The Duke of Wellington Gets No Respect

T

tay

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The city of Glasgow spends an estimated £10,000 each year removing traffic cones from the head of the statue of the Duke of Wellington.





















Equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, Glasgow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Colpy

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The good Duke was quite the dude. He was basically useless, an aide that was known as a partier and a competent violinist in Ireland......until King Louis XVI was beheaded. On the day he learned the news, Lord Wellesley burned his violin, and swore vengence.

Subsequently, he had a better military record than that "military genius" Napolean. In Spain, he tied down pro French forces badly needed elsewhere, and made fools out of some of Napolean's best generals. He minimized casualties by his strategic principle of always having a prepared position to retreat towards if necessary. He also minimized casualties by allowing troops not yet engaged to lie down behind high groud, keeping them out of the path of enemy cannon fire.

And.....Waterloo.

A great man.
 
Corduroy

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Colpy said:
The good Duke was quite the dude. He was basically useless, an aide that was known as a partier and a competent violinist in Ireland......until King Louis XVI was beheaded. On the day he learned the news, Lord Wellesley burned his violin, and swore vengence.

Subsequently, he had a better military record than that "military genius" Napolean. In Spain, he tied down pro French forces badly needed elsewhere, and made fools out of some of Napolean's best generals. He minimized casualties by his strategic principle of always having a prepared position to retreat towards if necessary. He also minimized casualties by allowing troops not yet engaged to lie down behind high groud, keeping them out of the path of enemy cannon fire.

And.....Waterloo.

A great man.
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A staunch monarchist, we wore a cone on his head during every battle as an act of solidarity.
 
taxslave

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So how much of that 10000 is for the guy with the ladder to remove the cone and how much for the legions of bureaucraps to study the matte, come up with an action plan, have community meeting and write the work order?
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Colpy said:
"Being born in Ireland no more makes one Irish than being born in a stable makes one a horse" Lord Wellesley.

I'd say he was English by inclination

:)
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He was Anglo-Irish. He was a native of Ireland from the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy.

taxslave said:
So how much of that 10000 is for the guy with the ladder to remove the cone and how much for the legions of bureaucraps to study the matte, come up with an action plan, have community meeting and write the work order?
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Don't forget the six months of intensive training they'll have to be put through to be taught how to use a ladder safely.

The Wellington statue with the traffic cone on Wellington's head is famous throughout Britain. It's almost like a national icon, and was shown several time on TV during coverage of this year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games. It'll never be removed permanently.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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captain morgan said:
In Canada... The name Wellington is synonymous with gonorrhea.

Used in a sentence... "Man, I can't believe that I got a dose of the Wellington"
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Wellington is the man who saved Europe from Old Boney and the bloody Frenchies. Show some respect.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Tecumsehsbones said:
Yep, Ireland proves to be the salvation of Europe on a regular basis.
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The whole of Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom at the time.

But more recently, such as in WWII, what is now the Republic of Ireland had a much more shameful part to play in European affairs.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Tecumsehsbones said:
It ain't anymore.
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I know. It's one of the tragedies of modern history.

But there are a good few Paddies who wish their country rejoined the UK, especially in light of their crippling economic crash. The British government should hold talks with the Irish government about a possible reunification.
 
Tecumsehsbones

Tecumsehsbones

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Blackleaf said:
I know. It's one of the tragedies of modern history.
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Yeah, along with the tragedy of the U.S., the tragedy of Canada, the tragedy of South Africa, the tragedy of the Middle East, the tragedy of Australia, the tragedy of New Zealand, the tragedy of India, and the hits just keep on coming!
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Tecumsehsbones said:
Yeah, along with the tragedy of the U.S., the tragedy of Canada, the tragedy of South Africa, the tragedy of the Middle East, the tragedy of Australia, the tragedy of New Zealand, the tragedy of India, and the hits just keep on coming!
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Ireland was different. It was an actual part of the United Kingdom itself up until most of it, except the northern bit, seceded from the Union in 1922 and was a big player in running the British Empire.
 
Tecumsehsbones

Tecumsehsbones

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Blackleaf said:
Ireland was different. It was an actual part of the United Kingdom itself up until most of it, except the northern bit, seceded from the Union in 1922 and was a big player in running the British Empire.
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No it wasn't. It was just another case of the inferior offspring of great men losing all their forefathers had won. A trend that has continued to this day.
 
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