Month: April 2022

I have never been a Monarchist at heart, but for many years I’ve been of the opinion that Elizabeth II has performed admirably in her duties with only the occasional minor slip – such as (initially) refusing to lower the flags to half-mast when Diana died. I have agreed with the many people, here in Straya and the UK, who suggest that the system needs to be changed, but not until she has completed her innings.

She has been firm in her intention to continue her reign until she can no longer discharge her responsibilities to the standard she would like.

Sorry Ma’am, but that point was reached a year ago when dear old Phil the Greek handed in his dinner pail. Without his behind-the-scenes support and with increasing frailty (age comes to us all), Liz has slipped further and further away from the front line. She has not dealt effectively with Harry and the Monarchy has suffered as a result. She has not given Charles a regency and retired to enjoy her remaining years with her horses; she has not dealt effectively with Andrew and refuses to withdraw his title – thus alienating a large proportion of her subjects, people without whose support there is no Monarchy.

Retire, hand on the Crown and then take it easy – now! Otherwise the whole shebang will drift into irrelevance. Charles and Camilla may not be up to the job, but they’ll try and perhaps William and Kate will help.

The country will still respect you if you give up gracefully, but if you don’t you’ll be voting for a Republic of some form or another. It won’t be any better, but its arrival will be inexorable. Please call it a day.

I flew back to Hawai’i after many years. The Hawai’ian Airlines flight left Sacramento at the same time as it did then. The aeroplane, an Airbus A330, was the same model as I flew back then. After a multi-billion dollar renovation, Honolulu Daniel K Inouye International Airport looks much the same as it did then. The experience of seeing the Hawai’ian Islands below felt much the same as it did back then. After thousands of miles of empty ocean, the high, mountainous islands provide a striking contrast, a contrast like the waters that surround them: deep blue turning into aquamarine, aquamarine turning into a green-tinged steel. Distant Diamond Head is as iconic as it was back then. Honolulu has grown since then, there are more skyscrapers, a few more hotels, but…

I didn’t linger in Honolulu. I had no desire to. It’s actually an interesting city. It can be rough in places. Like so many other things over past few years, places that were frayed around the edges have become truly dodgy. Honolulu’s Chinatown is fascinating, but for all its historical interest and distinctive architecture it’s… Well, it has a long history of looking the other way, of turning a blind eye. In its beginnings, it was a home of sorts for down-and-out Chinese men. Over the generations, many have made it home, learning to look away and ignore the inconvenient. This has given many desperate people comfort and security, but it’s also turned into a fulcrum for many social problems. No… Honolulu, with all its brilliant museums, historic sites and cultural depth is too busy for this ageing piece of human driftwood. The gathering place it might be, but I’d rather have my quiet.

Continue reading “Islands”

I will soon fly to Hawai’i. I couldn’t take too much time off due to staff shortages, but it is still a chance to get off this mountain and see something else.