Royal SERVICE £50 TIPS & The Royal Train…Stephen Barry’s Book REVIEW!

Its been a long time since I've ordered hardback books, but since Stephen Barry's books are only available that way, that is how I will read them :) It may be a week or two until they arrive, but I think the wait will be worth it. I also found a copy of "Life with Daktari" which I see on the shelf behind you, I will soon be reading that one also. All perfect for mid- to late-summer reading

You have lovely blouses!

Go with the French as with restaurant, hospital or piano.

Well I would go with Downton Abbey's pronunciation, thinking Julian Fellowes will be right lol, not valay, valet. Sorry! Lol

Canada says Va-lay too 😂

French word valet

Enunciation of words varies in different parts of a country. I put that down to family usage, tutorage, and region. It's amusing to be criticised for that when, in fact, there is no right or wrong way, but more like somebody making a point of being higher class or more posh. Shauna, as children, you would know we Queenslanders pronounced words differently to those in Victoria and New South Wales. It's not so prevalent today with migration and relocation interstate.

You pronounce words any way you like, it's your channel!

I wonder if him having AIDS was the catalyst for Princess Diana bringing the worlds attention regarding the plight of AIDS

Is Stephen Barry the young man that was being abused by an upper class Valet to Prince Charles? His name escapes me at the moment. But didn't Diana visit him in hospital and tape him telling stories of his abuse? Weren't the tapes in the wooden box that her sister told Paul Burrell to keep safe? So many stories....

Thank you for this review. I have to get a copy asap❤

You made me giggle out loud.

Good story. Well done on the valet pronunciation proof. Some people feel the need to correct others. Take no notice.

Thanks ...you remind me of a younger Haley Mills.

I love hearing these stories! 💜
Personally, I don't mind hanging pictures, but curtains! That turns into a curse-fest every time.

Delightful review! Regarding the how valet is pronounced, I noticed years ago that the British have a perverse love of mispronouncing French words that it has become standard usage. The word Dubonnet, they pronounce the t, which the French don't.

In the 18th century, Marquis de Layfayette visited London and upon his return to Paris, he was asked how his trip went. He responded that he enjoyed his trip, but they spoke such bad French there! I thought you would find that funny ;)

Loved your book review!

For what it is worth, as a Speech Pathologist (retired), who had to study linguistics and grammar etc... it IS ... VAH - LAY... youre right and anyone who says different is wrong.... settled.

ValeT is someone who looks after boss valey Y is someone who cleans the inside of your car

Tomatoes, tomartoes, 😂you’ll never please everyone so just do you. Love your channel 🩷

Thank you Shauna really enjoyable

Its a french word so its pronounced as Va-Lay , because the french don't pronounce their Ts on the end.

The Car Valet system is a modern imitation of the human Valet role , because the Valet is like a personal assistent to his master - and a personal assistant would park his master's car for him.

Rule of thumb: Don't take pronunciation advice from Americans in future 😅 (i assume that petson was American?)

I recently visited Highgrove Shauna, it was great and an eyeopener into the world of King Charles. The 43 years that King Charles has owned Highgrove (which now technically belongs to William as it is part of the Duchy of Cornwall) is an absolute credit to his character. The sympathetic way it has been planted, with flora and fauna being catered for is mind blowing. Everywhere there are sculptures tucked away , with particular sentimental value to Charles. Unfortunately we were not allowed, for security reasons, to take photographs but in a little glade there is the most touching and beautiful statue of the Romanov sisters, the 3 older sisters are shielding the little sister who is hiding behind them. The guide told us that it is beautiful in all weathers - if it is raining the sculpture is designed to give the effect that the girls have tears running down their faces - when dry, you can see the tracks of their tears.Magnificent is the only word for it.
The wildflower meadows are full of buzzing Bees and colourful butterflies. Each area of lawns, shrubs, flowers and follies are abundantly colourful and the sound of birds singing is all around.
The guide told me, that King Charles trains all of them. He gathers together the new and also existing guides and personally walks them around the gardens. He can tell them every single shrub and tree - the history of them and where they came from and when they were planted. After these walks, he takes them back to the house and makes them all coffee.
Through the woodland there is a rustic low height fence along one side of the pathway that was a bit exposed. King Charles had made that fence during Covid Lockdown, it was his project. Hedge laying is an old art in this country, one that is dying out a bit but can be found in more rural areas (similarly thatching, is also a dying art) and up until Charles became King he was known as a very competent judge who was often seen at rural competitions, locally.
There is a beautiful rose garden, which is very tranquil and surrounded by extremely high clipped hedging (sorry, I can't remember which shrub) with cut outs so that you can see through to the next garden area. the cut outs are quite regimented square at the bottom and sides with an arched top. sat in the cut out on a plinth is a bust of the then Prince Charles. There is a long row of cut outs with busts in. Apparently people give these busts to Charles as gifts. There is a standing joke between the staff, when another cut out has to be made. It would appear that they all find it very amusing, as does King Charles.
We ended our tour in the 'garden restaurant' which serves fayre from the kitchen gardens of Highgrove. Bone china tea cups and tea pots adorned the tables. The food was absolutely mouth wateringly good and if it is the same chef that cooks for the King and Queen (quite possibly as the tours are strictly controlled in number and in days of opening) then no wonder they look so healthy lol!

Never thought of it before but as an English woman I read it out loud and it came out as valet rather than valey. But either way we know what it means.

Sounds a lovely, humanising book!! Thank you...

Shauna, ever since I discovered your videos, I've been racking my brain trying to figure out who you reminded me of, and it just hit me smack dab in the face...it's Angela Lansbury, you have a lot of her mannerisms, and the same gentle sense of humour. I enjoy your videos very much, and like you, I say va let with the silent "t".

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I love this. Prince Charles is under appreciated as a very nice man.

I worked with a man years ago who was one of the police on that train. He confirmed that, at the time, no one knew who Camilla was but it definitely wasn't Diana.

Just starting to watch this Shauna and as a lowly Brit I would stick with the decision you have made as I have never heard ( not that it’s a regular used word in my circles 😂😂😂) with the silent “t”. The posh woman’s reprimand is as elite as it gets…..anyway…back to your video…….

Laughing so much because also you can have a valet of a car (a professional cleaning service ) or some would say a valeting 😁it's all very confusing if not living in the UK but I think you do wonderfully !

Your 'valet' tribulations are hilarious. I must admit (as a Brit) that I pronounce the 't', valay sounds like 'trying to hard to be posh' to our ears (a bit like 'filay' of fish rather than fillet of fish), but I accept that different countries have different accepted pronunciations.

Language is fluid and pronunciation is dependent upon where you are referencing. Chipotle is another one that drives people crazy.. both pronunciations are Correct.

Potato - Patato

I,m english and i,ve always pronounced it val-ay

Yes I’ve often heard French words and names end in a silent T and the same word in spoken English getting a hard T ending.

Can’t please everyone. You are doing great.

What a delightful episode this was!

Good day Shauna. Greetings from South Africa. I really do enjoy your stories and love listening to you telling it with such humor and joy. I am sure you will be able to inspire more people to start reading

Pretty blouse.

I am very sorry Shauna, but I read somewhere that Charles thought the decorations in Highgrove where to pink and to girly. Apparantly she wasn t allowed to change his bookroom and the moment they were seperated and the moment the marriage broke down he totally redecorated the house.

Oh, I do so love bacon sandwiches! My mother used to make them as a special treat. We are Americans and I didn't know this was a "British" thing.
One question, I have heard all sorts of opinions on what goes on a bacon sandwich. Ours was white bread, butter, and bacon. What do you put on yours?

He probably had a "picture rail," which is a bar, usually ceiling height, from which one suspends wire or chains or ribbon and then one uses the wire, etc and attaches it to the top or back of the picture. It is much easier to do this as one can changed the length of one the wires, etc and can move the picture from side to side along the rails.

There was only two subjects in High School that I got straight A's i. Driver's ED and Interior design. So moving into a new home has never bothered me at all. Spelling for me is a nightmare, since I am the WWS....( Worlds Worse Speller) I use to be #2 but my older brother died and he had held that title, so now it's mine.....lol.

Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto, let's call the whole thing off...

Valet is always "valay" to me also. 🥰

Wasn't Stephen not the person.. Diana was freezing out, and treating him like Air..
Charles was forced, by Diana to fire him.. but Charles found another job for him instead??..

About the train scandal, I was watching an episode on the Scandal Mongers podcast with Andrew Lownie and Phil Craig and they had Rob Jobson on talking about his book about Camilla. He talks about that train scandal, he reveals who it was, and I will not spoil all of it for you, but that incident led Prince Philip to have a talk with the then Prince of Wales.....

When Frances Shand Kydd visited Highgrove before Lady Diana married Prince Charles, she was shocked and said to Princess Charles, "You can't expect my daughter to live in this old woman's house?". Charles was taken aback but perhaps took note.

I'm from UK and I say it the same way as you silent T - don't worry so much about silly corrections from others ❤