Ten years goes by so fast

[gillo]

There are certain events which enter popular mythology, almost help to define the structure of a lifetime or at least of one's memories. The older you are, the more of them you accumulate.

My first memories of "the news" date from well before I started school. I recall liking the name "Goldwater" and thinking "Kennedy" was a boring name, so I hoped

Comments

[lilachigh]

Oh thank god, someone who has the same views as me about Diana! I am completely alone in my family and friends who are all in the "poor little girl whom nobody loved" . Yes, she did a lot of good; when you have those sort of privileges in life, doing good shouldn’t be that difficult. I remember going to work on the day after and everyone on the station - except me - was wearing black. I, too, felt like a stranger in my own country.

The funeral was incredibly sad, especially for her sons - but so orchestrated to arouse hysteria that I felt ashamed.

One thing I’ve always believed. If your older sister is married to the private secretary of the man you are about to marry, wouldn’t you think she might tell you what’s going on in his life and that you are making a huge mistake?

But when i felt real pity for the girl was when they buried her at her brother’s request, isolated in the middle of an island in the middle of a private lake. For someone who loved dancing, noise, parties and fun, I can think of nothing worse.

[gillo]

Phew! I was slightly nervous of flames for posting my real opinions

[wisemack]

I'll be honest. I was never particularly enamoured of Diana.

Oh, THANK YOU, sweetie! You have no idea how happy I was to read your thoughts about the Cult of Saint Diana, for which I have never had any time whatsoever. In fact, I mentioned to a friend earlier this morning that all the hype and the worshipful, cloying, totally over-the-top publicity was setting my teeth on edge all over again. Ick.

Oh, and I totally agree with your sentiments.

And now that I think of it, I guess I'm a monarchist, too. Have been since I was taken to the local movie theatre as a small child to watch the colour (!!!) newsreel footage of the coronation of Elizabeth II, and realized that her little boy - who was almost exactly my age - was a real live prince! Talk about your "defining moment" - LOL!

[wisemack]

Oh, and I almost forgot - one thing that always annoyed me - even though it was a tiny little detail that no one ever even mentioned - was the title of "Princess" Diana. SHE WAS NOT PRINCESS DIANA. One must be born a princess, unless everything I've ever read got it wrong.

She was Lady Diana Spencer until she married. And her correct married title (never ever used or even mentioned) was HRH THE PRINCESS CHARLES.

Sheesh. If an American like me knows this, why didn't the British press ever GET IT F*ING RIGHT??? Hmmmmm???

(And can you see everyone going all goopy over "Princess Charles"? Makes you realize "what's in a name" all over again.)

*end rant*

[gillo]

Interesting comparison. Prince Michael of Kent (then about #15 in line to the throne) married Baroness Marie-Christine Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz. She's always been known as "Princess Michael", and has been a popular hate figure with tabloids here. Diana would have had far less glamour as "Princess Charles", though to be fair Fergie was never "Princess Andrew" either.

All the adulation directed at Diana because she was a princess simply amuses me. There's only one way in which she was a princess, and technically the divorce should have deprived her of the title (except the C of E doesn't recgnoise divorces, so technically, within the Established Church I suppose she wasn't.) When the media attempt to handle totles they are totally useless. They lack a proper grounding in Jane Austen and Georgette heyer, I think. ;-)

[wisemack]

I just caught this.

I have learned much from Jane and Georgette, two of my fave writers ever. But this I learned from Dorothy Sayers, in Busman's Honeymoon when Lord Peter pointed out to Harriet that poor silly Anges Twitterton's life had had some honor in it, because "she got your title right, first shot" (and it's been a while, that might not be the exact quote but it's close). And of course, Harriet was now "Lady Peter Wimsey"!

See what comes of all this here readin'? ;)

[kazzy_cee]

I felt very similar reactions to the hysteria as you. I hated the carpet of flowers as it was such a waste, and people getting very very upset was very odd to me.

The worst part was explaining the hysteria to my children who were 6 and 4 and were upset because their friends were all expounding the views of their parents about how wonderful Diana was and they didn't know who she was!

[gillo]

My girls were nine and six, and mildly disturbed that a princess could die, but otherwise sublimely unaffected. They didn't even bother to watch the funeral, but put a video on instead. I was very glad we didn't go back to school till the week following the funeral, though. I went in to school several times during That Week, and it was embarrassing how the cleaners were beside themselves with a grief I just couldn't feel.

Very odd time.

[chickenfeet2003]

You are kinder than I would have been if I could be bothered to write about an artificial media creation. I find Diana about as interesting and worthwhile as Paris Hilton.

[gillo]

Were you here or in Canada then? It was utterly impossible to avoid here, far more ubiquitous than, say, Olympics or World Cup fever. It was like waking up in a country I no longer recognised.

As for Di, she's dead, so I won't be as rude about her as I might be. I was never swayed by the adoration, though.

[chickenfeet2003]

I was here in Toronto. Somebody set up a shrine to her somewhere in The Beach that attracted lots of flowers.

[gillo]

You were a nice, safe distance away. Here it was impossible to avoid.

[kathyh]

For the whole of that day there was nothing - absolutely nothing on TV or radio except Diana.

It was my brother's birthday (and is today) and he was seriously pissed off as he'd planned to spend the day watching sport on TV! I do agree with you about the hysteria, it was just strange. On my way home from work in the evening for the whole of that week I used to see people carrying flowers on their way to lay them at Buckingham Palace. One of my friends went to see them, but I couldn't be bothered.

We were going on holiday to Wales on the day of the funeral and I have to say it was an excellent day to pick as the roads were empty!

[gillo]

My sympathies to your brother.

The weird thing was the way the carpets of rotting flowers were replicated all over the country. We had one in teh centre of Kenilworth, followed by an amusing spat about what was to be done with their decomposing remains the week after - lots of people felt it didn't show enough respect to take them away for composting, but the stench was getting pretty rank.

Definitely a good choice of travelling day!