Holla, it’s high time I get to this week’s round-up. I nearly forgot, with the big news still on my mind. It’s quite extraordinary how the death of another country’s monarch has also occupied *my* thoughts. Queen Elizabeth II was not *my* sovereign, but somehow she left a lasting impression on many people all over the world – if anything due to her enduring reign and the sense of duty and service she conducted herself with. I was quite heartened by the words of our Irish President, Michael D. Higgins, acknowledging Queen Elizabeth’s passing. The history of Ireland is closely interwoven with that of its larger neighbour. It hasn’t been an easy relationship – with Ireland suffering centuries of “occupation” and exploitation. But QE really made history when she finally visited the Republic of Ireland in 2011, laid a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance and even spoke a few words of Irish at the state dinner.
It’s just *one* little example of how she operated as head of state. Apparently the gesture to speak Irish was unwanted by the protocol officials on either side – too risky, in case she mangled the (difficult) language. However, she made the executive decision to give it her best shot. To the delight of the Irish dignitaries present. (In the clip you can also see poet Seamus Heaney on her table.) Whatever you or I or anyone might think about the institution of the monarchy (very little in my case 😉), but I think we can agree that she filled her role with dignity and unwavering duty. For that, she has my respect.
And now finally…
- Richardarmitagefanpage has taken some screenshots off the new Man from Rome trailer
- Guy knows about fire… gif set by riepu10
- Middleearthpixie’s After the Fire is at chapter 6
- Old stuff, but hey, we really need a bit of Harry love right now, right? With tongues! Posted by enigmaticlook
- New picture of Father Quart, cropped and enlarged by astrovian
- Good news for all Jackman & Evans fans: Richard performs the latest Joy Ellis book entitled Solace House. To be released 13 October. News via richardarmitagefanpage
- Check out the “Dr of Lettuce”, aninomori-version!!!
- In case you hadn’t seen it yet on other blogs, here are the pictures of RA attending a ballet opening night.
Where’s Crockett? 😂Posted by riepu10 - Close-up twin lens reflex camera porn. Ok, alright, maybe not camera porn but Ray porn 😉. Gifs by qveenbervthiel
- Oh-my-goodness. This is almost too much of a good thing. I mean, even for #teamlawn!!! Beard love courtesy of riepu10
- If this isn’t the gif for the ultimate of all reader-insert Thorin AU fan fics 😉. BTS TH – and whoa, that hits. Posted by ithrilyann
- Purely posting this here for the edit. I love the crop and the selective colouring of this Thorin picture. Posted by orcristwielder
There we are.
ICYMI, over on Insta, Richard acknowledged the Queen’s passing with a post of his own.
Picture 3 in his set is a “selfie” of sorts, but in any case, his post let us know that he is currently in the UK. (Well, so did the above mentioned images from the ballet premiere…) Coupled with further news that a new cast member has been added to Damage, it looks as if there may have been reshoots for the Netflix drama. I hope that doesn’t mean the production is getting completely overhauled… seems like a very late change.
Anyhow, that’s the round-up for this week. Before I go, just a quick note. Armidreamer just pointed out to me that there have been weird replies to some comments on the blog. Looks like spam to me – which usually gets filtered out by the system automatically. But some stuff has made it through. I have manually deleted what I could, but in case you get a reply notification to one of your comments, just ignore if it is from a poster unknown to you, and reminder not to click any links included in such replies. You never know whether they link to some scam…
Have a nice weekend, all!
Sonja ❤️
Guylty Pleasure 
Re No 8 – now then, you got me all overexcited there for about five seconds – I thought you had an update on the date, but no – the Jackman and Ellis still isn’t due out until 13th December, sadly (not October). (Oh well, I expect I’ll live!) I’ve been saving up credits for that and his other two new audiobooks (due rather sooner), but we now know we can listen to that last one for free with an Audible subscription, with is really useful.
I was really touched by that “selfie” he took at Buckingham Palace – a beautiful image. I am getting quite emotional every time I hear someone singing “God Save the King” – it’s strangely disturbing after hearing “the Queen” for my whole life (of 65 years).
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#4 Yes, we all really need a bit of Harry love right now, whatever the reasons. #2 Guy’s pretty good at cheering up, too, even though he’s a bit annoyed there himself (for the benefit of us, because he looks even better when he is annoyed). Hope they made you feel better too. Hugs and thanks for the round-up.
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Even a sneery, grumpy Guy lifts our spirits, right? He definitely always is a joy to look at, so yes, he cheered me up 🙂
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Excellent 😊.
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7. I love that drawing! Ani is the besssssst.
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Ani’s interpretations are always fun – and super cute. I love her artworks.
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#4 I’ve often wondered how many doorways he hit his head on making VoD 🤣
#7 Agree with another who suggested sending this very clever and adorable artwork to Mr A.
I respect the manner in which Richard chose to share his thoughts and feelings surrounding the Queen’s passing, especially the dark and brooding “selfie” and the mention of his Mum. Perhaps mourning one woman evokes fresh memories of the other.
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LOL oh yes, gosh, he looks extra tall in VoD, doesn’t he?
Yep, I wish RA was a little more lighthearted so that fans felt more comfortable about sharing their artwork with him. Ani’s work definitely is always worth a cheer.
I agree re. RA and his response to the Queen’s death. It kind of fits my impression of him. He seems to be quite traditional in many ways… His shared memories of Christmas Day and having to listen to the Queen’s speech was precious.
Oh, and btw, Lou – success, your package has arrived. Thank you 😘
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Thx for letting me know. Can’t wait to see how the Portah pairing pans out.
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I think something is on its way already 😉
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😂 😉 *You’re good, you’re really good* – it just crossed the Irish Sea and arrived in Dublin 😊. Apologies for my amusement, but it’s so funny that it had just crossed the sea, where everything is always stuck for a few days (😂 not good, apparently not enough reasons to laugh in recent weeks). But there are probably many more things on the way to you now 😊.
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thanks for the round up!
#5: I still cannot get over the dog collar, whenever I see a picture 😬 but I want to see the movie already! – I am sooo curious how he pulls it off (🙈 oh no… this double entendre was unplanned – ein Freud’scher Verschreiber wahrscheinlich 😉😅 we’ll see *who* pulls off the dog collar… cough… 😇🤔🤭)
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Some corkers in this round-up Guylty, thank you. I can’t wait to see the kick-assing Father Quart in his entirety. Thanks to for mentioning the spam.
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Some corkers in this round-up, thank you Guylty. I can’t wait to see the kick-assing Father Quart in his entirety. Thanks too for mentioning the spam.
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