That disconcerting question emerged from front page headlines in most British quality papers, on October the 29th. Viewed from this side of the Channel, the wrong side then, it seemed and sounded odd. What the hell were they talking about? Was there anybody else above the Queen, somebody hidden in one of those huge palaces and castles? A cover-up in the history of the United Kingdom? Was there any concern about the Japanese sovereign’s health? Might it be some sort of weird and cranky revelation about Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson being still around?
Not in the least! Not at all! Amazing Brits! At a time when a vast majority of British students are wondering where they will find the disgusting heaps of money that are now needed to pay for university registration, at a time when most workers have got the feeling that Dickens’s horrendous nineteenth century is back, at a time when Disraeli’s Tale of Two Nations is definitely being implemented by the dreadful Cameron and Clegg, who prove to be worse than the unbearable Margaret Thatcher – which seemed totally impossible at the time – what was the main concern of The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent and The Guardian on that sunny Friday October the 29th? The whereabouts of the celebrated red stag, hailed the Emperor of Exmoor!
For those who presumably do not know much more than I did before about the Emperor of Exmoor, I just advise them to have a look at the following link of The Guardian. The so-called emperor is, quote Britain’s largest wild land animal, and the caption of the photo is absolutely devastating: The Emperor of Exmoor guards a pair of female deer at the start of this autumn’s mating season. Lovely, isn’t it? Merely emotional! That red stag of theirs has not been seen around for a while, particularly through the Devon countryside. Terrible news indeed! Televison crews and reporters rushed down to beautiful Devon to check whether the Emperor had passed away or not. An impressive guy that emperor! A 2.75 metre and 135kg beast. Experts disagree, some claim the red stag might still be alive but further north.
Thrilling, won’t you say? There is a common saying in the UK, according to which one should be kind to animals. Fair enough! And what about students and workers?