Buckingham Palace guard’s bearskin caps under fire
London, Sep 12: An animal rights group trying to get real fur out of the bearskin caps worn by King’s Guards at Buckingham Palace took aim Thursday at the cost of the ceremonial garb.
The price of the caps soared 30% in a year to more than 2,000 pounds ($2,600) apiece for the hats made of black bear fur, the Ministry of Defence said in response to a freedom of information request by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
“Stop wasting taxpayer pounds on caps made from slaughtered wildlife and switch to faux fur today,” the group said in a statement.
A luxury fake fur maker has offered to supply the army with free faux bear fur for 10 years, PETA said.
The military said it was open to exploring alternatives if they pass muster in durability, water protection and appearance. But “no alternative has met all those criteria to date,” a ministry spokesperson said.
The distinctive tall black hats, worn by guards in bright scarlet tunics, are seen by millions who watch the regular changing of the guard ceremony at the palace. They also appear at other royal events including the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony honouring the monarch’s birthday in June.
The cost of the caps rose from 1,560 pounds ($2,035) each in 2022 to 2,040 pounds ($2,660) in 2023, the ministry said. More than 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) was spent on them in the past decade. The price went up because of a contract change for fur that comes from bears killed in licensed hunts in Canada, the military said. Each cap requires one bear pelt, PETA said.
PETA, which has been pushing for more than two decades to scrap the fur hats, said each cap requires one bear pelt. The group claimed that the defence department is propping up the “cruel” Canadian bear-hunting industry. The ministry denied that charge and said if it stopped buying the pelts, it would not reduce the numbers of bears being killed. (AP)
Billionaire steps out of SpaceX capsule for first private spacewalk
Canaveral, Sep 12: A billionaire stepped out for the first private spacewalk Thursday, teaming up with SpaceX on the daring endeavour hundreds of miles above Earth.
Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and his crew waited until their capsule was depressurised before popping open the hatch. Isaacman emerged first, joining a small elite group of spacewalkers who until now had included only professional astronauts from a dozen countries.
“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world,” said Isaacman. The commercial spacewalk was the main focus of the five-day flight financed by Isaacman and Elon Musk’s company, and the culmination of years of development geared toward settling Mars and other planets.
All four on board donned SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits to protect themselves from the harsh vacuum. They launched on Tuesday from Florida, rocketing farther from Earth than anyone since NASA’s moonwalkers. The orbit was reduced by half – to 460 miles (740 kilometres) – for the spacewalk. This first spacewalking test, expected to last close to two hours, involved more stretching than walking. Isaacman kept a hand or foot attached to it the whole time as he flexed his arms and legs to see how the new spacesuit held up. The hatch sported a walker-like structure for extra support. (AP)
‘Butter chicken battle’
Islamabad, Sep 12: Adding a new ingredient to the sizzling legal stew as two Delhi restaurants fight it out over who “invented” butter chicken, old-time Peshawar residents have fond recollections of the erstwhile Moti Mahal restaurant in the city but do not recall the now-iconic dish being on the bill of fare.
Old Peshawar resident Mushtaq Khan told Geo TV that the restaurant, in its heyday, was known for its aromatic teas, crispy pakoras, cheesy delights, and tangy yoghurt-based snacks, though it was a bit high-end and was mostly frequented by the wealthy, including the British rulers.
The always-buzzing kitchen was located on the ground floor, and the place is now a clothing shop owned by Iqbal Arif, another old resident of Peshawar.
Arif told Geo that way back in the 1980s, he was told that Gujral had visited Peshawar and was seen “softly sobbing and reflecting on his erstwhile restaurant as he propped himself against a tree in front of the cloth shop” but was comforted by knowing the place was still cherished by people, who still missed the delicacies it had served.
While veteran Peshawar advocate Shakeel Chandra and former provincial minister Syed Aqil Shah have met Gujral at his Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi and been regaled by his stories of its previous incarnation in their city, businessman Shahid Khan told Geo that he had never heard of Gujaral in relation to butter chicken, but now the issue is being discussed frequently due to the court case.
However, elderly Saddar Bazaar businessman Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor told Geo that Gujral assisted his father in his business for many years, and his father had often talked about the restaurant, which was a “royal retreat” for the high-profile guests and where the elite socialised over deluxe meals. However, butter chicken was nowhere to be found on the menu in Peshawar’s Moti Mahal, Ghafoor disclosed, adding that Gujral innovated the epic recipe after moving to Delhi.
As Geo reached out to the litigants, Gujral’s descendants insist that butter chicken was developed by him in Peshawar, but Jaggi’s grandson contends that it was his grandfather who developed it in Delhi after Partition, though based on the culinary arts he learned in Peshawar. (IANS)