The Queen’s 2012 Christmas Message in Australia

"This past year has been one of great celebration for many. The enthusiasm which greeted the Diamond Jubilee was, of course, especially memorable for me and my family.

"It was humbling that so many chose to mark the anniversary of a duty which passed to me 60 years ago. People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations. But perhaps most striking of all was to witness the strength of fellowship and friendship among those who had gathered together on these occasions.

"Prince Philip and I were joined by our family on the River Thames as we paid tribute to those who have shaped the United Kingdom's past and future as a maritime nation, and welcomed a wonderful array of craft, large and small, from across the Commonwealth.

"On the barges and the bridges and the banks of the river there were people who had taken their places to cheer through the mist, undaunted by the rain. That day there was a tremendous sense of common determination to celebrate, triumphing over the elements.

"That same spirit was also in evidence from the moment the Olympic flame arrived on these shores. The flame itself drew hundreds and thousands of people on its journey around the British Isles, and was carried by every kind of deserving individual, many nominated for their own extraordinary service.

"As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes. In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama.

"We were reminded, too, that the success of these great festivals depended to an enormous degree upon the dedication and effort of an army of volunteers. Those public-spirited people came forward in the great tradition of all those who devote themselves to keeping others safe, supported and comforted.

"For many, Christmas is also a time for coming together. But for others, service will come first. Those serving in our armed forces, in our emergency services and in our hospitals, whose sense of duty takes them away from family and friends, will be missing those they love.

"And those who have lost loved ones may find this day especially full of memories. That's why it's important at this time of year to reach out beyond our familiar relationships to think of those who are on their own.

"At Christmas I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship the Christ child. From that day on he has inspired people to commit themselves to the best interests of others.

"This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only son 'to serve, not to be served'. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.

"It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others.

"The carol, In The Bleak Midwinter, ends by asking a question of all of us who know the Christmas story, of how God gave himself to us in humble service: 'What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part'. The carol gives the answer 'Yet what I can I give him - give my heart'.

"I wish you all a very happy Christmas."



The Queen’s Christmas message was broadcast in Australia on Tuesday 25th December as follows:

NEW SOUTH WALES & VICTORIA:

7TWO - 5.45 pm - 5.59 pm

ABC - 6.52 pm - 6.59 pm

ABC NEWS 24 - 8.24 pm - 8.31 pm

CHANNEL NINE - 11.55 pm - 12.04 am


NORTHERN TERRITORY:

7TWO - 5.45 pm - 5.59 pm

ABC - 6.52 pm - 6.59 pm

ABC NEWS 24 - 6.54 pm - 7.01 pm

CHANNEL NINE - 11.55 pm - 12.04 am


QUEENSLAND:

7TWO - 5.45 pm - 5.59 pm

ABC - 6.52 pm - 6.59 pm

ABC NEWS 24 - 7.24 pm - 7.31 pm

CHANNEL NINE - 11.55 pm - 12.04 am


SOUTH AUSTRALIA:

7TWO - 5.45 pm - 5.59 pm

ABC - 6.52 pm - 6.59 pm

ABC NEWS 24 - 7.54 pm - 8.01 pm

CHANNEL NINE - 11.55 pm - 12.04 am


TASMANIA:

7TWO - 5.45 pm - 5.59 pm

ABC - 6.52 pm - 6.59 pm

ABC NEWS 24 - 8.24 pm - 8.31 pm

WIN - 11.55 pm - 12.04 am


WESTERN AUSTRALIA:

ABC NEWS 24 - 5.24 pm - 5.31 pm

7TWO - 5.45 pm - 5.59 pm

ABC - 6.52 pm - 6.59 pm

CHANNEL NINE - 11.55 pm - 12.04 am

In the UK The Queen's Christmas message is to be screened in 3D and HD for the first time. The traditional broadcast will go hi-tech to allow viewers to scrutinise the Queen as never before in her Diamond Jubilee year.

However, viewers will also be able to see the 86-year-old monarch in normal definition during the speech, which will be broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day.

The Queen has watched her 3D Christmas message, produced this year by Sky News, and enjoyed the experience.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the monarch thought the broadcast was 'absolutely lovely'. She added: 'We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology wise, to do. The Queen absolutely agreed straight away there was no need for convincing at all, she was absolutely ready to embrace something new in this year.'

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ABC puts the Queen in the right position

The ABC was always to show the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London live and with own staff commenting the event from the UK. But that was the ABC in the USA. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) had intended to screen the 1975 movie Shampoo starring Warren Beatty instead of covering one of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee main events live.

Thanks to the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACM's) national convenor David Flint activities the ABC changed heart and dumped the film. Last Sunday ACM launched an online petition asking viewers "to show the ABC that they should perform the role and function for which they are funded by the taxpayers of Australia".

On Tuesday David Flint could triumph in his send out:

"ABC has buckled to monarchist pressure and will now screen Live coverage of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on Sunday night in the Eastern States on ABC1 with Live coverage across Australia on ABC News 24."

The ABC's schedule:
On Sunday night (June 3) we will have the River Pageant on ABC1 from 11.30pm to 3.00 am – live coverage in the Eastern States- live/delayed in other states.

On ABC News 24 it will run live from 11.30pm to 3am. on Monday night 4th June 4 on ABC1 we will have the Highlights package from 6-7pm as already announced. (The rights to the concert are not available - see Channel 9 below)

On Tuesday night 5th June we will have coverage of arrivals at St Paul's Cathedral on ABC1 from 6-7pm – Live in Eastern states, delayed in other states.

On ABC1 from 22.30pm to 00.45am the coverage will include the carriage procession, gun salute, the palace balcony appearance etc. Live in Eastern States, delayed in other states.

On ABC News 24 the live coverage will run from 7pm including the Thanksgiving Service, through to 00.45am.

On Wednesday night (June 6) – ABC1 will have the highlights package from 6-7pm as already announced.

On Thursday night 7th June 7 – ABC1 will have a repeat of The Diamond Queen Ep 1 at 6:00pmOn Friday night 8th June 8 – ABC1 will have a repeat of The Diamond Queen Ep 2 at 6:00pm

On Saturday night 9th June 9 – ABC1 will have a repeat of The Diamond Queen Ep 3 at 5:30pm


The BBC and UKTV (available on Foxtel, Optusvision and Austar) are presenting large amounts of coverage direct from London of the Jubilee events.

Some specific highlights on UKTV are:

Sunday 3rd of June - 11:15pm - 3:15am - The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant (repeated Monday evening at 8:00pm)

Tuesday 5th of June - 6:15pm -9:45pm - The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Royal Procession

Tuesday 5th of June - 11:00pm -1:00am - The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving

Wednesday 6th of June - 7:30pm - 10:55pm - The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert

Much of this will also be shown on the BBC World News service on Foxtel, Optusvision and Austar and the BBC on ABC News24.

As in the past the ABC has shown a complete and dare I say, in the opinion of yours truly, an arrogant disinterest in Royal events. But to give them credit: They are willing to correct some of their mistakes. And setting things right after committing an error is commendable.

Channel 9

Tuesday 5th June at 20.00 Diamond Jubilee Concert from Buckingham Palace celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which marks 60 years of the Queen's reign. Acts include Kylie Minogue, Jessie J, Ed Sheeran, JL, Stevie Wonder, Madness, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney and Annie Lennox.

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The ABC's undergraduate style

The ABC continues to deny being anti-monarchist. It is more as if the ABC sees itself as a victim of a “royal censorship”, especially after the BBC threatened to block the ABC from its entire royal wedding coverage unless the ABC cancelled plans for as “alternative” Chaser’s Royal Wedding Commentary on ABC2. Known for their “undergraduate style” (The Age), ABC’s director of television, Kim Dalton, implied the incident was a form of censorship: “In Australia, we’re not used to these sorts of conditions being placed on the media and you can’t help but observe these restrictions are being placed on the media on behalf of a future head of state of Australia.”

This remark came shortly after Trevor Graham, “a filmmaker best known for his progressive documentaries" (The Age, 21st April 2011) had his own encounter with the ABC's attitude. When Graham, who was described by The Age as "firmly believing that Australia should become a republic” suggested his latest documentary on Australia’s Royal Family A Royal Romance to the ABC “there were sneers that the line he was taking wasn’t as pro-republican as it ‘should have been or could have been’.”

In the end the film was shown on ABC1, but it is obvious, that the public broadcaster’s sympathies lies more with a royal satire which the Chasers thought they could provide.

Another example of a pro-republican bias? Here’s one that announced a discussion between Deputy Chair of the Australian Republican Movement John Warhurst, Chairman of the Australian Monarchist League Philip Benwell:

On the eve of the Royal Wedding Statewide Mornings presenter Leon Compton took the opportunity to analyse the on-going question of whether Australia should become a Republic or remain a loyal servant to the British Monarchy.

An equal treatment would look differently. Since when is an Australian Monarchist “a loyal servant to the British Monarch”? The ”republic” as a neutral term, but the Monarchy connect with a negative inclination. Is this really the open-mindedness the ABC is officially proclaiming?

And we won’t mention the last Sunday's “Insiders” programme that made up a story about the Queen’s republican tendencies. Just ridiculous, not even good as an April’s fool joke.

The ABC must do more to dissipate doubts of its objectivity.

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ABC News 24

Yesterday the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) started its 24-hour television news service. ABC News 24, as this youngest branch of the non-commercial TV and radio broadcaster is called. ABC News 24 is supposed to “cover local and international news, current affairs, analysis of political, social and economic trends” as the advertising blitz knocked it into the audience in recent weeks.

Considering that the ABC missed out in the live coverage of the Fromelles ceremonies this week, its performance can only get better. The question the RadicalRoyalist puts forward is, will ABC News 24 also cover royal events? When the Queen of Australia last visited Melbourne in March 2006 ABC Victoria’s evening news covered the event in 13 seconds, of which half was dedicated to a small group of demonstrators. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Queen of Australia from 1936 to 1952, died in 2002, the lying in state was not broadcast live by the ABC, which prefered to show an old Cary Grant film instead.

No matter which figures you refer to, the 54.4 percent of the Australian people who said No to a republic in 1999 or the 39 percent who declare themselves as Monarchists in a more recent republican-paid opinion poll, there is a considerable section of the Australian community that is interested in royal events and which should be served by the ABC.

However, it is more likely that those who direct the ABC will not take this opportunity to satisfy the Monarchist spectators. The ABC bigwigs might be too afraid to “promote” the Monarchist cause or the sometimes nasty response by the republican minority in Australia. Since the 1999 referendum the ABC more or less gave up reporting on everything that is of any interest to Monarchists. There is, on the other hand, no shortage of negative reports. The latest was the ABC’s stunt on the costs of the British Monarchy.

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A lone British republican gets a little help from his Aussie TV friends

This week we were able to watch an extraordinary news item on the ABC’s “7.30 Report”. While this programme usually deals with Australian topics, ignores the Australian Constitutional Monarchy and more often than not features self-loving TV presenters, last Wednesday, 7th July, it reported on the cost of maintaining a crowned head of state. Mind you, the “7.30 Report” did not deal with the Australian Monarchy, but with the British. The Australians for Constitutional Monarchy criticised quite rightly: ABC gives platform to UK republicans.

Philip Benwell of The Australian Monarchist League wrote in a statement:

“They told us about a crowd of protesters gathered outside Buckingham Palace, but one could see only a handful of people, as opposed to the massive crowds thronging to see the 'Changing of the Guard'.

They spoke to a lone British republican who protested that the Queen cost the British people 62p a year.”

That lone British republican was the well-known Graham Smith, whose analytic skills let him predict in 2007 :

“Australia's new republic

Whatever the result of the Australian election, there is bound to be one big loser: the British monarchy. ... It is all but certain that Australia will be a republic within the next five to 10 years.”

With the same analytic skills he claimed about the British Monarchy, that “the true bill to the taxpayer would be nearer £150m a year if the costs of police and army security were included”.

But his contention that the UK Monarchy is the most expensive head of state in Europe is just plain false either Mr. Smith got his figures wrong or just chose to ignore the reality of the cost of the German or the Italian Presidency both of wich are way above the cost of maintaining the monarchy.

Mr. Smith's figures contradict the Royal Public Finances Annual Report that states that Head of State support for 2009-10 was £38.2 million (including VAT of £1.9 million), compared with £41.5 last year.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said in a press release:

"The Treasury contributed the equivalent of just 62 pence per person in the country to enable The Queen to carry out her duties as Head of State.

"The Royal Household is acutely aware of the difficult economic climate and took early action to reduce its Civil List expenditure by 2.5 per cent in real terms in 2009. We are implementing a headcount freeze and reviewing every vacancy to see if we can avoid replacement."

The ABC's Europe correspondent did not do her homework and seemed to have met opponents and suporters of the British Monarchy will little preparatory work. For example, what the “7.30 Report” failed to do, was to ask Mr. Smith which republican model he had in mind to replace the Monarchy. Or they could have put it simpler: Name any republic with the size and population of the UK that is cheaper.

Sometimes republicans say, they’d favour the German model. To which The Daily Telegraph remarked: “The Queen is a lot cheaper than tedious republics like Germany.” Not to mention the rather odd way of selecting the German president.

To continue with the real figures The Daily Telegraph had this to say: ”Head of State expenditure covers the Queen’s duties as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. It is met from public funds – principally the Civil List and Grants-in-aid (see right) – in exchange for surrender by The Queen of the revenue from the Crown Estate (in 2008-09, the revenue surplus from the Crown Estate paid to the Treasury was £230 million).”

Blogger Malden Capell says:

"The most important question however is this: if Britain were to abolish the monarchy, would these costs go away? Answer: no.

The security bill (even if it were £100 million!) would remain pretty much the same. Equally, the cost of maintaining the palaces would remain the same – the German Bundespräsident has a number of official residences too, after all. The staffing costs, the pensions, the full range of duties a Head of State carries out will still have to be carried out by whatever replaces the monarchy. State Visits would continue. Garden parties would continue. Visits to local councils, receptions and the granting of honours would continue. The Head of State’s functions as constitutional umpire would continue. And of course, the new Head of State would require a salary."

It cannot be pointed out stringly enough: The Queen does not receive a salary - neither from the British nor from the Australian taxpayers. The civil list is for the running of "the machinery".

Why don’t British republicans look across the channel to France? As Senator Cory Bernardi recently remarked in Melbourne: “France offers you five republics to choose from.” In the 1958 model Nicolas Sarkozy came to power in 2007. One of his first actions was to grant himself a pay rise, it was actually a staggering 206% salary increase. This week a BBC reporter in Paris pointed to the Elysée Palace and said: “Since Nicolas Sarkozy’s arrival here the expenditures have tripled.” He did not go into details, but the RadicalRoyalist revealed that extravagance is a republican characteristic.

On the Elysée Palace’s website, the official budget for president Sarkozy is given at 112,533,700 € for 2010 (= AUS $ 161,912,088), which is substantially higher than the Queen’s civil list (which is, just to remind you, AUS $65,495,300. Opposition parties in France claim that these figures don’t comprise all expenditures – not unlike the lone British republican.

Everybody knows, that Sarkozy aims higher. His latest project is an aero plane of his own, nicknamed Air Sarko One. Estimated costs: 180 million € (= AUS $259 million). And this is the president's palace in the air:
It goes without saying that not a single cent for this plane will come from the presidential budget.

However, I am sure a British republican head of state would give Graham Smith a ride in his then to be bought presidential plane, just to thank him for his efforts of getting rid of an economical Monarch.

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The Queen of Canada:
"It’s very good to be home"

“As Queen of Canada for nearly six decades my pride in this country remains undimmed,” Queen Elizabeth said on her arrival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “It’s very good to be home.”

The Globe and Mail reported:

"In the pouring rain, the Queen walked steadily and deliberately down the stairs of the Canadian Air Force plane that brought her and Prince Philip from London.

"There was no sign of frailty as she held her own umbrella; later, she showed not a hint of discomfort as the cold wind whipped during the official welcome ceremony at the edge of Citadel Hill.

"It was the first time Queen Elizabeth has been in this province for 16 years, and hundreds of Nova Scotians lined up for hours to get a look.

"The Queen returned the crowd’s affection by hinting at the depth of her attachment to this country."

The nine-day visit will take the Queen of Canada and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, also to Manitoba and Ontario, where they will celebrate Canada Day on Parliament Hill Thursday.

It has to be noted, that the BBC - unlike its Australian counterpart - correctly referred to Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada as soon as she touched down in Halifax. In itself, this is no great achievement, but considering the persistant ignorance of constitutional facts by the ABC, The Age and countless other Australian media, the proper reporting has to be highlighted.

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RSL refuses to sing Royal Anthem

The Australian Returned Services League (RSL) has decided to remove Australia's Royal Anthem God Save the Queen from Melbourne's ANZAC Day dawn service.

The RSL claims the decision to drop God Save the Queen from the ANZAC Day dawn service was made "after widespread consultation". Whom did they ask? The editors of The Age?

The ABC quoted Major-General David McLachlan AO: "The question often comes up why do you have 'God Save the Queen'? It's not relevant and nobody knows it. So we've taken that into consideration." It seems, even Major-General McLachlan does not know that God save the Queen is Australia's Royal Anthem and therefore relevant.

Doesn't he realise that it is still the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)?
The Australian Monarchist League's National Chairman Philip Benwell sent the following letter to Major-General David McLachlan AO

COPY OF THE AML NATIONAL CHAIRMAN'S LETTER TO MAJOR-GENERAL MCLACHLAN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 April 2010

Major-General David McLachlan AO
State President
Victorian Branch of the RSL
ANZAC House
4 Collins Street
Melbourne, Victoria, 3000

Dear Major-General McLachlan,

The Australian Monarchist League wishes to register its formal protest at the removal of the singing of 'God Save The Queen', whether as the Royal Anthem or the Royal Hymn, from the Anzac Day Dawn Service in Melbourne.

You say that “the decision was made based on feedback from veterans and young people alike” (ABC News 13/4/10). The Australian Monarchist League has a membership representative of both young and older Australians many of whom are patriotic attendees at the Dawn Service and yet not one has advised that their comments were solicited. Surely when making a ruling of this magnitude, the wishes of servicemen and the families of those whose memories we commemorate should have precedence.

We presume that, if a survey was done, it was amongst the crowds that attend. I would point out to you in no uncertain terms that the Dawn Service is not some sort of sideshow to be 'tweaked' so as to provide a better entertainment. It is a solemn memorial to those who fought for their country. As one old digger said to me today, the Royal hymn is to him, a fitting conclusion to a sad but memorable occasion.

The singing of the Royal Hymn has nothing to do with the debate on a republic and it is totally wrong for anyone to be swayed by prejudices in this regard. The last occasion on which the opinion of the Australian people was sought was in 1999, at which time the people resoundingly rejected a republic.

The Queen is Queen of Australia by Act of the Australian Parliament and now confirmed by a vote of the Australian people. She is our head of state and the personification of the state. It is to the Queen that all servicemen swear allegiance and it is therefore highly appropriate that 'God Save The Queen' be sung on such a meaningful occasion.

We therefore request that you restore the singing of 'God Save The Queen' at Dawn Services now and in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Philip Benwell
National Chairman

International Protest
Protests arose in Canada and New Zealand as well. Robert Finch of The Monarchist League of Canada called the RSL's decision "a foolish example of creeping republicanism".

“I think it's disrespectful to the Queen, it's disrespectful to the war veterans and the general public,” said Noel Cox of The Monarchist League of New Zealand.

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Royalist Rolf Harris, CBE, AM turns 80

One of the best known Australians living in Europe can celebrate his 80th birthday today: Rolf Harris, CBE, AM. He is an outspoken admirer of the Queen of Australia, Queen Elizabeth II, and never wavered in his loyalty to the Monarchy.

Rolf Harris, artist, musician, singer, TV presenter and one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 30th March 1930. He has been awarded the CBE, is a member of the Order of Australia and has won many honours for his work in the entertainment industry.

He has been a champion swimmer, has had chart topping hits, written best selling books and has been voted the best entertainer ever, at Glastonbury. His paintings have been exhibited in London’s National Gallery and he is an honorary member of the Royal Society of British Artists. His Animal Hospital series was five times winner of the National Television Awards and he presented BBC TV shows Rolf Harris’s Star Portraits and Rolf on Art, which made TV history when it gained the highest ever ratings for an art programme.

Portraying The Queen
In 2005 Rolf Harris spent two months producing the official portrait of The Queen to mark her 80th birthday, which she celebrated on 26th April 2006. For the painting, The Queen wore a pearl necklace and brooch made for her to mark Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother's 100th birthday. The portrait took two months to complete and became an obsession, Harris waking up in the middle of the night to be drawn back to the canvas:

"I wanted to avoid that state portrait thing with the jewels and the pomp and splendour," he said. "I wanted to capture the lady as she is, with her humanity and reality." In this endeavour, he tried to make her smile.
In his painting of the portrait of The Queen, Rolf Harris was following a family tradition — Harris' grandfather painted a portrait of The Queen's grandfather, King George V (in which King George V was inspecting the troops). The portrait was exhibited in the Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra for six months, after Harris gave the prestigious annual lecture there in 2008.

His portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which was unveiled by Rolf Harris on 19 December 2005 at Buckingham Palace, was the subject of a programme The Queen, by Rolf, which was screened to a record breaking viewing audience on BBC One in 2006 in the UK. The ABC’s first transmission of the documentary The Queen, by Rolf on 23rd April 2006 attracted the high Australian wide TV audience of 1.28 million. This was the largest audience for this slot this year, and larger than any ABC audience for any programme in that week. But that programme was not broadcast as the same time as a major live football programme.

In June 2006 Rolf Harris figured on the Queen's Birthday Honours list and was made a Commander of the British Empire.

Rolf Harris is the first artist to be commissioned by the Royal Australian Mint to design the new commemorative one dollar silver kangaroo coin. When it was launched, special editions of the coin sold out immediately. In July 2008 he was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Awards (ARIA) Hall of Fame and in December 2008 he presented the Annual Lecture on Portraiture at the official opening of the new National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. In the same month, he starred in a sell-out season at the Sydney Opera House Playhouse Theatre.

At 80 he is still a very active, creative and lively artist. And on his birthday the RadicalRoyalist wishes the Royalist across the seas a happy birthday and many returns of this day. We need men like him.

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Does The Age follow this blog?

In today's edition of The Age I found this little news item.

Browned off
THEY are a vanishing breed, the Aussie knights of the realm, but the survivors still appear keen to have their royal gonghoods limelit. "Do you have any objection to using my title?" asked Sir David Smith of feisty Greens senator Bob Brown on ABC radio the other day. Brown had called him "Mr Smith" and the miffed 76-year-old knight, famed for reading the Whitlam dismissal proclamation on the parliamentary steps in 1975, called time-out. "A little courtesy wouldn't go too far," he told Brown, before apologising for interrupting a question. "You did, Mr Smith," said Brown. He's a tease, is Bob.

Isn't it a strange coincidence that this conversation was published one day after it had appeared on this blog?

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Politeness

Sir Gulam Noon was born in Bombay in 1936. Within 40 years of arriving in London he was producing a quarter of a million curries a day for British supermarkets.

In a newspaper interview he mentioned the Queen, whom he had met on several occasions. ”I told her to call me Noon, but she said, ‘No, you have a knighthood, you are Sir Gulam’.”

That’s the politeness of a Monarch.

The politeness of a politician can be seen in this episode, reported by the ABC:
Place: Canberra, the Public hearing of the Inquiry into the Plebiscite for an Australian Republic Bill 2008
Date: 29th April 2009

SIR DAVID SMITH: I'm not talking about legislation. I am talking about the constitution, Senator.

SENATOR BOB BROWN: We are talking about legislation here, Mr Smith. This is a bill before the Parliament.

SIR DAVID SMITH: Do you have an objection to using my title. Should I call you Bob or Mr Brown?

SENATOR BOB BROWN: You are welcome to.

SIR DAVID SMITH: Okay.

SENATOR BOB BROWN: Very much so.

SIR DAVID SMITH: A little courtesy wouldn't go too far.

SENATOR BOB BROWN: Well …

SIR DAVID SMITH: I'm sorry. I interrupted your question. I apologise.

SENATOR BOB BROWN: You did, Mr Smith.

No need to mention that in the ABC report, Sir David was not referred to with his title.

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