Royal soap opera

The Queen must be turning in her grave, poor thing.

Sordid tales of racism, resentment and angry words between brothers have drowned out everything else in the royal soap opera. With the best Will in the world nudging Harry out of the picture – apparently all he wanted anyway– everything should have been hunky dory. At least that’s what we lesser mortals were led to believe. But what a carry-on now. All the King’s sources and all the King’s men will have their work cut out for a while, what with keeping up appearances and all that. Poor old Charles probably never imagined a fiasco like this.

However, it’s a bonanza for what was once called Fleet Street.

Foaming at the mouth, the tabloids and celebrity mags will surely trumpet ‘They’re Changing the Guard at Buckingham Malice’, the presses will roll, Netflix will gird its corporate loins again and the rest of us will put the kettle on and await the next chapter. Dean Donoghue, Papamoa Beach

Garage gatherings

When National leader Christopher Luxon refers to some bad ideas concocted in a garage, it is interesting that in American mythology, garage gatherings are synonymous to start-ups.

There is a Hewlett-Packard advertisement from 22 years ago, suggesting the possibilities of garages.

The rules: Believe you can change the world; work quickly, keep the tools unlocked, work whenever; share (tools, ideas and trust your colleagues); no politics, no bureaucracy – these are ridiculous in a garage; the customer defines a job well done; radical ideas are not bad ideas; invent different ways of working; make a contribution every day; if it doesn’t contribute, it doesn’t leave the garage; believe that together we can do anything; invent!

Frank Olsson, Auckland