[Beowulf]

But when an undercover video last week showed Goldsmith, 49, cutting lines of cocaine in "La Maison de Bang Bang" -- the villa he owns on the Spanish isle of Ibiza -- his oh-so-unregal lifestyle became headlines -- and a scandal steeped in the crass issue of class. More.

[bgill]

The girl can’t be blamed for her uncle.

[a fool in paradise]

Class in Britain is roughly equivalent to race in America -- despite enormous strides toward equality, social standing simmers never far below the surface.

Equivalent only if you believe in a caste system that does not permit people to rise up from one class to another.

PS. there is RACISM in Jolly Olde England too.

[a fool in paradise]

The queen and Prince Charles have greeted Kate warmly, though in a much passed-along tale, Carole Middleton was talking to some royals and violated a taboo by using the word "toilet" instead of "lavatory." It was a gaffe heard around the kingdom, despite the fact that spokesmen for the royal family have denied any such exchange.

Do you have any lavatory tissue paper for me royal bum?

[ccmay]

When Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman?

[Beowulf]

Class is still a big issue.

"There you are in America wondering whether President Obama should get involved in this matter with a black professor and a police officer. . . . It's a minor matter consuming you in the way we are getting consumed by this subject."