“What is a weekend?”–A Letter To Downton Abbey

My Dear Ladyship, Dowager Countess—Downton Abbey, England.

We do hope that the letter intended for the Dowager Countess does not fall into the wrong hands.  Here is where it needs to be posted.

We do hope that the letter intended for the Dowager Countess does not fall into the wrong hands. Here is where it needs to be posted.

Please excuse the intolerably long amount of time it took me to answer your delightfully simple question. I simply don’t have enough weekends in my life to take time to tell you about these things.

You see, Countess, there are usually two days off for working class people, traditionally Saturday & Sunday, that regressive governments & the cultures that support such things, want to take away from those who must earn a living. Later in the history of both our countries, you had Margaret Thatcher & we had Ronald Reagan. Both deplored the concept of being able to enjoy such benefits as time away from work. They were a sordid couple–much worse than George & Martha of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Oh, I am so sorry, that’s well after your time. Let me get back on track here!

As you probably don’t have much to do with staff scheduling, it’s likely that only a calamity would disrupt the day-to-day services that you have come to expect & enjoy.

People do many things for you, and you just are in no position to notice. It’s not your fault. If you had been more properly raised, your parents (if you had any) would have encouraged you to volunteer your time for the benefit of others. Had they done so, they might have seemed revolutionary, or stuck in some other dreary or awkward category. As it seems, you have not been exposed to life lived by the other half, and that’s why the writer of your show is in such a predicament now. He presented you as a one-dimensional character, and that’s all you’ve got to show for it: by asking such dumb questions.

You needed to explore your world a bit more. Princess Marie Bonaparte would be a good example for you, though she’s a bit after your time, she had curiosity, and did break through the Imperial ceiling a bit, saved many Jewish people from death. There were a lot of factors that led her in this direction, but a credible interest in life is a good guess as to what motivated her. Let’s hope your writer grants you that, belatedly, so that the question gets answered to your satisfaction. This may get you a stay of execution. If you want to know what that means, our French history is full of them. Have a nice long chat with your producers, but be nice.

One hint: Those two precious days go by very, very quickly, so don’t squander them!

Yours, Most Sincerely,

Her Imperial Highness, The Princess Melita Bonaparte.

The Dowager Countess Has A Question. Would you like to help answer it?

Princess Melita Bonaparte has tried to answer the Dowager Countess' question, but fears that there may be other answers out there for her.  Please, by all means, add yours!

Princess Melita Bonaparte has tried to answer the Dowager Countess’ question, but fears that there may be other answers out there for her. Please, by all means, add yours!


Virtues of the Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey-From You Tube

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