Today's Michael Jackson television coverage was so abundant with awkward moments that I hestitate to choose just one as the low point of the day. One contender: During a lull in activity, ABC showed the Thriller video. Michael as a zombie! At his own funeral! Excellent choice. Then there was NBC's Michael Okwu, who was so enthusastic about celebrity funerals that he started prematurely burying people.
Changing the Guard - for my new YT friend - Lillywhite Trombonist for Royal Coldwater Guard - whom ONE met after Breaking the Coldstream 'Thriller' Vid (currently 10k YouViews - search Nichopoulooza or use [::] search engine for Coldwater Guard, Thriller) - He's Promised Exclusive CG Video of current Tour (matches Royal Middle Stripe of Household Guards Hanger - see photo)
From May to July 2009 inclusive, Changing the Guard will take place daily at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Changing the Guard or Guard Mounting is the process involving a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard.
The Guard which mounts at Buckingham Palace is called The Queen’s Guard and is divided into two Detachments: the Buckingham Palace Detachment (which is responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace), and the St. James’s Palace Detachment, (which guards St. James’s Palace). These guard duties are normally provided by a battalion of the Household Division and occasionally by other infantry battalions or other units.
When Guardsmen are on duty, the soldiers are drawn from one of the five regiments of Foot Guards in the British Army: the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards, the Welsh Guards, the Grenadier Guards and the Coldstream Guards.
The five Regiments may be recognised as follows:
Regiment
Grouping of buttons on scarlet tunic
Collar badge
Plume on bearskin cap
Grenadier Guards
Singly
Grenade
White, worn on left side
Coldstream Guards
Twos
Garter Star
Red, worn on right side
Scots Guards
Threes
Thistle
No plume
Irish Guards
Fours
Shamrock
Blue, worn on right side
Welsh Guards
Fives
Leek
Green and white, worn on left side
The Queen’s Guard is commanded by a Captain (who usually holds the rank of Major), and each Detachment is commanded by a Lieutenant. The Colour of the Battalion providing the Guard is carried by a Second Lieutenant (who is known as the Ensign).
The handover is accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranges from traditional military marches to songs from films and musicals and even familiar pop songs.
When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building. When she is away there are two.
The Queen's Guard usually consists of Foot Guards in their full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins. If they have operational commitments, other infantry units take part instead.
Units from Commonwealth realms occasionally take turn in Guard Mounting. In May 1998, Canadian soldiers from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry mounted guard at Buckingham Palace for the first time since the Coronation in 1953.
Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces since 1660. Until 1689, the Sovereign lived mainly at the Palace of Whitehall and was guarded there by Household Cavalry.
In 1689, the court moved to St James's Palace, which was guarded by the Foot Guards. When Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837, the Queen's Guard remained at St James's Palace, with a detachment guarding Buckingham Palace, as it still does today.
At Buckingham Palace, Guard Mounting takes place at 11.30am. It is held daily from May to July, and on alternate dates throughout the rest of the year.
Buckingham Palace is not the only place to see Guard Mounting. At Windsor Castle, the ceremony takes place at 11.00 am. For most of the year Guard Mounting takes place on alternate dates, but it is held daily (except Sundays) from April to July.
At Horse Guards Arch, Changing the Guard takes place daily at 11.00 am (10.00 am on Sundays) and lasts about half an hour; it is normally held on Horse Guards Parade by the arch of Horse Guards Building.
There is no Guard Mounting in very wet weather.[REMEMBER THAT, LADIES]
LONDON -- Britain's royal family has extended its kingdom further into cyberspace and joined Twitter - but don't expect Her Majesty to tweet.
Buckingham Palace, which already has a significant online presence, said Friday that it has set up a Twitter account to alert royal watchers to what's happening with the family.
But that won't result in any re-tweets or trending topics from Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles. A palace spokeswoman says the account won't be used to air personal opinions.
The queen launched Buckingham Palace's Web site in 1997. She also has her own YouTube channel.
The New York Philharmonic, hoping to notch another exotic destination in its touring history, said on Thursday it had been invited to perform in Cuba and was seriously considering such a visit.
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The orchestra’s president, Zarin Mehta, and other of its officials planned to travel to Havana on Friday to investigate concert halls, hotels and other logistical matters. The Philharmonic has received licenses to travel there, in light of the United States embargo.
The trip would be yet another recent dip into cold-war waters for the Philharmonic. It would take place just a few days after the orchestra returns from an Asian tour in October that will include Vietnam. Last year it traveled to isolated, totalitarian North Korea. The Philharmonic said that it had never been to Vietnam or Cuba, and that the North Korea visit was a first for any major orchestra.
A tour of Cuba would further etch the image of the Philharmonic as America’s musical ambassador, a profile that orchestra officials are eager to promote. The North Korea trip was a publicity boon, winning the ensemble wide attention outside of classical music circles — an increasing rarity for classical music institutions in recent decades.
High-profile touring “defines the New York Philharmonic, but I think it defines our country,” Mr. Mehta said.
“It’s important that we fly the flag,” he added.
If the trip comes off, it would probably last four days, starting on Oct. 30 — five days after the orchestra returns from Asia, Mr. Mehta said. It would most likely give two concerts. The Philharmonic’s incoming music director, Alan Gilbert, would conduct during both tours.
The Philharmonic’s decision to move forward with the trip comes after the Obama administration has eased some sanctions against Cuba, including limits on visits by Cuban-Americans to relatives and the sending of gifts and money.
Mr. Gilbert called a Cuban visit “entirely appropriate” and said, “It’s probably not a coincidence that it’s happening at this time.”
Orchestra officials also took pains to say the trip had strong United States government approval. The idea was run past the office of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Mr. Mehta said. “They said, ‘Absolutely, it’s a wonderful project, and you should pursue it,’ ” Mr. Mehta said.
Representatives Charles B. Rangel and Steve Israel, along with Senator Charles E. Schumer, all Democrats of New York, also approved, he said. And leading board members of the Philharmonic and the orchestra’s tour committee are in favor of the trip, Mr. Mehta said.
The Cuban invitation came in the wake of the North Korea trip. Several Philharmonic officials had casual conversations with an ABC News official who has contacts with Cuban diplomats in Washington, Eric Latzky, the orchestra’s spokesman, said. The ABC official put the two sides together, unofficial contacts ensued, and a formal invitation came last week, Mr. Latzky said.
The orchestra took some criticism for agreeing to visit such a closed and repressive country as North Korea. Orchestra officials said that among the conditions for agreeing to go to Pyongyang was a guarantee from the North Korean government that the concert be broadcast to North Koreans and that journalists be allowed in.
Mr. Mehta said he did not know what Cuba’s broadcast plans might be, and that he planned to ask the Cubans to guarantee access to American journalists.
Yet orchestra officials also played down any comparison to the North Korea trip. Mr. Gilbert said he would not be surprised by a “healthy discussion” over a Cuban version. “My sense is that the prevailing feeling will be positive,” he said. “I think that music really does speak for itself.” He called the Cuba trip a nonpolitical “cultural exchange.”
“It’s actually as straightforward as what it seems,” Mr. Gilbert said. “We’re playing music for appreciative audiences.”
