Goodbye Queen, and good luck

[CHIMO]

Queen Elizabeth left our land on Tuesday, a nicely turned out old lady taking her precise little steps with a stoic Philip staggering after her. And, as always with royal tours since the death of Princess Diana, Canadians took no notice, or were left wondering "what the hell was that?"

It was partly our fault, the Canadians who helped plan the thing having no idea of what is interesting to actual human beings, much less royalty. The Queen placed a letter in a time capsule in Winnipeg – God knows what it said, "Winnipeg is dire" probably – unveiled a tree and planted a statue. In Toronto, she saw a handbell demonstration (I'm sorry, what?) and a horse race. In Ottawa, she met Liberal opposition leader Michael Ignatieff for a chat, and hopefully savaged him for not being a worthy opponent for an ideologue of a prime minister. In Waterloo, Ontario, she did see one interesting thing – the place where a Canadian company called Research in Motion invented the BlackBerry – but I note that the most thrilling ideas often do not translate well visually.

But the climax of the tour was surely the farewell at the airport where the Queen was to unveil the Canadian Border Services Agency's new badge.

Anyway, to commemorate the tour, as stated, the Canadian Border Services Agency has a new badge. Let joy be unconfined, etc. I hope it's nothing like the old one, 9,000 lapel pins of which were distributed to Canadian children two years ago and then recalled because they were coated with lead paint. Our border guards are notoriously rude. Perhaps the badge has a stun gun on it or a beaver with a scowl on its face, or a beheaded loon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/07/queen-canada-visit-prince-charles

[IntravenousDemilo]

1. "Oh, Mr Ignatieff, we do so wish you would grow a pair." n/m