career with no sign of slowing down.  If you have a favorite Atkinson show, film, or special, you can share that with us in the comments after you read these ten interesting facts.

Petrol Head

For a man who’s known for being rather goofy, you could forgive yourself for not knowing that Rowan Atkinson is a huge car fanatic.  Not only has he had a fabulously impressive car collection, but he has also written for CAR Magazine and posted the second-highest lap time for the “Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car” segment when he appeared on Top Gear.  What’s more, he has a commercial driver’s license, which he gained while a young actor to ensure some form of employment.

No Comment

Rowan Atkinson doesn’t give many interviews, in part due to a slight stammering problem that he lived with for years.  Performing comes much more naturally to him than extemporaneous speaking.

Take It for a Drive

Such is Atkinson’s fandom for cars that during the filming of Johnny English Reborn, he pulled some strings and got to borrow the Rolls Royce Phantom used as his character’s car in the movie.  Atkinson used his own Aston Martin for the first Johnny English film. 

Starring

Rather fittingly as the title character, Rowan Atkinson is the only actor to appear in every episode of Blackadder.  Tony Robinson, who plays Baldrick, does not appear in the pilot.  Atkinson, Robinson, and Tim McInnerny are the only three actors to appear in every series. 

Friends in High Places

Rowan Atkinson is a frequent guest at Royal Family events, from weddings to parties.  It certainly helps that he has a very influential friend in King Charles III.  His humor has been littered with soft jabs at the monarchy for decades, but he has explained that he does it out of love and wouldn’t want his work to be seen as discrediting the Royals. 

Classmates

Rowan Atkinson attended Cathedral Chorister School in Durham at the same time as former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was two years above Rowan. 

Actually, I am Him

While some actors might shy away from their best-known roles to cite their long body of work, Atkinson has been on record saying that Mr. Bean is his favorite character.  In a 2022 interview, Atkinson said of Bean that “he’s the furthest away from my own character.”  In addition to his own show, cartoon show, and web series, Atkinson has made numerous appearances on shows around the world in character.  He’s also done a safety video for British Airways and appeared as Mr. Bean in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. 

No Pressure

Mr. Bean was conceived when Atkinson had to come up with five-minute act on stage during his first term at Oxford.  He had only 48 hours to develop the material, so he stood in front of a mirror making faces at himself until inspiration struck. 

A Wise Guy, Eh?

Rowan Atkinson studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Newcastle University, then went onto earn his masters at Oxford University.  His masters thesis involved self-tuning control systems.  Atkinson would have continued his studies by pursuing a doctorate, but opted to go into acting after a command performance as part of the Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

Never Stop Never Stopping

Rowan Atkinson nearly gave up on Blackadder after the first series.  He wasn’t terribly thrilled at how it worked out and Michael Grade, then Controller of the BBC, wasn’t a fan either.  However, writer Richard Curtis convinced Atkinson and Grade to stick with it and the show became a huge success starting in its second series. 

In 1995, The surviving members of The Beatles got back together just long enough to work on The Beatles Anthology. The miniseries had a set of three two-disc albums’ worth of alternates, outtakes, and two new songs. The first two volumes started off with one of John’s unreleased piano demos, which Paul, George, and Ringo would turn into a full-blown song. The first volume had “Free as a Bird.”

The Second volume had “Real Love.”

But there was no new song to kick off the last volume. Reportedly, the song they had in mind, “Now and Then,” had some serious issues that made it impossible to finish. And according to Jeff Lynne, “The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn’t finish.” Here’s the original demo. Or at least what I think is the original demo.

But now it looks like it might be finished after all.

The New Recordings

I’ve mentioned before about how miraculous the Beatles: Get Back miniseries was. Peter Jackson brought material few believed would ever be officially released back to the public, obliterated the traditional narrative behind the sessions, and even created some new revelations even for this lifelong fan. He even restored the 50-year-old footage and sound engineer Emile de la Rey used AI to isolate the ancient tape recordings, which impressed Macca enough that he decided to use it to get the band back together just one more time. 

In a recent Radio 4 interview, Paul said “We had John’s voice and a piano and he could separate them with AI. They tell the machine, ‘That’s the voice. This is a guitar. Lose the guitar.’ So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles’ record, it was a demo that John had [and] we were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI. Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do. So it gives you some sort of leeway. We just finished it up and it’ll be released this year.”

Admittedly, Paul has yet to confirm exactly which song he’s using, but circumstantial evidence seems to heavily imply that it is “Now and Then.” Of course, they tried to finish the song in 1995, but circumstances, from the technical problems Jeff Lynne mentioned, as well as George allegedly not liking the recording, prevented its release. Hopefully, Olivia Harrison will allow Paul and Ringo to use George’s recordings from the original sessions, or maybe engage in some Xenochrony.

The Future?

Though, despite this helpful use of AI, Paul McCartney has some misgivings about the technology, with him saying ““I’m not on the internet that much [but] people will say to me, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s a track where John’s singing one of my songs’, and it’s just AI, you know? It’s kind of scary but exciting, because it’s the future. We’ll just have to see where that leads.” At least it helped with his recent performances of “I’ve Got a Feeling.”

And talking about the future and AI, I’m reminded of something. Black Mirror Series Six is dropping on Thursday, and I plan to cover it soon. Here’s hoping I have it all down in time to cover both that and Glasto.

Slang reveals much about a country’s ever-evolving culture and language. And this rings true in the UK where slang makes up a large part of the vocabulary. Britain’s most loved and hated slang has been revealed in a new study. Details below.

With dozens of British slang being used today, how does the world feel about them?

To find out, word experts at Letter Solver turned to Urban Dictionary to determine the most loved and hated British slang based on user votes.

The study found that ‘chuffed‘ is the most loved relationship slang of all, while ‘mug‘ is the most disliked term. Check out the graphic they sent us below:

These exclusive collectable ceramic salt and pepper shakers are a must-have for any lover of London’s iconic landmarks. The set features a red London bus shaker and a London red phone box shaker, both of which are beautifully crafted and painted with intricate details. The bus shaker is perfect for seasoning your favorite meals with a dash of salt while the phone box shaker is ideal for adding a touch of pepper. These shakers are not only functional but also decorative and will add a touch of London charm to any dining table or kitchen counter. They make a perfect gift for anyone who loves London or British culture.

The other major soap opera in the United Kingdom, Eastenders, is set in the fictional borough of Walford in East London. Though not as long-running as other soap operas, Eastenders is probably the third-longest British soap opera since it began in 1985 and was created by the BBC as its answer to both Coronation Street and Emmerdale at ITV. With its own colorful cast of city characters, the show has largely focused on several groups of families, including the Beales, Brannings, Mitchells, Slaters, and Watts. This long history and large cast mean that there have been plenty of drama over the last thirty-eight years, producing plenty of interesting facts.

Watered Down Drinks

While the Rovers’ drinks are intentionally weak for the actors, they are at least somewhat the real thing. Eastenders’ Queen Vic, on the other hand, uses water for vodka, water with burnt sugar for whiskey, and watered-down apple juice for white wine. However, the QV has it over on Coronation Street in that the beer pulls are functional, serving up actual ale. Post-lockdown, the show added a beer garden to the famous fictional pub as it keeps up with the times.

Scene of the Crime

The outside of the Queen Vic has seen more murders than the rest of the fictional borough over the show’s history. Might not want to stay out after closing time.

Bargain Wardrobe

Dot Cotton’s clothes on the show were mostly from charity shops. Her character also famously wears the same dress every Christmas and said dress is quite possibly the oldest piece of clothing on the show.

The Oner

Dot Cotton is also the first character on the show to have an entire episode to herself. The episode “Pretty Baby” aired in 2008 and featured Dot recording a voice message for her husband who is in the hospital recovering from a stroke. Actress June Brown was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actress for the episode, the first time a soap opera actress was nominated since 1988.

Expensive Taste

In contrast to Dot’s spendthrift attire, Peggy Mitchell has one of the more expensive wardrobes of any Eastenders character. This is arguably due to the fact that actress Barbara Windsor had a lot to say in what Peggy wore each episode.

The Real Places

Eastenders is based on the experiences of the show’s creators, Julia Smith and Tony Holland, who grew up in East London. The name “Walford” is a portmanteau of “Walthamstow” and “Stratford” where they were born, respectively. As such, many places from the show are based on real-life parts of East London. Albert Square, for example, was based upon Fassett Square in the Dalston area of Hackney.

Carrying the Torch

As part of the leadup to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Olympic torch actually went through Walford. It was carried by the character Billy Mitchell (actor Perry Fenwick) as an official torch bearer. Roughly seven minutes of live footage of Billy running with the torch was used for the episode.

We’re Live!

The Olympics episode isn’t the only time the show has ever gone live. In 2010, “Eastenders Live” was broadcast as a 25th Anniversary special. The filming of the episode involved fifty-one different characters who were part of the cast.

Theme Music

Pat Butcher and Peggy Mitchell are the only two characters in the show to have their own theme music. It makes sense, considering what utter pillars of the fictional community they are.

Don’t Use My Real Name

Much like filmmakers will use “Alan Smithee” to distance themselves from terrible works, Eastenders as “Julia Honour”. The idea for the name is that a script is so horrendously bad that it necessitates a complete rewrite to protect “Julia’s honour”. This happened roughly 54 times between 1998 and 2018.

Running for over sixty-three years, Coronation Street is the longest-running soap opera show in British television history. The show takes place in the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield, which was based on the real-life community of Salford. Featuring a number of down-to-Earth people using local accents instead of the “Queen’s English” (or Received Pronunciation), the show was a hit with viewers shortly after it debuted and remains a ratings juggernaut today. Granada Television produced the show for the first forty-six years of its run before they were succeeded by ITV, the network on which the soap opera airs. Such a long-running program is full of fascinating facts that we look forward to sharing with you.

BIG BIG NUMBERS

Owing to its long-running status, Coronation Street has aired over 10,000 episodes since it premiered.

IF I FITS, I SITS

Coronation Street has re-filmed its opening titles several times over its history. Starting in the mid-1970s, no one noticed a cat curled on top of the roof. No one except producer Bill Podmore, who insisted that any future titles also include a cat on the roof.

GUEST STARRING

It’s not unusual for shows such as Coronation Street to play hosts to a number of famous guest stars, though rarely do the celebrities get to appear as themselves. Some notable exceptions have been This Morning hosts Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, the band Status Quo, and King Charles III (HRH having appeared on the show’s 40th anniversary when he was still Prince of Wales.

UPSTAGED

One might be willing to believe that King Charles’s walk-on role was his most-watched television appearance. By contrast, his wedding to Queen Consort Camilla had about 13 million viewers in the United Kingdom, while an episode of Coronation Street airing later in the day got 17 million viewers to see character Ken Barlow remarry his ex-wife Deidre Rachid.

555-5555?

A 2010 episode’s story required male escort Archie’s ad to appear in “The Lady” magazine. ITV actually got a few angry calls because the contact information in the ad was fake.

PULLING PINTS

The Rovers Return Inn is quite possibly the most popular location on the show and where a bulk of the action happens. Naturally, there are a lot of drinks slung, and crisps served on a regular basis. Annually, the pub serves roughly 1,440 pints, 100 gin and tonics, 84 hotpots, and 2,500 bags of crisps. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) for the actors, the pints are often a watered-down shandy, and the gin and tonics are little more than fizzy water and lime.

MONKEYS ON TYPEWRITERS

The show has eighteen writers in total. Every three weeks, they meet up for two days to hash out plot details and write stories. They produce fifteen scripts total (five episodes per week for three weeks), and each writer gets to contribute to an episode.

THEY LIVE ON IN OUR HEARTS (AND ON OUR SCREENS)

Nearly a dozen actors have died during the show’s run. Their characters were often written out either at the time of the actor’s death or later in the show’s run. Perhaps the most prominent loss was Rovers Return Inn landlady Betty Williams, played until her death at 91 by Betty Driver. Shortly after Driver’s/Williams’s passing, a picture of her was placed in the pub and remains there today.

ANOTHER REAL-LIFE TRIBUTE

Roy Cropper, the owner of Roy’s Rolls, is hardly ever seen without his shopping bag. The bag itself came from Roy’s actor, David Neilson, who began carrying it around in-character as the bag had belonged to his late mother.

THE SHOW’S GETTING A WIDER AUDIENCE

Coronation Street went from 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen in 2002, which caused a bit of a technical problem. The increased size of the screen meant the show had to CGI in some more houses for the neighborhood before the opening titles were reshot. The program went high definition in 2010.

Where The Wild Things Are has topped a poll of the 100 greatest children’s books, with classics including Matilda, The Hobbit and Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland also making the list.

Maurice Sendak’s beloved story about a little boy called Max, who visits an island inhabited by monsters, simply called the Wild Things, came top in a poll run by BBC Culture, which asked children’s authors, illustrators, publishers, academics and people from across the world to vote for their top 10 favourite children’s books from a selection of more than 1,000.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland came second, while Astrid Lindgren’s book Pippi Longstocking placed third.

Joining these books were The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which came fourth, and JRR Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, which came fifth.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman was in sixth place and was followed by The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, from CS Lewis’s series The Chronicles Of Narnia.

Author AA Milne and illustrator EH Shepard were famous for bringing Winnie-The-Pooh into the world, and their beloved storybook came eighth in the poll, while Charlotte’s Web, by EB White and illustrator Garth Williams, placed ninth.

Matilda was judged to be the tenth best children’s book of all time, with six other Roald Dahl books featuring in the top 100 list.

Other books in the top 100 include The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, The Lord Of The Rings by JRR Tolkien and Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling.

Pullman was the highest ranking living author on the list and said that he was “delighted” at the results of the poll.

“It has taken me completely by surprise, and I’m not entirely sure I can find the words to respond to it,” he said.

“Children’s books are important because we still think about them when we’re grown up, because they have an effect on our way of seeing the world and our way of thinking about other people.

“They provide us with models of bad behaviour and good behaviour.

“People who we would like to have as friends behaving generously, being kindly, being brave, in difficult circumstances.

“That’s why they’re important to grown-ups as well as to children, and that’s why the best grown-up books are important, for the same sorts of reasons I think.”

Elle McNicoll, author of A Kind Of Spark, which was number 75 on the list, said: “It’s so astounding to see A Kind Of Spark on this list.

“It’s been the highest joy and relief to see so many children, especially children on the margins, falling in love with Addie and her story, but to be recognised in this way is truly incredible.

“Proud to be the youngest as well. I hope I haven’t peaked.”

The poll respondents came from 56 different countries and voted for books that had been written in English, Arabic, German, Danish, Korean, Sanskrit, Uzbek and a variety of other languages.

BBC Culture has run similar polls before, including a poll of the 100 greatest TV series of the 21st century, which was judged to be The Wire, followed by Mad Men and then Breaking Bad.

The top 10 children’s books from the list:

1. Where The Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak, 1963)

2. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)

3. Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren, 1945)

4. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 1943)

5. The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien, 1937)

6. Northern Lights (Philip Pullman, 1995)

7. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (CS Lewis, 1950)

8. Winnie-The-Pooh (AA Milne and EH Shepard, 1926)

9. Charlotte’s Web (EB White and Garth Williams, 1952)

10. Matilda (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1988)