The charming sound - clip clop, clip clop, of horseshoes on tarmac.
The bright and cheerful red and gold uniforms of the carriage drivers, the two 18th century carriages themselves, one open, the other covered. It could only be London. The Queen has sent a couple of carriages round to Queens Gate SW1 to pick up the new Iraqi ambassador to Her Majesty's Government. She wants to say hello. What a gracious way of facilitating a business meeting. It saves on petrol and is good for the environment. And it probably is very impressive, a reminder, perhaps, that Britain's now tired and corrupt representative democracy has been evolving slowly since roughly 1215, when the big Barons' got King John to agree to trial by Jury and an embryonic parliament. They achieved this by taking to arms and capturing London from him. In other words, by the threat of violence. By the way, here are the two great clauses 39 and 40 of The Magna Carta which he was forced to sign. It is the most important document in English and world history and it shaped the future of freedom in Britain and around the world :
No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor shall we attack him or send men to attack him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land.
To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right of justice.
There you go - here are the origins of consent to taxation, parliament, due process and the rule of law.
But it took a lot of trouble and strife to get from there to 1928 when Britain finally became a full democracy and women got the vote on an equal basis to men.
History lesson over, we go with my youngest daughter Charlotte to Ronnie Scott's jazz club for the late show. It didn't start until midnight, but man, what a brilliant scene it was, packed with young jazz fans and even a few old timers like me. The lights were low, the vibe was cool, then brisk and driving, the trumpet urgent, plaintive, insistent, indignant, intemperate and insolent, ingenious, then treading soft, calming, pleading........and the pianist, the bassist and the drummer listened to the trumpet and joined the conversation and they all listened to us, the audience, and created the sound and song of the joy of all life...yes, we are here, let's enjoy it because it is exciting and will only happen once!
No more war!
And we liberated this short clip from Ronnie's to encourage you all. Just click on this link below.
click here to see the video
The bright and cheerful red and gold uniforms of the carriage drivers, the two 18th century carriages themselves, one open, the other covered. It could only be London. The Queen has sent a couple of carriages round to Queens Gate SW1 to pick up the new Iraqi ambassador to Her Majesty's Government. She wants to say hello. What a gracious way of facilitating a business meeting. It saves on petrol and is good for the environment. And it probably is very impressive, a reminder, perhaps, that Britain's now tired and corrupt representative democracy has been evolving slowly since roughly 1215, when the big Barons' got King John to agree to trial by Jury and an embryonic parliament. They achieved this by taking to arms and capturing London from him. In other words, by the threat of violence. By the way, here are the two great clauses 39 and 40 of The Magna Carta which he was forced to sign. It is the most important document in English and world history and it shaped the future of freedom in Britain and around the world :
No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor shall we attack him or send men to attack him, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land.
To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right of justice.
There you go - here are the origins of consent to taxation, parliament, due process and the rule of law.
But it took a lot of trouble and strife to get from there to 1928 when Britain finally became a full democracy and women got the vote on an equal basis to men.
History lesson over, we go with my youngest daughter Charlotte to Ronnie Scott's jazz club for the late show. It didn't start until midnight, but man, what a brilliant scene it was, packed with young jazz fans and even a few old timers like me. The lights were low, the vibe was cool, then brisk and driving, the trumpet urgent, plaintive, insistent, indignant, intemperate and insolent, ingenious, then treading soft, calming, pleading........and the pianist, the bassist and the drummer listened to the trumpet and joined the conversation and they all listened to us, the audience, and created the sound and song of the joy of all life...yes, we are here, let's enjoy it because it is exciting and will only happen once!
No more war!
And we liberated this short clip from Ronnie's to encourage you all. Just click on this link below.
click here to see the video
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