I was going through some old papers the other day (How old? Let's just say that the package in question predates my departure from a management position at CBC, back in the late Triassic) when I came across something I had clearly meant to be used somewhere. At any rate, I did a quick search and what follows does not exist anywhere on the internet save for a Google Books scan of a biography of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. And it's just too good to let disappear.
The great moment in question happened during the 1939 royal tour in which George VI and Elizabeth visited Canada. One of their stops was Winnipeg.
The mayor of Winnipeg in 1939 was John Queen, who had earlier been imprisoned for his role in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. He was on hand to greet the royal couple when they arrived in his city, accompanied by the Canadian prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. The following verbal meltdown, courtesy of a Winnipeg radio reporter, was thankfully transcribed by a reporter for the Globe and Mail:
The King, the Queen and Mr. King have arrived at the city hall, and Mr. Queen is on the steps to meet them. ... The King is now shaking hands with Mr. Queen and now the Queen is shaking hands with Mr. Queen, and now Mr. King is shaking hands with Mr. Queen. ... And now the King and Mr. Queen and the Queen and Mr. King are moving and into the reception hall. ... And now the King and Mr. Quing, I mean Mr. Keen and Quing, I'm sorry, I mean -- oh, shit.
(Interestingly enough, the version of this story in the biography scanned by Google Books does not include the final two words.)
No comments:
Post a Comment