Once again the Duke of Edinburgh shows himself to be a master of the one-liner. that he extemporized one of his famous quips as the Obamas disembarked from their eight-ton, bomb-proof Cadillac limousine. This is : it has eight-inch-thick doors, oxygen tanks,Belstaff Hero jackethttp://www.belstaffsale.us/Belstaff-Hero-Lady-Jacket, hidden submachine guns, tear-gas cannons, Kevlar-reinforced run-flat tyres and glass that can withstand armour-piercing bullets. It must seem like something out of Star Trek to Prince Philip, so no wonder (it's said) he waved in the direction of the car and said: "You survived." Mrs Obama seems to have got the joke; apparently she was tittering.
Whether intentionally or not, the Duke's joke points up the American obsession with personal safety and protection, as exhibited on this presidential trip. Wouldn't all this health and safety stuff appear odd to Prince Philip – a bit over the top, and irksome too? The American President is reported to have insisted on bomb-proof glass being fitted to the windows of his Buckingham Palace quarters. He has 500 aides (including 200 secret service agents), a six-man medical team and his own brigade of chefs.
Prince Philip comes from a different tradition, though, the tradition you could say of English insouciance, of not making a fuss, of joking about serious things and of sniggering in the face of personal risk. Don't forget he only gave up the dangerous sport of competitive carriage-driving at the age of 85.
The joking serves to defuse tension and put people at their ease. Laughter lowers inhibitions and relaxes. So,Belstaff Gangster Blouson black/brown, on the recent trip to Ireland, it is said that the Duke of Edinburgh was overheard saying to a particularly well-spoken student, "You don't sound like a native." "Natives" is a word he seems to like using on his visits; I'm sure he knows it's a bit un-PC. It was in Scotland – the Hebrides, possibly – that he said to a driving instructor: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?"
These extemporised witticisms are too readily labelled gaffes. More often, I suspect,Belstaff Maple jacket brown, they amuse rather than cause offence. Making a joke relieves the anxiety that a formal meeting with a senior member of the Royal family is liable to cause. It's a considerate thing to do. After all,Belstaff Blouson leather jacket, the person Prince Philip's talking to at these events is very often just a regular civilian, someone like you or me I mean, and not some dignitary who's always shaking hands with royalty. So they're probably glad to be put at their ease.
James Bond is often taken to represent the mid-20th century ideal of the English hero. And, in the films especially, 007 exemplifies both the Duke of Edinburgh's waggishness and his laughing at danger. As it happens,Belstaff liss Blaze, Prince Philip belongs to the James Bond generation and, like Bond, was a naval officer. There's a scene in Thunderball, for instance, when Sean Connery's dance partner is shot in the back, at the Kiss Kiss club in the Bahamas. Connery/Bond gently drops her corpse into a chair and, as he makes a hasty getaway,Belstaff Classic Tourist Trophy jacket, tells the baffled customers: ��Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She��s just dead." That's the attitude. Prince Philip would probably approve.
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