Drum-roll, please. It was part of an £18 million contract and has been nearly two years in the making but, hallelujah, it is here at last.
Not the latest Crossrail stretch or new cancer wards for little kids, but rather the much-loved Spotify podcast by the Duchess.
The series is called Archetypes and will launch soon. Meghan promises to make use of the broadcasts in order to examine the portrayal of women in media and the ‘labels that hold them back’. Uh-oh.
It seems like I understand where it is heading. It seems that the ‘holding back” labels on max-control Spanx bodysuits aren’t going to apply.
Do you think it would be so wrong of me to imagine a series of earnest, grim chats in which the central theme is the Duchess, of Martyr, her terrible and terrible life since she joined the British Royal Family. She also stepped down from the British Royal Family as a worker member and tried to make a decent-to-good fortune with this association?
Do you think it would be so terrible to suggest that “The One where I get even with every bad bitch who ever bitched about me” is a more appropriate title for this podcast series?
Uncensored: Meghan Markle during a video released to launch 40×40, a global project encouraging people around the world to give 40 minutes of their time in support of women going back to work. (Pictured: Meghan Markle during a video released to launch 40×40, a global project to encourage people around the world to commit to giving 40 minutes of their time to support women going back to work)
The Sussexes are a classic example of a split personality. One can either applaud them for their amazing act of charity which will bring about a positive change in the world or wonder if they really do just want to be a part of myth-controlling, cold-eyed PR.
Meghan says Archetypes will have ‘uncensored conversation’ with experts, historians and women who ‘know all too well’ how being classified can impact and change narratives.
She doesn’t necessarily mean archetypes, but stereotypes. That would mean that she would need to refer to her son Stereo as Stereo. She probably did not think that of it in all the rush to trademark anything ‘Arch. I digress.
Spotify stated that Meghan will investigate the causes of these damaging stereotypes and tackle those that have historically portrayed women as ‘historically stereotypical’ through the lenses of media and popular culture.
But what does this actually mean? That we’re going to have to get furious all over again at the way Goldie Hawn was portrayed as a dizzy blonde in Private Benjamin, while agreeing that the 1990s tabloid fixation with Pamela Anderson’s breasts was, you know, a bit off?
Is it more precise? The smart money is on the latter — and on deep-dive Sussex specifics in particular.
Omid Scobie, a Sussex confidant, and biographer, has written about Meghan’s reputation as a “Duchess Difficult Character” and the dangers of such stereotypes, especially when it comes to successful women from color being called too hard, too demanding and too ambitious.
This is problematic ground. This is problematic ground.
The arrival of Prince Harry of Britain and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex to The Mountbatten Festival of Music in London in 2020 is pictured
The Split: Are You Being Seduced? You bet
The Split is back — but only for a third and final series.
Do not stop, I LOVE this show!
BBC calls it a “steamy drama in legal matters”; the show features the Defoes, a couple of women divorce layer who would have to keep the courts busy for several months due to their relationship issues.
It stars Nicola Walker as Hannah, a woman whose eyes fill up like paddling pools when she discovers husband Stephen Mangan’s latest betrayal, despite the odd Dutch-based dalliance of her own — and I’m not talking tulips.
Split is so skillfully written, performed and produced that every episode feels like an hour of absolute bliss.
Most importantly, I love the wardrobe of the show. I especially like the London-styled lady lawyers outfits.
‘You have to look reassuringly in control and reassuringly expensive,’ Walker said, in an interview, of Hannah’s clothes, which includes blazers from McQueen, bodycon dresses from Roland Mouret and this week, a perfect blue silk blouse from The Fold — very reassuringly priced at more than £300.
Hannah wears tailored jackets almost as armour.
She is miserable in many scenes but everyone she meets would love to have a night with her.
Is there a secret to her success? This secret is not just about her high-end briefs.
Suited by Stephen Mangan and Nicola Walker. Both are pictured on BBC’s The Split
You could find random guppies in the celebrity swamp.
They all are known for their difficult personalities and have little in common other than their temper tantrums.
Despite the Duchess of Sussex’s proposed focus on the media, female stereotypes — alongside equally pejorative male stereotypes — exist in films and television as well as in newspapers and magazines.
Indeed, Meghan could kick off her podcast by examining her own film career, in which she has played every female stereotype known to — forgive me — man.
One example is that of an airhead party girl, who obsesses over getting a job and wears tiny black dresses.
As evinced by a character called Dana, played, in a 2006 film called The Boys & Girls Guide To Getting Down, by a young actress called Meghan Markle.
Russell Brand is also a party girl, who constantly lingers in her gold gown waiting to be snogged. Meghan is back in Get Him To The Greek (2010).
Kelly is a stripper who has a heart of gold. In The Apostles, Meghan plays this role.
What about a small-town girl with ambition who gives up everything to get a job in the big city, but then realizes she would have been better off staying home and marrying the guy next door. We can’t wait to see Meghan playing Amy in When Sparks Fly 2014.
In the end, she mumbles: “I pursued the wrong dreams and lost the person that I loved the most.”
Yes, sisters! You crazy girl, stay at home and fix the glass ceiling.
Look. Look.
Why? Because it would be preposterous, unwarranted and unfair — but the rules for real life seem to be different.
Anyway, archetypes, stereotypes, media types — call them what you will, it’s all going to be great.
It will be interesting to see which types of females Duchess will choose to examine, and I’m curious if Evil Half Sister, Grandma Moneypot, or Jealous Sibling-In-Law are included.
First and foremost, I look forward to Meghan having an open conversation about stereotypical females as well as her role in perpetuating them.
No shame is allowed in public life.
Imagine Prince Andrew, trying to push himself into the forefront of royal duties rather than retreating to the Windsor estate’s potting shed.
After leading the Queen to the Service of Thanksgiving, Prince Andrew is right.
Will Smith seems to continue acting as though nothing has happened at the Oscars. He should have been hiding under the rock disgrace.
And at the Grammy Awards this week, the six nominees in the best comedy album category included Chelsea Handler and Lewis Black — but somehow the judges voted for Louis C.K. To win, even though he admitted to multiple accusations of sexual misconduct in 2017, This is probably the most absurd joke, and no one is laughing.
After the St Blaise council warned that children could eat the daffodils and become ill, there will be no more Cornwall daffodils.
Why? The bulbs can be toxic. It’s a terrible thing, but I did not know that daffodil death was possible.
Children will not stop digging up the bulbs for daffodils and eating them.
Pictured: Old Roselyon Play Area in St Blaise and daffodils
They will ignore their parents. Instead of eating yukky sweets or chocolate, they will race to the nearest daffodil plant and dig up bulbs with all their hands.
They will eat like squirrels once they find the treasure and sing “I found my thrill on Daffodil Hill” at the top of their voices.
Maybe they won’t. It’s not the first week that I have wondered, “Where is common sense?”
For Jimmy Savile, let’s not blame Prince Charles. HRH was not oblivious to alarm bells.
He was just like the rest of us and fooled every bit by a master manipulator, who continued his horrible act for many years.
You meanies, let’s eat cake!
Let me comment on “cakeage”, the charge that restaurants make for customers to bring along cakes and other celebration foods for parties.
London-based TV writer Ivor Baddiel reported that one restaurant wanted to change him £10 per head for his cake, which not only seems extortionate, it also makes it clear to the customer that they are not a valued guest in the restaurant, but merely a transaction.
Fair enough that restaurants want to charge something — they are a business and they are losing the sale from the dessert menu.
But a one-off charge similar to corkage, perhaps of around £20, seems about right to me.
The restaurant doesn’t have the financial resources to pay for labor or produce, so any demand that is not met will be a disappointment.
Restaurants don’t have to charge any fees, which I think is a sign of good business.
The sad reality is, however, that hospitality can be very unhospitable and more focused on profit margins than customers satisfaction.
The restaurant industry will have to work harder and take more care to attract people after the pandemic.
In Glasgow Sheriff Court, William Weir walked away with just paying £1,000 compensation for beating his girlfriend’s face to a pulp and leaving her with lifetime scars.
Now 20, Jordana Rutherford says his punishment is a joke — and she is right. At Westminster Magistrates Nathan Blagg was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment for making racist remarks on Twitter.
While there is no excuse for either man’s behavior, don’t we get the sense that something is seriously wrong with the administration of justice?