27th September, 2025: The Queen Elizabeth.
I posted a Teaser about T. S. Eliot, yesterday.
Which you possibly knew, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while.
Thank you, and well done, to everyone that took part!
In the introduction … ?
I talked about my concerns about the Prime Minister’s proposed digital ID scheme: an ID scheme designed to prove a person is eligible to work in the UK.
I feel the scheme is unwise
Mostly, because I feel there’s a significant number of people on Universal Credit — the people that need jobs — will be unable to afford a smartphone.
Nor be confident enough to use it, were one provided.
I’m thinking mostly about the cost, here, as a first hurdle.
If I don’t have a smart phone, but have to have one for the ID?
Where am I getting the money?
Is Keir Starmer putting his hand in his pocket, and giving me the cash?
Who’s setting the thing up for me?
Job Centre staff are supposed to be helping me back to work: not doing technical support.
Who’s showing me how to use the thing?
You get my point!
So … ?
I make a video: aimed at the PM, mentioning him by name, and tweeted past Number 10’s X account.
Will it have an effect?
Beyond getting a few boosts on Mastodon.world?
I don’t know.
But feel that being one voice amongst many, on this important subject, is a good thing.
~≈Å≈~
A very good thing.
There’s a petition about it on the UK’s government’s website: one that — as I write — has 1,613,944 signatures, and is increasing every time I look at the page.
The page is here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194
Every signature helps.
Let’s move on.
Yesterday’s Teaser saw Mum*, Olga†, Irene‡ and Debbi§ putting in their answers: with Olga, Irene and Debbi scoring five out of five, and Mum on four.
Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?
Q1) The RMS Queen Elizabeth was launched on 27th September. Of which year of the 1930s?Q2) The ship was built in which Scottish town: Clydebank, Dumbarton or Govan?Q3) The ship was built by John Brown and Company. It was operated by which line: Pacific and Oriental, Cunard or Inman?Q4) The ship was named after Queen Elizabeth, the Queen … who?Q5) Finally … ? The RMS Queen Elizabeth was an RMS. In other words, it was a Royal what Ship?
Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …
Q1) T. S. Eliot was born on 26th September: in which year of the 1880s?A1) 1888.Q2) What the the ‘T’ stands for: Thomas, Terrence or Tony?A2) Thomas.Q3) What did the ‘S’ stand for: Sally, Steven or Stearns?A3) Stearns.Q4) He was born, where: the USA, the UK or the Irish Republic?A4) The USA.Q5) 1927 saw T. S. Eliot became a citizen of where: USA, the UK or the Irish Republic?A5) The UK. (The same year saw him converting to Anglicanism). Q6) Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats was based on Eliot’s Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Cats was first released in which year of the 1980s?A6) 1981.Q7) East Coker appears in Eliot’s Four Quartets. The village the poem is named after is in which English county: Gloucestershire, Somerset or Devon?A7) Somerset.Q8) “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” was first published in a US magazine. In which year: 1913, 1914 or 1915?A8) 1915.Q9) According to Eliot’s “The Hollow Men”, the world ends with a what?A9) Whimper.Q10) Finally … ? Eliot’s The Wasteland was published in which year of the 1920s?A10) 1922.
Here’s a quote …
“Along with the Queen Mary, she provided a weekly transatlantic service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States, via Cherbourg in France.”From the Wikipedia entry on the Queen Elizabeth.
A clue or two …
And an earworm¶ …
The next ten question sets are on the 29th, and 30th, of September: they’re TV-themed ones about The Prisoner, and Thunderbirds.
Your comments will be published, tomorrow morning.
Today’s questions will be answered in tomorrow’s Teaser.
Decisions about scores are final.
Thank you for coming: have a good day.
* Hello, Mum!
† I have to admit, I never studied poetry at school, Olga. I read The Lord of the Rings by the age of fourteen, but poetry? I don’t think it ever grabbed my attention. That’s possibly my loss!
At any rate: good luck for today at Sant3: we’ll catch you when we catch you!
‡ Morning, Irene: how IS the day … ?
§ I think the US arm of Tesco’s was Fresh ’N’ Easy, Debbi: apparently that closed in 2015. You’re possibly stuck with British Depot. And they don’t seem to do that size …
¶ Why Bertrand was on a trampoline in this appearance … is oner of pops little mysteries …
3 comments:
1 1938
2 Clydebank
3 Cunard
4 Queen Mother
5 Merchant
The things I find out after the fact!
That's too bad about their closure. I blame you-know-who. :)
1. 1938
2. Clydebank
3. Cunard
4. Mother
5. Mail
Thanks for the short answers. :)
It's been a very long day, Paul, so sorry about the teaser, because I've just finished writing up the event I covered for Sants 3 Ràdio and it's almost 10 pm, and I've been out and about most of the day. The morning session was interesting, and I hope useful. At least, listening to other people coping with similar situations makes you feel a bit more accompanied, if nothing else. It seems they do these sessions once a month, although they are not a course as such, but each one is independent, and you don't need to have attended the previous one to get something out of this one, so I will try and attend as many as possible, and see how it goes, although combining it with covering an event for the radio was very tiring. It might depend on the kind of event it is.
By the way, it didn't go too badly, although it went on for longer than I hoped for (not expected, because I know things always start late and then go on, and on...)
By the way, I checked the petition, but you need to be a UK Citizen or live there, so that doesn't apply to me any longer. Sorry.
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