June 1st, 2012:

Queen, hockey, Hoedown, shopping and soccer edition!

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Oh brother… the world’s fave in-bred family is celebrating something again. Yay.

Revellers in London are getting ready for today’s big celebration marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Up to a million people are expected to flock to the banks of the River Thames to witness what promises to be a theatrical extravaganza, a flotilla of 1,000 vessels.

Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip will be part of the river pageant, aboard the Spirit of Chartwell, floating along the 11-kilometre route winding through central London.

They will pass under 14 bridges and finish at Tower Bridge. Military boats, D-Day boats, paddle steamers and boats from across the Commonwealth are taking part in the flotilla.

Gag me with a spoon. With the economic shitstorm that the U.K. has been in for the past few years, I can’t help but wonder that there must be more than a few Brits who are a little pissed off that oodles of Pounds Sterling are being spent on this crap.

Maybe they’ll make their views know?

Hey! Look at this! They are sure trying to!

Anti-monarchy campaign groups in Britain are to stage protest against the British Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations during the extended Jubilee weekend.

The leading anti-monarchy campaign group in Britain, Republic, has announced plans for two major protests against “the hereditary system” in Britain which they consider as offensive to all “democratic values”.

The first protest, which has been described as the “biggest republican protest in living memory” is to be staged on Sunday June 3 at 1:30pm near City Hall.

The June 3 protest is organized so that the demonstrators will be in full view of the Queen and her family as they disembark the lead boat in the Queen’s Jubilee Thames Flotilla which is expected to travel down the Thames in London.

“Our loud, bold and provocative protest is a major step forward for the republican movement and an opportunity to kickstart a real debate about the future of the monarchy. The royals spend most of their lives shielded from criticism – this protest will give them a rare glimpse of the strength of republican sentiment in Britain today,” said Graham Smith, Republic’s chief executive.

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Nicholas Lidstrom has finally announced his retirement

What a career! Congrats!

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Speaking of hockey, the Marlies are in the Calder Cup final!

Even if they don’t win, this shows that there is a good crop of youngsters coming up through the TML system… and this has to be a good thing!

As long as Burke doesn’t trade ’em away, that is…

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What a totally bizarre murder – the body parts thing. And what a totally weird dude who has allegedly perpetrated the crimes.

Make you put a face to that seemingly intangible thing called “evil”…

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Capital Hoedown – The shit-kickin’ boot festival that has been held in Ottawa for the past few years is in financial trouble and may not happen this year.

To which I say “YEEEE-HAW!

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Cross border shopping is getting easier! Intrepid and cash and credit card-rich shoppers can bring back even more crap from the Wal-Marts in Syracuse and elsewhere!

This is a good thing?

It has to hurt our own retailers, right?

You won’t see me at one of those outlet malls… ever… don’t see the appeal and I cannot be convinced that when you factor in the fuel costs and dining out expenses, that anyone really saves some significant moolah. No way.

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Soccer this summer.

I fell in love with the game in 1982 during the World Cup held in Spain that year. I wasn’t a fan of the Azzurri but admired Paulo Rossi for his skill. But what really drew me to the sport was the Brazilian team… such poetry!

Since then, I have been as big a fan of footy as of hockey… started following the Coventry Sky Blues in the late ’80’s and then moving on to Arsenal in the mid ’90’s.

It is a beautiful and simple game. Support our Canadian men and women this summer as we try to qualify for the next World Cup and win some matches in the MLS!

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