Latest news with #King'sGuards
Daily Mirror
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Moment King's Guard horse gives girl a 'kiss' after she makes sweet gesture
In the viral TikTok clip, the 'respectful' young girl is greeted with a sweet 'kiss' by a King's Guards horse outside St James' Palace in response to her kind gesture Sweet new footage shows the moment a horse from the King's Guard gives a girl a 'kiss' in reward for her kind gesture. In the viral clip, filmed outside St James' Palace, the youngster can be seen patiently approaching the King's Guard and his horse, with her mother close stood close behind her. Then, she leans over to the guard and places small amount of cash inside his boot, before returning to stand beside the post. A couple of seconds later, the horse moves turns towards the girl and gently presses its muzzle on top of her head - leaving her beaming with joy. After the video of the heartwarming interaction was posted on the TikTok fan channel royalguards_england21, many joked that the horse appeared to be 'thanking' the little girl for her small donation. One wrote: "The horse gave her a kiss!" Another commented: "And this is how you respectfully approach the guardsmen and horses." Someone else said "she's more respectful than most adults there", while a different user commented: "This is how it should be done - ask first then show complete respect. Well done young lady." Though the practice is not encouraged by Palace staff, with signs warning that it is dangerous to get too close to the horses, some tourists choose to leave pound notes inside the boots of mounted King's Guards as a thank-you gesture. Any cash left is collected for military charities. In March, charming footage showed the moment a King's Guard broke protocol to interact with a young blind boy. In a video, eight-year-old Amin is seen walking over to the foot guard while guided by a voice off-camera, and stamps his foot to salute the guard. In response the soldier - who is wearing his customary helmet - salutes the youngster back by stamping his foot. And in July 2023, a King's Guard was praised for posing with a man with Down's syndrome in another unusual breach of protocol. Mike van Erp, also known as YouTuber Cycling Mikey, said he had taken the youngster to get a photo at Buckingham Palace and had tried to stand close to the Guard - something which can sometimes see visitors given a stern telling-off Instead, the Guard moved nearer to the pair so they could get a better picture of the day at the Horse Guards Parade. As he walked away, Mike said: "What a nice man. What a cool thing to do."
Buzz Feed
01-04-2025
- Buzz Feed
Locals Are Sharing The Number One Tourist Mistake They See People Making In Their Home Cities
It's not hard to spot a tourist in your home city, especially when there are a handful of faux pas that visitors frequently fall prey to. Well, Redditor Shishkaboo asked, "Redditors of the world, What would you advise tourists NOT to do where you are from?" Here are some classic mistakes tourists make when visiting places around the world. 1. "In the Canadian Rockies and nearby areas, stay at least 40 feet away from bears, elk, bison, and moose. They are dangerous wild animals, and they aren't there for you. You are in their home. If they charge you, you won't be able to outrun them. If a bear seriously hurts a human, the bear will be killed. Stay in your car and watch respectfully." 2. "If you come to Nashville, wear cowboy hats and boots because you want to, not to 'fit in.' I've lived here five years and have yet to see a local wearing a cowboy hat or boots unless they were going to a bar with that vibe. That look is the industry, not necessarily the lifestyle." 3. "In London, don't mess with the King's Guards, especially the ones with horses. It's a myth that they're not allowed to move." 4. "In the Turks and Caicos, respect the coral reefs. There are sections of coral roped off with signs everywhere telling people not to snorkel there for conservation purposes. I cannot tell you how many times I see hotel employees having to get on a bullhorn to tell snorkelers to get away from the coral, they just kept moving the ropes out of the way to swim over it." — Katiekinssw 5. "Regarding the US Pacific Northwest, do not ignore the beach/surf warnings! Sneaker waves (one random wave with significantly more water volume and much higher up the beach) are common here. Every year people die by getting dragged out to sea or by a heavy floating log coming to lie on top of them once the wave recedes. Seriously, be careful around the ocean. And for the love of god, stay on the correct side of the safety fence at the cliffs!!" 6. "I'm from the Bahamas. To all the tourists coming on the cruises to Nassau, you may be tempted to go to the first beach you see that's right downtown. That's where most go, and it is hands down the worst beach on the island. The telltale sign is you won't see any locals going there. The others are all prettier, but they won't have things like a bar and lounge chairs. They're all pretty natural." 7. "I'm from Denver. If you're not used to high altitudes, let me tell you altitude sickness is no joke and sneaks up on you. Walk and climb more slowly than usual, take frequent breaks even if you're not tired, and sip water very frequently." — aditson 8. "Don't touch the Hawaiian sea turtles, please! They're endangered and protected by law in Hawaii. It's so sad seeing the turtles with crap growing on their shells. Our fingers carry bacteria, and the turtles can't reach back to clean off their shells, so please stop touching them." 9. "Floridian here. Key West doesn't have great beaches. It's a small island with several overcrowded beaches with imported sand. If you want a beach day, go to the Northern Keys. Watch the sunset in Key West, eat key lime pie, run with feral chickens, stand in line to take your pic at the southernmost point, but IMO, plan your beach day elsewhere." — Britt S 10. "I'm from Norway. Don't go trekking in the mountains without real clothes (jacket, layers, wool), a tour guide, and food. For example, going to the pulpit rock in sandals, heels, or something like that is a bad idea. Also, come visit the bigger cities off-season. In the summer, Bergen, Stavanger, and Oslo are cramped with tourists, and you basically stand in line during the sightseeing. And finally, visit the villages. There's not much northern lights on the west coast of Norway, but there's a lot of beautiful scenery, beaches, and nature." 11. "In San Francisco, we have fog in the summer (cold Arctic current + warm land mass = cold fog every morning and evening). Please bring a sweater, or you'll end up having to buy an overpriced tourist fleece!" 12. "I live in Maine and one big pet peeve among locals is when tourists drive under the speed limit so they can look at the scenery. People who live here still have to go to work and have appointments. We aren't all taking a leisurely drive on vacation." — Shelby Odegard-Richards 13. "Not recognizing that Italy is made up of many regional cuisines. Many tourists don't know the regional differences in cuisine, so they eat the same famous 'Italian' dishes everywhere, even where they are not typical. It's the easiest way to find tourist traps and miss the best food a place has to offer. For example, I once saw a German couple in an amazing winehouse in Tuscany asking for a spritz with the meat dinner." 14. "I live in Paris too and the whole placing locks on our bridges thing has to stop. The weight of all those locks is endangering our bridges, and they have to be removed regularly." — Sarah 15. "I am from San Diego, CA. For the love of all that is holy, stay away from any sea life on the beaches. The seals will attack if they feel threatened." — Sixthtryatadamnusername 16. "In Amsterdam, you can rent bikes, but many tourists ride side by side on their bikes and block the entire bike road for other cyclists. I wish tourists would ride more on the side behind each other because many of us use our bikes to go to work or do other importing things and often in a hurry." 17. "Atlantic Canadian here. Do not walk on the shiny black rocks near the water's edge. They're extremely slippery, and if it's a rocky section of the coast, you will get wrecked if you slip and fall in. This is particularly relevant at Peggy's Cove. Also if you are anywhere on the Bay of Fundy and the tour guide says to be back by a certain time or you will get trapped by the tide, don't take that casually. You will literally get trapped by the tide. The water level will rise by 30-45 feet depending on where you are on the bay." 18. "I'm from Colombia. Do not talk about Pablo Escobar, narcos, cocaine, etc... Believe it or not, cocaine is not a popular drug in Colombia, and we don't like being connected to narcotraffic at all. Colombians have a great sense of humor, but this is the one thing we don't joke about." — lux414 19. "In Dublin, don't go to Temple Bar and buy the most expensive pint in the city in the first bar you find. If you come to Ireland, don't drink in an 'Irish' pub; find a regular pub, and you'll have a real experience, not a touristy one." 20. "If visiting Scandinavia, please plan something in addition to just seeing the northern lights. Those things don't come every day, and a few cloudy days could ruin your whole trip. There are other things to do." 21. "In Italy, I see many tourists freaking out about the coperto (cover charge) in restaurants. No, it's not a scam. No, it's not a tip. Yes, everyone pays it. Yes, even you."
The Independent
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The Brit Awards are no longer a closed shop of unchallenging big-sellers
Sabrina Carpenter clearly knows which side of her geopolitical s***storm is buttered. Marching onto a Union Jack stage while flanked by a parade of King's Guards, she serves up a vivifying shot of 'Espresso' interspersed with snippets of 'Rule Britannia', and closes her ultra-raunchy 'Bed Chem' segment by disappearing groinward on one of her sentrymen (or was he a beefeater?). Throughout her Brits 2025 opening performance, the Pennsylvania pocket rocket celebrates British pop supremacy as if angling for citizenship, and who could blame her? With America making a monumental arse of itself on the world stage – did you see Teddy Swims dressed as a sentient duvet? – it's time once more for this land of hope and (morning) glory to step up and lead the free-music world. Signs have been promising. The 2024 Brits ceremony ushered Britain's long-stagnant pop culture into a new era of justice (after years of label suppression, Raye took home a record six awards), equality (the majority of prizes went to women) and punk-rock abandon (Kylie did a shot of tequila from her shoe). This year, Charli XCX is rightfully rewarded with five nominations and the Songwriter of the Year award to celebrate her instant club culture classic of a sixth album making Brat s of us all last summer. Last year's Rising Star winners The Last Dinner Party have graduated to numerous main categories, hoping to see off big dogs like Coldplay and Sam Fender with a whip of a pre-Raphaelite petticoat. Category lists brim with respectable names – Jamie xx, Michael Kiwanuka, Beabadoobee, Nia Archives, Central Cee, English Teacher, Fontaines DC – and the inclusion of a contemporary jazz record like Ezra Collective's Dance, No One's Watching alongside The Cure's Songs of a Lost World makes the Album of the Year category look more like a Mercury Prize shortlist than the usual stream-totting back-slap. In fact, in this company, tonight's Best Pop Act nod to Little Mix's now-solo JADE seems a tokenistic throwback to the glorified sales conference that was the Brits of five years ago, when profitability alone was kingmaker and cultural evolution could go hang. Her mind-blowingly bizarre performance too – a kind of Munster marriage on Mount Olympus between an ascending angel and an ogre groom, in four operatic acts – suggests a glittering future as a Eurovision novelty entry. To stretch the political metaphor further, after a chaotic array of random, short-lived presenters in recent years, Jack Whitehall returns offering posh if aimless stability. He starts strong, pulling in cameos from legendary Brits-fluffers Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood for a pre-recorded Squid Game skit, and hits the stage lobbing Golden Globes style roasts at the stars in the room like someone who knows he's never going to get Will Smithed in the face by Coldplay. Many of his jibes land like prize-fighter jabs: the Sugababes are 'the jury duty of pop', Teddy Swims has 'the voice of an angel and the face of a primary school desk', Eurovision hero Sam Ryder looks like 'someone brought their drug dealer'. But as he descends into that imploding black hole of comedy that is the tableside Brits interviews, he begins to lose it like all the others. Particularly when contractually forced to plug 5ive tours and Danny Dyer films, do misfiring bits with the Robbie Williams monkey or try to talk to a silent woman who's come wearing the face of a horse. Confident floundering, half zinger, half dud; Whitehall virtually embodies the state of British music as displayed throughout the evening. Charli XCX wins four of her five awards – 'It's the Brat Brits!' Whitehall exclaims – and uses her speeches to champion artistic integrity ('you don't need to compromise your vision') and award show wear from the Kanye's Wife range ('I thought this was the age of free the nipple?' she says after ITV objects to her sheer dress). Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Ezra Collective also do the nation proud. Their closing performance with Jorja Smith and a stage full of brass players is a celebratory bonanza of tropical party vibes full of exuberant hope for the future of British music. And that they win Best British Group above Coldplay and The Cure is a bold signal that the Brits are no longer a closed shop of unchallenging big-sellers. On the other hand, the evening feels somewhat outdated – Paloma Faith? Raye again? Stormzy rightly criticising the fan voting system for his Rap Act win over Central Cee? – and the fresher faces offer little new. Rising chart invader (and John Lewis ad singer) Lola Young might fling her dirty laundry into the crowd and tip washing powder across the stage, but her performance of 'Messy' is barely soiled soul pop. Sam Fender delivers an enjoyably spirited dash through the title track of his new album People Watching, but its close resemblance to Don Healy's 'The Boys of Summer' makes you wonder what the Best Rock/Alternative category (which he wins) is supposed to be offering an alternative to. And this year's Rising Star winner Myles Smith performs his Mumford-like 'Stargazing' on a fittingly beige set. Smith does, however, provide one of the most impassioned moments of the evening, during his acceptance speech. He attacks the government for treating music like 'an afterthought' by cutting support and services for artists, suggests that major arenas should help support the grassroots venues that are the industry's lifeblood and pleads with the industry bigwigs in the room to stick by artists after the first TikTok buzz has faded. Indeed, if any state-of-the-industry insight emerges tonight, it's one of struggle, of hollowing out, of ladders raised. Ezra Collective shout out the youth clubs and schools that gave them aspiration and purpose: 'So many of the problems that face greater society in the UK,' says drummer Femi Koleoso, 'the solution lies with giving a young person a trumpet.' Even Last Dinner Party bassist Georgia Davies, receiving the Best New Act award, highlights the plight of independent venues and that 'art is under threat'. Their performance may be the ultimate in cultured cult baroque – singer Abigail Morris tripping around a set based on the Twin Peaks red room, singing a swear-free 'Nothing Matters' while her band make like the Spiders from Middlemarch – but no strata of new music is immune from the rot. If Britain is ever to run music again, it needs security guarantees on its bedrock. And the Brits, at least, is where the row is breaking out for the world to see.
