RIP HRH Elizabeth II - 16 September 2022

I'm late in posting this, but I did want to post a thought or two here on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

It will seem very odd the next time we're in London. We've gotten quite used to strolling past Buckingham Palace and seeing the warm glow of the Queen's telly in the window, wondering just what she was watching. Might it have been The Great British Baking Show? Perhaps The Repair Shop? (that would have my vote) One assumes that even the royals have to pay their TV license fee in order to watch, so it's good to know they were there with the hoi polloi (I know that has a double definite article, it's simply standard usage.)

The other oddity will be seeing something like CR III on the gates rather than ER II. As we have a friend whose initials are E.E.R-R. we always construed this as having the 2 distribute over the E and R, making E2R2 or EERR. Now all we'll have is a Star Wars reference: C3PO (Charles III, Palace Occupant).

Seriously, Elizabeth had been queen for the entirety of my life, and she really seemed to be the ideal monarch: one who cared about her Nation and her People; one who actively engaged with her subjects as well as the important matters of the day, and with loyalty, grace, and honour. She will be missed. One can only hope the king will be better than I fear he will.

The Queen is dead, long live the King.

Russian Invasion? That's Nothing New - 24 February 2022 - Plague Journal Day 714

Micah 6:8
Daniel 11:15-19
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is National Toast Day in the UK, and today's freewrite prompt word is Rumor. 

This reminded me of a story I had read back at the beginning of this century, probably in July of 2002.
Rumor had it that toasters were speaking Russian in Hooke, in the county of Dorset, England. The "explanation" at the time was that the toasters (and other electrical appliances) were picking up the signals from a nearby transmitter where the BBC broadcast programmes in various languages - sort of a Radio Free Europe idea.
Of course, there's little reason to believe that. If it were true, why wouldn't they have been receiving those signals all along? Clearly there was something else going on. Russian programming from the BBC? I know they're a bunch of bleeding lefties, but they didn't come out and say it quite that clearly back in 2002. More likely they were receiving broadcasts from Russia meant for their agents or sleeper cells in the Midlands or the Southwest of England. That's a much more believable explanation than the bland pseudo-scientific garble issued by the BBC at the time.

 Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.