Absolutely Anything Else

Swiss cheese and Orbán sounds like a mixed metaphor. Hasn't Hungary got something that's holey appropriate?

On my MIL st. in Erd it was all dirt roads.

Only the main road was paved.

People built some nice homes there and had dirt roads?

Pot hole city!!

They used to bring in a truck every once in awhile and fill the holes in with small rocks. They washed away with the first rain!

It pured yesterday while they were shooting part of a movie on our st.

Sort of interesting because they parked several really cool cars on the st. for the backgrund.

All from the late 60's early 70's. In great shape, I really had an urge to take a spin in the VW bug, reminded me of the one I used to drive.

No thanks, I actually was approached at age 17 to be in a movie.
Seriously it was strange.
I went to a friends house after school to hear some music and when I left the house there was a note on their families car addressed to,"The girl in the hat with the long scarf around the brim".
I thought it was a prank.
I showed the note to my other friend and she thought it would be fun to see if it was for real or not.
The note said something about me looking like the perfect person to star in a new movie. I was to play a con artist!! Me, not in my nature for sure to con anyone.
Called the number and made an appintment.
Well we hitched over to MGM studios and the guard let us in, I really was on the ,"list" to meet with a producer!
We walked int a nice office and were lead into the producers office by his secretary.
He was an older man and he handed me a script and wanted a cold read right then and there!
I was blown away, we thought if anything it was just going to be some crazy old pervo and we would just have a laugh about it all.
I read, not a very good read I'd say.
He was super nice and explained the charactor he had in mind and thanked us for coming in.
He asked how we there and we told him we hitched a ride over.
He wouldn't hear of it and gave us cab fare.
Never bothered me at all that I didn't land the role but I bet many peple who spent years in acting classes would of sold their souls just for that chance to read for a starring role.
We hitched home anyways and bought a bucket of friend chicken with the cab fare money.
To think, I coulda been a star!!
-@Marilyn Tassy

That's exactly what I was talking about! That kind of thing would be woven into your stories. Bucket of fried chicken and fame! What else could one want!

Acting is of course pretending, so acting in a movie as a con artist is just giving the flavours of one, rather than actually living that life. It's a skill of course to convey that. Some actors are just gifted in switching it on and off doing that. On the other hand, I believe Dustin Hoffman becomes the person he's portraying. Hard to imagine how one could do that.
-@fluffy2560
I walked int that office thinking it was all going to be one big joke.
The joke was on me since it was for real!
I mean who gets discovered walking on the sidewalk?
They say Lana Turner was discovered at a soda fountain stand having a drink, who knows.
I sure don't look like Lana Turner, why ask me for a read?
I still remember the script in some ways.
I was to walk into a fancy restaurant with no money with me and act like I owned the place. I had to stop at the coat check on my way out and demand they hand me my coat, a fur coat, not mine.
I had to convince the coat check lady that I had walked in wearing that fur.
By the by or is it bye the bye?... They are once again using our st. for yet a movie set today.
Hmm, perhaps I should take a stroll and see if I'm re-discovered and make my acting debut at age 67?
I would be cast as the crazy lady ...
-@Marilyn Tassy

You could have just winged it and done what came naturally and bammm....money!

Lana Turner was married about 8 times! Hollywood marriages don't seem to last.

All the best actors seem to be naturally doing what they are doing. Renée Zellweger superficially seems talented. But she always play the same person - herself! Mrs F liked her in Bridget Jones. Her British accent was pretty good.  The only thing I don't like about her is that she's dumber than a box of rocks. At least she appears so in interviews I've seen. And she looks nothing like herself post-cosmetic surgery. Meg Ryan is the same. What did you do to yourself? Wrinkly and pouty from too much lip filler.

You could still be a character actor at 67. Why the hell not?!  A lot of old actors make that transition. They don't always fade away as their looks fade. I just saw Glenda Jackson on the TV. Now she is so wizened and definitely au naturale for the roles she choses these days post-politics.
-@fluffy2560

I saw a short documentary on the 3 Gabor sisters yesterday.Between the 3 of them they were married 20 times!

We've seen some photos of a HU dude  we know who is 68 with his new face, he looks bad.

Plastic surgery is for those who have an injury to improve their looks and self convidence.

The only persn I ever knew who had mini-face lifts every few years was my friend Mona. She had her face bashed in by her ex-husband in her younger years. She needed the surgery to boost her convidence.She only had her lower face done and i never knew she had work. She told me herself otherwise I''d have never guessed.

I noticed those scares in many women behind their ears where they had their skin pulled back. I would wash their hair before cutting it and it was hard to not notice the marks. I also worked on older nice lady with those tats on her arm from being in a Nazi camp. Poor thing.

I never was interested in acting at all.

Never wanted to be in school plays or in the drama club.

I really hate that much attention on myself.

One thing to be in a dance troup with others but to have all the focus on just you, no way.

I modeled a couple of times because my friend asked me to but it was super uncomfortable to me.

Only did it two or three times and then told him I couldn't do it again. It was for hair shows.

My father was a bit of a ,"ham" but not me.

Being a games dealer is almost like acting but you also aren't alone with a camera in your face.

I was asked to deal a game of blackjack fr Wanda Sykes nce.

It was being filmed fr one of her comdey specials.

I never saw the footage and glad I never did. Not even sure if I was cut out of the finished product but hope I was!

Swiss cheese and Orbán sounds like a mixed metaphor. Hasn't Hungary got something that's holey appropriate?
-@zif

I  was thinking about Swiss Bank accounts at the time. Maybe I could have said more gaps than the space between a Hungarian OV supporter's ears? Howzat?

Nah. There's got to be some subtlety in there.

Nah. There's got to be some subtlety in there.
-@zif

I agree, it's a bit obvious.  Somewhat interestingly  I don't know of any holey Hungarian cheese. The only ones I can think of is Panonnia or that smoked stringy cheese. Actually Hungary is a bit of a cheese desert. Hard to milk for jokes.

I did think of suggesting they deport the illegal potholes to somewhere else.  Like de Santis deporting migrants to Martha's Vineyard.

Or the police should investigate the appearance of  potholes. You know, police find hole and are looking into it.

Not a fan of that curdy cheese popular in Hungary and countries south. Really don't consider it cheese at all.

For Hungary, is it a lingering relic of the Turkish occupation?

Not a fan of that curdy cheese popular in Hungary and countries south. Really don't consider it cheese at all.
For Hungary, is it a lingering relic of the Turkish occupation?
-@zif

No idea.   I do like the Marscapone from Aldi though.  I am sure it's not Italian or even German/Austrian.

Maybe the cheese you mention is made from goat milk or something.  That could originate from further East.

Do you have a name for this curdy cheese?

Maybe "curdy" isn't the best description, but thinking of túró and those somewhat similar soft white cheeses you find all over Turkey, Greece and the Balkans. The display in a French or English cheese section looks completely different.

Maybe "curdy" isn't the best description, but thinking of túró and those somewhat similar soft white cheeses you find all over Turkey, Greece and the Balkans. The display in a French or English cheese section looks completely different.
-@zif

I know what you mean.

I suppose we in the UK would call that cottage cheese.  Here of course, you can have that in HU as pöttyös túró rudi with a chocolate covering.  I was disappointed to try a rudi, it wasn't that nice.

Túró is maybe that's what they call curds and whey - I remember that from the kids story Little Miss Muffet.

I think I've seen cottage cheese in Aldi.  Now I want some. Aldi has a surprisingly reasonable set of cheeses. I was rather pleased a while back to see they have extra mature cheddar. Since Brexit, I've not been able to fly it in but now Aldi HU are on message, it's an acceptable version.

The thing about Lidl and Aldi is they stock differently in different countries. I like cheese hard but mild and they've got good Edam and Gouda but not everywhere in Europe.

The thing about Lidl and Aldi is they stock differently in different countries. I like cheese hard but mild and they've got good Edam and Gouda but not everywhere in Europe.
-@zif

Seems mostly the same in Austria and Germany. I've never been in any other country versions.

I suppose in the Australian one, they'll have kangaroo cheese and steaks and stuff for the barbie.

Lidl, pah, no, just no. It's like CBA or Penny Markt. Only if desperate.

I agree PM and CBA are awful, but find Lidl and Aldi almost indistinguishable, certainly in the UK at least.

Hungary faces EU judgement day that could hammer its economy

EU probably does nothing in the end.   In normal circumstances, if a member of a club goes off the rails, they'd get suspended or even kicked out.     

I cannot see Hungary staying in the EU past 2030 or even 2027 if the present nonsense with OV/Fidesz continues.  There will be a referendum which will be unfairly run and Hungary will slide out of the EU. 

Unless of course the Hungarians wake up and realise what they are doing.  Brexit has been a disaster so they'd better consider carefully what they will be voting for.  It's buyer's remorse in the UK.

There is a shop in the USA called, "Trader Joe's" I swear they have some fantastic assortments of cheeses from around the world for a reasonable price as well.

At least in the 1980's they had some great  Stiltin cheese made in the UK.

We refuse to spend 6,000 forints plus for a hunck of cheese here in Hungary.

Sometimes Aldi has some decent cheeses from Italy and other times we can't find them.

I've pretty much stopped eating too much dariy lately s not really out there cheese hunting these days.

I do actually sometimes miss a simple grilled cheese sandwich made with a decent cheedar.

There is a shop in the USA called, "Trader Joe's" I swear they have some fantastic assortments of cheeses from around the world for a reasonable price as well.
At least in the 1980's they had some great Stilton cheese made in the UK.
We refuse to spend 6,000 forints plus for a hunck of cheese here in Hungary.
Sometimes Aldi has some decent cheeses from Italy and other times we can't find them.
I've pretty much stopped eating too much dariy lately s not really out there cheese hunting these days.
I do actually sometimes miss a simple grilled cheese sandwich made with a decent cheedar.
-@Marilyn Tassy

Trader Joe's is actually owned by Aldi.

The cheddar at Aldi is quite good.  The problem with grilled cheese is that it has to have a high fat content to melt properly. Being a philistine, I toast two slices of bread, put the cheese in to make a toasted cheese sandwich, then microwave it for 60-90 seconds depending on fat content. Petty good with mushroom and tomato. Grilling would be the proper method. And HP Sauce (it's a British thing).

I didn't live that far away from the village of Stilton when I was a kid. It's on the A1 south of Peterborough. My friend used to live in that village (he left and went to live in Long Island, Port Washington I think). Anyway, I was disappointed to find out they didn't make the cheese there anymore but in a nearby county.

I agree PM and CBA are awful, but find Lidl and Aldi almost indistinguishable, certainly in the UK at least.
-@zif

Yes, Lidl is very similar to Aldi. There are more Lidls that Aldis in the UK (it would seem to me anyway).

I heard on UK radio that Aldi is no. 4 supermarket, eclipsing the previous incumbent Morrisons.  I believe No. 1 is Tesco.

No. 2 and No. 3 I don't know, probably Sainsbury's and Asda (non-UK people won't know them).

I think a good portion of our weekly shopping comes from farmers markets.

75% of our produce does at least.

We are purchasing more fruits and veggies then in the past.

I don't know why it tok me so lng to buy omega-3 eggs. I just never really noticed them for sale in the past.

I've started buying them instead of the 10 in box.

I read most chickens are feed with low quality feed and they make omega-6 eggs which is really unhealthy. I only bought cage free omega-3 eggs in the US b ut just let it slide here in Hungary thinking they were healthier just because I remembered they used to be here. It's all GMO time these days.

Omega -6 comes from your regular corn and sunflower oils too. Even grapeseed oil which I thought was good.

We've switched to using virgin olive oil, cocount oil or even lard in moderation.

I use avacado oil sometimes to fry up an egg in the morning.

We take a spoonful of cod liver oil a day and when I can remember we also take a spoon of pumpkin oil per day.

I also take 20 drops of black seed oil every morning.

I'm well greased up!

Never heard of it, so I looked it up on Amazon:

"Glow like an Egyptian Queen! Used by the ancient Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, Black Seed Oil has been used for thousands of years to improve the health of Hair, Skin & Nails."

Never heard of it, so I looked it up on Amazon:
"Glow like an Egyptian Queen! Used by the ancient Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, Black Seed Oil has been used for thousands of years to improve the health of Hair, Skin & Nails."
-@zif

That's useful to know.   I also had never heard of Black Seed oil.   

I believe the desert peoples of the Middle East used to treat their hair with camel urine.

Might fix your hair but no-one would come near you.

Black seed oil gives me my,"thymoquione" fix.

I've been doing some minor research on natural heal ,"cures".

Black seed oil is good for everything from a weak heart, diabetes to cancer, the growth of hair ,skin and nails cells are a bonus.

Just 20 drops a day will d it.

Not very expensive at all, abut 3,500 forints per bottle.

I get mine at an Indian shop but I'd think any middle eastern food shop would sell it.

I used to just buy black cumin seeds and grind them up but the oil seems stronger and much easier to use.

To ask a dumb question, do you eat it or put it on your skin and scalp?

To ask a dumb question, do you eat it or put it on your skin and scalp?
-@zif

We digest it.

There may be a hair treatment where you rub it into your scalp but I've never read about that.

I know they have Neem tea which is also from India and is suppose to support your immune system.

You can purcahse Neem in a oil and rub it into your scalp, sort of a greasy mess tough.

I'm a bit sad ATM got the news a few hours ago that my beloved younger brother has surcome to cancer.

I really thought he was doing better and had more time with us.

I've known far too many wonderful people who passed from cancer. I still can't understand why they haven't come up with a cure yet or better treatments.

Keeping myself busy so I don't have time to react and break down emotionally.

To ask a dumb question, do you eat it or put it on your skin and scalp?
-@zif
We digest it.
There may be a hair treatment where you rub it into your scalp but I've never read about that.
I know they have Neem tea which is also from India and is suppose to support your immune system.
You can purcahse Neem in a oil and rub it into your scalp, sort of a greasy mess tough.

I'm a bit sad ATM got the news a few hours ago that my beloved younger brother has surcome to cancer.
I really thought he was doing better and had more time with us.
I've known far too many wonderful people who passed from cancer. I still can't understand why they haven't come up with a cure yet or better treatments.
Keeping myself busy so I don't have time to react and break down emotionally.
-@Marilyn Tassy

Really sorry to hear about your younger brother.   Cancer is a horrible disease. 

It's coming up to my own bro's 68th birthday.  Gone 7 years now, taken by gliobastoma multiforme.   

Day to day, it gets easier but when special times come around, it comes back to remind us. I am now older than he was when he left us. Cancer is a kind of war, it's victims frozen in time.

Reminds me of  part of a very famous poem (in the UK anyway) about soldiers of WW1:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

To ask a dumb question, do you eat it or put it on your skin and scalp?
-@zif
We digest it.
There may be a hair treatment where you rub it into your scalp but I've never read about that.
I know they have Neem tea which is also from India and is suppose to support your immune system.
You can purcahse Neem in a oil and rub it into your scalp, sort of a greasy mess tough.

I'm a bit sad ATM got the news a few hours ago that my beloved younger brother has surcome to cancer.
I really thought he was doing better and had more time with us.
I've known far too many wonderful people who passed from cancer. I still can't understand why they haven't come up with a cure yet or better treatments.
Keeping myself busy so I don't have time to react and break down emotionally.
-@Marilyn Tassy

Really sorry to hear about your younger brother.   Cancer is a horrible disease. 

It's coming up to my own bro's 68th birthday.  Gone 7 years now, taken by gliobastoma multiforme.   

Day to day, it gets easier but when special times come around, it comes back to remind us. I am now older than he was when he left us. Cancer is a kind of war, it's victims frozen in time.

Reminds me of  part of a very famous poem (in the UK anyway) about soldiers of WW1:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

I agree PM and CBA are awful, but find Lidl and Aldi almost indistinguishable, certainly in the UK at least.
-@zif

Yes, Lidl is very similar to Aldi. There are more Lidls that Aldis in the UK (it would seem to me anyway).

I heard on UK radio that Aldi is no. 4 supermarket, eclipsing the previous incumbent Morrisons. I believe No. 1 is Tesco.

No. 2 and No. 3 I don't know, probably Sainsbury's and Asda (non-UK people won't know them).
-@fluffy2560

There are 967 ALDI locations in the United Kingdom as of June 07, 2022.

There are 900 LIDL locations in the United Kingdom as of June 07, 2022.

Marilyn, there are times when it's awful being an expat and not being there, and this is one of them. Please accept my condolences.

I agree PM and CBA are awful, but find Lidl and Aldi almost indistinguishable, certainly in the UK at least.
-@zif

Yes, Lidl is very similar to Aldi. There are more Lidls that Aldis in the UK (it would seem to me anyway).

I heard on UK radio that Aldi is no. 4 supermarket, eclipsing the previous incumbent Morrisons. I believe No. 1 is Tesco.

No. 2 and No. 3 I don't know, probably Sainsbury's and Asda (non-UK people won't know them).
-@fluffy2560
There are 967 ALDI locations in the United Kingdom as of June 07, 2022.

There are 900 LIDL locations in the United Kingdom as of June 07, 2022.
-@SimCityAT

Wow, that's unexpected. Perhaps it's regionally clustered.

In my "home" area of the UK (Surrey/West Sussex), Aldi is almost nowhere to be found except down on the coast. 

But Lidls are here and there.

Around here, it's Aldi-country, with few Lidls but an Aldi every few km (it seems).

Marilyn, there are times when it's awful being an expat and not being there, and this is one of them. Please accept my condolences.
-@zif

Yes, being an ex-pat has it's moments.

If my family lived a bit closer it wouldn't be a big thing too attened a funeral.

My husband flew to Hungary from NV when his mom passed away. Mom's are different though.

My brother wasn't religious at all, I'm not sure yet what his wife and he planned.

I'm guess a military funeral, he was in the USAF at age 18.

I just feel a bit bad, I had planned on ringing him up but thought I didn't want to bother him and that we had more time.

He was a very private person and never liked talking on the phone.

I consoled myself by watching way too many silly comedy specials on Netflix last night.Didn't laugh but didn't cry either.

As my niece said he is probably laughing his bum off with my sister wherever they are now. Calling us suckers for feeling sad.

Hope that's the case.

It makes me a bit angry though that he was at his work just 2 days ago.

He should of quit a year ago and enjoyed his time with his dogs and wife.

I'm not going to pull out the old scrape bok of photos just yet, don't think I'm ready for it.

Not to seem shallow but it makes one think, who's next?

Marilyn, there are times when it's awful being an expat and not being there, and this is one of them. Please accept my condolences.
-@zif
Yes, being an ex-pat has it's moments.
If my family lived a bit closer it wouldn't be a big thing too attened a funeral.
My husband flew to Hungary from NV when his mom passed away. Mom's are different though.
My brother wasn't religious at all, I'm not sure yet what his wife and he planned.
I'm guess a military funeral, he was in the USAF at age 18.
I just feel a bit bad, I had planned on ringing him up but thought I didn't want to bother him and that we had more time.
He was a very private person and never liked talking on the phone.
I consoled myself by watching way too many silly comedy specials on Netflix last night.Didn't laugh but didn't cry either.
As my niece said he is probably laughing his bum off with my sister wherever they are now. Calling us suckers for feeling sad.
Hope that's the case.
It makes me a bit angry though that he was at his work just 2 days ago.
He should of quit a year ago and enjoyed his time with his dogs and wife.
I'm not going to pull out the old scrape bok of photos just yet, don't think I'm ready for it.
Not to seem shallow but it makes one think, who's next?
-@Marilyn Tassy

Very sorry about it.

Maybe you can watch the funeral remotely? That's a thing these days and in the days of COVID. 

I'm watching a TV funeral going on now in London.  Someone called Liz, aged 96. Used to wear funny hats and wave a lot. She was popular judging by the number of friends turning up for the funeral.

My bro's MIL departed the day before Liz. It was sudden but she was old. It was a massive stroke. Didn't know it was coming but she was pretty old, well into her 90s and had been ill on and off for a while. When she went, she went really quickly. My SIL has said it will be a low key send off and almost no-one will attend. It seems, that's the way it was planned.

Just finished watching the final goodbye to the Queen.

That was an absolutely flawless final performance, appearance and bowing out.  It was all beautifully choreographed.   I was moved as the final piper played her out and faded into the distance. It truly was the end of an era, a Queen never to be seen again in our lifetimes.

Tomorrow is another day.

I'm a bit sad ATM got the news a few hours ago that my beloved younger brother has surcome to cancer.
I really thought he was doing better and had more time with us.
I've known far too many wonderful people who passed from cancer. I still can't understand why they haven't come up with a cure yet or better treatments.
Keeping myself busy so I don't have time to react and break down emotionally.
-@Marilyn Tassy

So sorry about your loss

Just finished watching the final goodbye to the Queen.
That was an absolutely flawless final performance, appearance and bowing out. It was all beautifully choreographed.  I was moved as the final piper played her out and faded into the distance. It truly was the end of an era, a Queen never to be seen again in our lifetimes.

Tomorrow is another day.
-@fluffy2560

So many thoughts on my mind while watching. Especially the pointless ones - who's gonna take care of the corgis? Aren't the horses tired? It's good it's not happening in the middle of the hot summer... is it the  bagpiper's last day at "work"? And how did they even come up with bagpipes?

... and so on. It wasn't until the coffin was lowered to the vault when it struck me - it's end of an era. But i guess last 3 years messed up the world as we knew it so this sad day just added to it all

So many thoughts on my mind while watching. Especially the pointless ones - who's gonna take care of the corgis? Aren't the horses tired? It's good it's not happening in the middle of the hot summer... is it the bagpiper's last day at "work"? And how did they even come up with bagpipes?
... and so on. It wasn't until the coffin was lowered to the vault when it struck me - it's end of an era. But i guess last 3 years messed up the world as we knew it so this sad day just added to it all
-@Bian_ca6661

The Corgis are going to be shared out with Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), so that's easy. It's not like Andrew has anything else to do. He has been effectively (forcibly) retired.

The horses are professionals - it's like their job so they are doing what they trained for. They need to get out there and work. Keeps them interested and healthy.

The Queen was really keen on the bagpipes. She always woke up to bagpipes. She was of course, Queen of Scots (surprisingly not Scotland) as well as Queen of England/Wales. She apparently loved her Scottish house Balmoral. Interesting nugget I heard was that the Crown merged Queen of Scots with Queen of England/Wales 100 years before the countries joined in a political union to be effectively the United Kingdom, 300+ years ago. I didn't realise it had that time difference.

Yes, I also had the feeling of it being very final when the coffin went down. Charles was a bit teary eyed. You could see it clearly - hardly surprising. It was the end for him as well as the rest of us.  I was surprisingly upset.  The lone piper was a really nice gesture at the end. Just drew it to a close. 

But tomorrow will be back to business.

I must say the TV coverage was extremely well done. They covered it all superbly. They must have dusted off their contingency plans and moved like lightning to get it all rigged up. Maybe 100s of cameras, 100s of microphones and maybe 1000s of staff.

Other news like Ukraine was definitely on the back burner.

Just finished watching the final goodbye to the Queen.
That was an absolutely flawless final performance, appearance and bowing out. It was all beautifully choreographed. I was moved as the final piper played her out and faded into the distance. It truly was the end of an era, a Queen never to be seen again in our lifetimes.

Tomorrow is another day.
-@fluffy2560

So many thoughts on my mind while watching. Especially the pointless ones - who's gonna take care of the corgis? Aren't the horses tired? It's good it's not happening in the middle of the hot summer... is it the bagpiper's last day at "work"? And how did they even come up with bagpipes?
... and so on. It wasn't until the coffin was lowered to the vault when it struck me - it's end of an era. But i guess last 3 years messed up the world as we knew it so this sad day just added to it all
-@Bian_ca66615tz

The Corgis are going to Andrew and his Ex Sarah. The horses are very well looked after so I wouldn't worry about them.

Am I too cynical, that it was all less about the Queen and more about reinforcing the affection of the Great British Public for royalty, its institutions and traditions? Propaganda, when you come right down to it.

And yet it all seemed so dated, so 19th century and imperialistic. Can there ever be a display like this again?

Am I too cynical, that it was all less about the Queen and more about reinforcing the affection of the Great British Public for royalty, its institutions and traditions? Propaganda, when you come right down to it.
And yet it all seemed so dated, so 19th century and imperialistic. Can there ever be a display like this again?
-@zif

I wouldn't use the term imperialistic. It was a one off.

I think there was more genuine affection. Queen was there forever. So many people came to see it and they seemed to be supporters. Very few anti-monarchists made their voices heard.  Personally, with my leftist cum liberal leanings, I find it hard to be an absolute fan of the monarchy as it seems an anachronism.

Will we see it again? Possibly, when Charles pops his clogs, kicks the bucket, cashes in his chips, conks out etc. Maybe that will be within my lifetime, who knows. He's not a particularly young guy at 73. Although 70 is the new 60. But he's not going to be on the throne for 70 years like Elizabeth was.  Looking at him during the ceremonies, Charles looked worn out and I am sure he will need a least a few days rest.  I'm ~10 years younger and I was tired just watching it never mind participating. 

He's going to be really busy. He has to sort out all the houses and properties he now owns - there are many of them, Buckingham Palace, Windsor, Sandringham, Balmoral. I read the Queen disliked Buckingham Palace and preferred Windsor and above all that, Balmoral was her favourite. Charles has to select an official residence. I expect nothing will change.

Yet, it was indeed a spectacle and a one-off show.  It looked incredibly well organised. It was supposed to end at 17h and it did end, on the dot at 17h UK time. Precision timing for sure.

By "imperialistic" I was trying to say that it all echoed so loudly of the grandeur and ceremony associated with Britain's imperial era. Vicky would have approved.

By "imperialistic" I was trying to say that it all echoed so loudly of the grandeur and ceremony associated with Britain's imperial era. Vicky would have approved.
-@zif

I see. In my mind, imperialistic has negative connotations. 

So - to me - it had echoes of a former empire but not quite in the same way. Empire has gone so I would take something different from it.

I would look positively at contributions from the Commonwealth as maybe an egalitarian successor to Empire. These were significant and heartening. The Canadian RCMP led the procession and I saw various Australian and NZ soldiers and even Ghurkas in the procession plus some Maori invitees at Westminster Abbey.  I think it was a chance to acknowledge the Queen's contribution. Charles is another thing.

Personally I'd like to see the Commonwealth being more open. In fact I'd be more than happy to have more open borders with our Commonwealth brethren. 

The UK, having shot itself in the head with Brexit and burnt many bridges with the EU, will need to do something else to consolidate its friends and trade. UK needs more friends. As of this morning, it looks like no US trade deal with the UK for years because of Northern Ireland and EU disagreement.

It's not just that. Trade relations with Britain simply aren't a pressing issue for the US. Besides, Britain would have to offer a lot to make a deal worthwhile for America, and it's not prepared, yet, to do that.

Look at how the Guardian characterized this today:

"In contrast, former president Donald Trump had promised a 'massive' trade deal to support Brexit, although Washington insiders had warned he would expect concessions in return."

Pretty naive to think that whoever the President, concessions will not be required.