Harry & Meghan 18: Faux Royals

[AmazonGrace]

1 hour ago, VGL said:

There is a fundraising polo tournament in Niagara on the Lake today.  Tickets are $25

https://www.niagarapolo.com/

Membership to the Toronto Polo Club is $4,200.00 for adults 30 and up with a one time initiation fee of $3,500.00

 

I wonder how many tickets they have to sell in order to even  cover the costs of the polo game... ? i read that one player may need up to four horses during one game, and the horses must be transported, stabled, need grooming and veterinary care, the field would need maintenance and so on.

If the players cover all that out of their own pockets they  might fundraise more if they didn't play the tournament and just donated the costs to begin with.

[VGL]

4 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

I wonder how many tickets they have to sell in order to even  cover the costs of the polo game... ? i read that one player may need up to four horses during one game, and the horses must be transported, stabled, need grooming and veterinary care, the field would need maintenance and so on.

If the players cover all that out of their own pockets they  might fundraise more if they didn't play the tournament and just donated the costs to begin with.

The players are from the Toronto Polo club so they would have about a 2-2-1/2 hour drive to Niagara on the Lake with their horse trailers.  They probably have some sort of enclosure they set up to house the horses for the day.   Sponsorships likely cover the expenses.

Attendees can bring their own food, purchase from food vendors on site or pay $175 for a gourmet lunch.   You bring your own chairs and there are porta potties.

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

This has triggered some vague memory from having read a book, probably a memoir, where the person had a lengthy side story/adventure? something about polo and how polo is sort of under the radar in the US but there are in fact many places people play, especially FL.  I can't remember what book this was but  I remember being sorta awestruck about the whole polo world they were talking about that I'd never heard of in the US. 

Polo is that level of old school rich where you don't look flashy or anything but have insane amounts of generational wealth and generational rich people connections. 

edit to add....

even so - who is going to watch a polo documentary?? I don't think Americans are all that pro animal welfare but I think most americans would say that sounds like a boring topic.

Other Americans I think would be thinking "geez this guy is out of touch"

It kinda reads like "hey I'm making a documentary about redecorating my summer house on the island. There will be stuff like which gold plated toilet I choose and what to do when the hand painted backsplash tile I want isn't available because that artisan died in XYZ military conflict. Poor me, I had to pick another tile!"

[just_ordinary]

Oh dear, it seems H&M are starting to find out that not only the British press/tabloids can be brutal.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-keeps-quitting-prince-harry-meghan-markle-1235996963/
 

I don’t think there’s a connection to their enemy MGN (am I remembering the name correctly)? So it seems we are watching something unfold that cannot longer be seen as the personal vendetta by one corporation. I am careful when we talk about outlets that belong to MGN because they were sued by them.

[Ozlsn]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:22 PM, SoSoNosy said:

Is there enough general interest in polo to support an ongoing Netflix series?  

There could be if it was done well I think. The issues could be that the gawk factor and risks would turn a lot of the very wealthy off participating, which leaves the staff. If they did it in a Below Decks style that could work.

14 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

All I know about polo I learned from Jilly Cooper...  :=)

And if they did it in Jilly Cooper style... it would probably rate quite well. Heh.

[Loveday]

Welp. Color (or colour, if I'm going with a British theme!) me a little surprised! Britain's royal family has issued a happy birthday message to Harry, who turns 40 today.

'A post was shared on X and Instagram with the message: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!”

It was accompanied by an image of Harry smiling, and a birthday cake emoji.'

The Prince and Princess of Wales also wished Harry a happy birthday. It's the first time since 2021 that such messages have been publicly posted. 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/uk/harry-royals-birthday-message-intl/index.html?Date=20240915&Profile=CNN&utm_content=1726410604&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawFT3EpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVOADh8AgGV0Hoy3qvVaWZ9KU-KPIncDUPNyChamRPh0uZIC3OwF3_SWRw_aem_tIXvzQKBIgoBYUj9VW2tPA

 

[viii]

I’m not surprised. The royal family said they would still acknowledge milestone birthdays on non-working royals. Plus, this means Harry can’t whine to People Magazine about being ignored by his family for his birthday. However, I don’t think this necessarily changes anything. I don’t think it’s an olive branch or anything. 

[VGL]

The birthday message is sort of a bare minimum.   The picture is from 2018.

[TN-peach]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:58 PM, SoSoNosy said:

Well, Holy. Crap.  Color me minus a few brain cells.  I live in the Memphis area and there is in fact an active Hunt and Polo Club; I knew there used to be but thought it was defunct.  Initiation Fee is $25,000; yearly fees upwards of $5k plus some more various fees and membership rules.  I think there are houses where the Polo Grounds used to be, so I don't know where they were moved to, and I don't know what they hunt.  

Humph!

 

 

On 9/14/2024 at 2:44 PM, SoSoNosy said:

William and Harry were in town 10 years ago for their buddy Guy Pelly's wedding.  Reception at Memphis Hunt and Polo Club.  I retained a brain cell that was wandering in space and finally remembered that.

 

Me too and I remember that visit.  They went to Rendezvous and Graceland.  All I kept thinking is how strange it must be for them to be eating ribs in a basement in an alley.  And then years later Harry in his book wrote disparagingly of Graceland.  (Of course, as true Memphian I have never actually been inside Graceland just driven by it). 

 

[Mrs. Kravitz]

On 9/14/2024 at 11:08 PM, WatchingTheTireFireBurn said:

It kinda reads like "hey I'm making a documentary about redecorating my summer house on the island. There will be stuff like which gold plated toilet I choose and what to do when the hand painted backsplash tile I want isn't available because that artisan died in XYZ military conflict. Poor me, I had to pick another tile!"

I don't like admitting this, but I'd hate-watch that so hard... Polo documentary? Not so much, unless I was having trouble sleeping. I imagine it'd put me right out. 

[klein_roeschen]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Kravitz said:

I don't like admitting this, but I'd hate-watch that so hard... Polo documentary? Not so much, unless I was having trouble sleeping. I imagine it'd put me right out. 

Well you are not alone. Thank Rufus that I only watch that with my doggie for company, because I snark constantly while watching

[SoSoNosy]

On 9/16/2024 at 8:42 AM, TN-peach said:

 

Me too and I remember that visit.  They went to Rendezvous and Graceland.  All I kept thinking is how strange it must be for them to be eating ribs in a basement in an alley.  And then years later Harry in his book wrote disparagingly of Graceland.  (Of course, as true Memphian I have never actually been inside Graceland just driven by it). 

 

Ditto on just driving by Graceland.  I did walk up the driveway and take a picture because a dear friend from out of town requested it (but I was well disguised). I can honestly understand why a British person would write disparagingly about the house; Elvis' taste wouldn't appeal to British nobility.  It really doesn't fit in with my tastes either.

 

[noseybutt]

12 hours ago, Mrs. Kravitz said:

I don't like admitting this, but I'd hate-watch that so hard... Polo documentary? Not so much, unless I was having trouble sleeping. I imagine it'd put me right out. 

I have gotten sucked into The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives so who am I to judge. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Did Chelsey Davy finally broke up with Harry after that trip to Memphis, because he expected her to go but didn’t pay her expenses or spend time with her? Or was that an earlier trip, and Harry very obviously hooked up with someone in Memphis? I remember there was drama.

[hoipolloi]

Re: Graceland. OMG, you people. Graceland is the EPICENTER of mid-century kitsch. How can you NOT enjoy it?

The stained-glass fittings in the living room, the shag furniture-on-shag carpeting, the Jungle Room - it is all so stupendously bad and so much fun.

[louisa05]

I feel like the worst thing that could happen to someone that famous is to die in a period of tacky decor and have their home preserved that way. I'm sure it would have changed. 

Of course, the 80s wouldn't have been much better. 

 

[TN-peach]

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

Re: Graceland. OMG, you people. Graceland is the EPICENTER of mid-century kitsch. How can you NOT enjoy it?

The stained-glass fittings in the living room, the shag furniture-on-shag carpeting, the Jungle Room - it is all so stupendously bad and so much fun.

Not only is it very dated 1960s.1970s kitsch, but also one Harry's complaints was that the house was "small" for a so called King.  I mean it is only the most visited house in the US other than the White House.  And then after Lisa Marie died there was some whack a doodle that tried to say that she out a lien or mortgage on it. 

[hoipolloi]

24 minutes ago, TN-peach said:

after Lisa Marie died there was some whack a doodle that tried to say that she out a lien or mortgage on it. 

That was the strangest thing & the scammer got astoundingly close to ripping off the Presley estate.

24 minutes ago, TN-peach said:

Not only is it very dated 1960s.1970s kitsch, but also one Harry's complaints was that the house was "small" for a so called King.

Of course it's "dated" - IMO, that's part of the charm. The main house is a period piece with so many elements of its decor & furnishings forming parts of the whole, as nutty & garish as it may seem to many of us.

Re: the "small" house. Elvis came from an extremely poor family so when he had the money, he acquired what had previously been the home of a local doctor. Perhaps it seemed like a spacious mansion to him & his family after the houses they had lived in. Eventually, as youʻll see in that linked National Register nomination, he did remodel the house somewhat & added the Jungle Room. 

Re: Visiting Memphis. I always tell people that there are two places in Memphis that they need to see: Graceland & the National Civil Rights Museum. Donʻt think know if it was open when Harry & Chelsy came to town but itʻs definitely worth the time. 

Edited 6 hours ago by hoipolloi
Correction

[TN-peach]

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

That was the strangest thing & the scammer got astoundingly close to ripping off the Presley estate.

Of course it's "dated" - IMO, that's part of the charm. The main house is a period piece with so many elements of its decor & furnishings forming parts of the whole, as nutty & garish as it may seem to many of us.

Re: the "small" house. Elvis came from an extremely poor family so when he had the money, he acquired what had previously been the home of a local doctor. Perhaps it seemed like a spacious mansion to him & his family after the houses they had lived in. Eventually, as youʻll see in that linked National Register nomination, he did remodel the house somewhat & added the Jungle Room. 

Re: Visiting Memphis. I always tell people that there are two places in Memphis that they need to see: Graceland & the National Civil Rights Museum. Donʻt think know if it was open when Harry & Chelsy came to town but itʻs definitely worth the time. 

His house is a time capsule and it definitely captures that era.  There are so many Elvis stories in Memphis about how he bought people cars, how he treated people.  I loved the interviews Baz Luzhrmann found and did of the people that grew up with Elvis in Tupelo when Elvis was so extremely poor.  Elvis wasn't perfect but he loved his momma, he loved people, he took care of everyone in his band, background singers, etc. It made me mad when Harry made disparaging remarks about the size of Graceland in his book. 

[VGL]

I think Harry was dating Cressida Bonas when he went to Memphis and refused to pay for her airfare.