Westie

I cannot condone past act of terrorism, and the continued deprivation of His Majesty Louis XX of France (the current Duke of Anjou) of his rightful throne.

The pressure wasn't Francophone, (to suggest an englishman is francophone is to suggest an American is pro-communist). It was "Arbourphile" - bastille day is just an excuse

As i'm sure you are aware, Her Majesty has TWO birthdays, 21st April is her actual Birthday - and she has an official birthday also. I expect chapters posted on both

Dont we usually get a nice bonus chapter on bastile day?? we did last year ! **pouts**

How ridiculous. Really? You want to give freedom with one hand by granting gay couples the right to marry, but then you want to restrict that freedom by introducing a gay "arranged marriage"? And while yes, there are a great number of happy couples who had arranged marriages, there are still a great many who were forced into that marriage and for whom every day is hell. Such a suggestion that the practice should be expanded is disgraceful. Parents and friends should content themselves with the role of meddling matchmaker.

We have discussed this before. You have a responsibility to Efan because he is too young to take care of himself. However, you need to STOP being the landing mat for Lori. (1) becuase it isnt good FOR YOU and (2) because believe it or not, in the long run its not good for HER either. On the job front, I think you will do well. You are head of dept. Your employer SOUGHT you out. Take in the damn hot water bottle and use it in the office. Delegate as much as you can. And stop wallowing in these issues. Happiness will find you, and when it does, it will be magical (blah blah blah). Until then - im sending a hug for sympathy, but otherwise, you need to (to coin an American-ism) Suck it up. All the above said with love, of course West

Bertie cannot renounce. it only became possible to disclaim a peerage with the Peerages Act of 1963. The sackville-west case (Petition to the House of Lords) confirmed that no special remainders could be attached to a peerage to allow it to skip a rightful heir (although this case was in 1875, so is a ruling taken place later than this story).

I Tend to use very Little in terms of reference books, but Simon Schema does a good general british history. Specific to the particular discussion we have been having, you might try "high Society in the Regency Period" by Venetia Murray - she also wrote a number of other books about this period and its social history that you may find rewarding. Unfortunately, the fails to discuss sodomy in the british navy in anywhere near the detail Mr Arbour portrays As a youngest son, Granger is technically a commonor (in the same way as Lady Diana Spencer was a commonor before her marriage, despite being the daughter of an Earl). It would not have been particularly unusual if Granger accumulated enough wealth and influence to become a peer in his own right. There are examples of this from the Blandford titles, as well as somerset and Norfolk. His father may have enough influence to gain this for him, particularly if he provides some form of personal service to the crown. Not sure what you mean by "for someone who isnt to achieve that goal" - both the examples you give DID receive a peerage? or am i misreading your comments?

I really appreciate the context here. Just to take your points one by one. While royal bastards did NOT always use the Fitz prefix, it was common in this particular era. Henry II was a good few centuries before this, so by this point it had become more customary. Charles II, in particular used this practice, as did the future William IV who is contemporary to this story (with the Fitz-Clarance surname). You are right that titles would usually be created, but even titled families maintain surnames. With regards to aristocratic marriage - I disagree strongly with your friend here. I certainly disagree that it would be a bigger deal today - because in fact there are far too many examples of this not being the case. None more so than the recent wedding between the son of a Prince and the daughter of an airline pilot. This is a period when position and breeding was everything. With regards to Caroline of Brunswick, I do think she was treated badly. Yes, she had the affection of George III, but most of the time he knew her, he was considered mad and was confined to Windsor. Caroline was deprived of both financial freedom and many personal liberties, which im sure popularity didnt make up for. Congratulations to your friend though on the PPE from Oxford - its not an easy degree, though i'm not sure that Politics, Philosophy and Economics has much to teach us about history.

"unlikely".... "tended"..... these words basically tell us about what we expect to see in any given paradigm. but nobody writes stories about ordinary people, because ordinary lives dont make good fiction - there's no story to tell. We are looking outside of the ordinary. these people dont live within paradigms - they shift them. I would suggest that any names that they come up with, would be maybe 5-7 years ahead of the curve. I think you need to be looking at names common circa 2005-2007 to be believable in this context

Jeremy, seriously, WTF? do you have nothing better to ponder about? Names are more or less common ov er periods of time, but Meghan/meagan/megan are fashionable forms of "Meg" which began to originate in the 1940's. They are in turn, a derivative of Margaret. It was a name that became almost cult like in the 1940's, especially among American soldiers who served in/trained in wales during the war, where the name originates. Interestingly, Mrs Centlivre had a character called Meaghan (from which Megan derives). The year? 1702

Well, Caroline of Brunswick may have been subjected to terrible treatment, but looking at the dates.... At this point in history, Caroline and the Prince of Wales were still maintaining a public facade (regardless of their private hatred).... indeed their daughter Charlotte Augusta had just been born in the January 1796.

Why Mr Arbour..... i sure hope Kristen does not get on that flight, considering how that particular flight ends.

Well, if you say so. However, if this were a bastard Royal line, for that to carry any Kudos, it would have had to have been a recognised bastard, in which case the surname would not have been Lammert, but Fitz-(something) as was the custom. For example, the line of FitzClarence are the bastard decedents of HRH the Duke of Clarence. The other thing to point out is that Lammert must be at the very least, the son of the younger son of a duke, because if his father was a Duke he would have the courtesy title of Lord. This means that the Countess Bridgewater is the Daughter-of-the-son-of-a-younger-son-of-a-Duke - which is three degrees of separation. Regardless of the wealth of the Lammerts (which traveling through Younger sons is unlikely to be vast enough to interest an Earl, or they would have bought a title of their very own in their own right), I think it would have caused somewhat of a scandal. which of course could be overcome - but I very much doubt that Countess Bridgewater could command such a pre-eminant position as she seems to have. A quarrell with Lady Jersey and still welcome at court? (though Actually at this point, Lady Jersey was not at the height of her powers, since the prince of Wales had just Married Caroline of Brunswick - which, I think in the story has also been missed?, i might be wrong on that) Anyway - apologies for being a pedantic brit on this

Actually, the title "sir" does not necessarily denote a knighthood (although since you are the author, I will assume you are correct that Lambert is a knight). a "sir" can also denote a baronetcy (not to be confused with being a "baron"). Baronetcies ARE hereditary, and confer the title of "sir". In history, it isnt particularly rare for a title to "skip" through the female line to a grandson. It simply requires letters patent from the King, which could be obtained by petition and were almost universally granted. However it WOULD be unusual for the title to be remaindered on the THIRD grandson. it would either be allowed to be assumed into the Bridgewater titles, or it would be remaindered on the second grandson - certainly not George. What interests me most is that Mark has written this story where an Earl, a member of the third ranking order of nobility, is married to someone so much further below his own rank and station. now THAT is incredibly rare. I would be very interested to know about the Lambert lineage, because unless there were some very good reason. it would have created quite a scandal for the Earl to marry a woman without rank (i.e. without the right blood in her veins).

I wasnt so much worried abotu the rain, but I suffer from Chronic Pain in my leg and hip, and to some extent my lower back, which would make sitting on the ground difficult and painful. moreover, Nephy guess would be in a similar position if she can make it

Hmmmmm..... well to me a picnic in central london is pretty much my idea of hell, but if thats what everyone else agrees to, I will have to go along I guess. I totally agree with Jon re: photographs of the event, I would prefer to be the photographer in that case, rather than the model.

erm.... do you really think you would get a good price for your kids

Well, accuracy I guess is a relative term, but I certainly enjoy Mark's portrayals here BTW - if then, we take it that this story culminates in the Battle of Cape St vincent, then I guess it covers only 4 more months..... (in story time)..... I guess we have much more to see than that and St Vincent is a major event rather than a culmination....

Ok, so the numbers are still looking at anywhere between 8 and 16 people. One thing that does is make finding one place to congregate very difficult. Last time we all met at a bar, but anyone who has experience of london bars knows that they are usually crowded and too noisy for a chat. Can I make the suggestion of booking a private dining room in some restaurant (of course, trying to make sure its a reasonably priced restaurant). The private rooms i am talking about come at no extra cost, but are at the disposal of large parties if booked in advance... What do people think?

Thats the worst news ever! Im not sure i want to go now Paya and I will have to add wales onto our list of tourist spots for some time in the future... (

Ten things (1) I believe in you more than anyone else (2) Nothing you can say can make me love you less (3) nothing you can do will make me less proud (4) Being the best in everything is not living a life of goals and achivement, it is allowing goals and achievement to live your life. Love is life (5) Standing up for yourself is what makes you a man and gives you self respect (6) Dont live your life for others.... live it for yourself (7) You are the most wonderful, intelligent, amazing person I have ever met (8) You make me complete (9) I will support every step you take (10) .... 9 inches (i couldnt think of a 10th.... ) big hug West

Let the dog out, read any letters or post (except bills ) then log on the laptop

Ok, here goes..... (1) Did your mother never teach you its rude to point at people? (2) Paya and I do the blackberry thing too. I spend a good 40% of my working day in meetings, so while Paya can send an email from his laptop at work, I use the blackberry, because im more likely to find time to reply. I used to do it with the iPhone too before i stupidly got this awful awful blackberry. (3) My travel plans changed a lot after I met paya (well, i went from having NO travel plans to travelling to the czech republic every 6-8 weeks). Ultimately I found it rewarding becuase I got to experience a new culture, new art, interesting history and I got to do it all with someone who, ultimately, I want to be my life partner. (4) It gets harder. Every time you part will be more difficult than the last. The internet is a poor substitute for a warm embrace. But, you will find that the time you DO spend together is higher quality. You will talk more often, and more openly and honestly than other couples. And if you manage to become a permenant couple who LIVE TOGETHER, ultimately you will know never to take the presence of the other for granted. (5) If he moves to Paris, Paya and I can visit and double date :D :D Westie

Planning means we're not confined by train timetables..... and I get to stay in a posh hotel with concierge, room service and masseur