"50/50 REPLACEMENT" ON CARRIERS SAYS KING King David has today confirmed that the nations two aircraft carriers will not be renewed. With both the REMNS Ostlake and REMNS Portworth reaching a point where they needed a large scale modernisation the Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson recommended replacing both vessels and also indicated a move away from traditional "super-carriers" was needed. Today the King however has announced that replacements will be sought. Speaking as he visited the REMNS Portworth he said. "We will be following a 50/50 programme, 50% acting upon the recommedations of Sir Harry and 50% maintaining our current capabilities. Starting as soon as feasible we will be taking the Portworth Royal Dockyard design for the CATOBAR version of their
Sven Class aircraft carrier concept. Meanwhile we shall also be commissioning a third
Flagship Class amphibious warfare ship, however this one shall be equipped with 12 VSTOL aircraft along with 10 helicopters to form a kind of spearhead attack ship. In terms of annual running costs this will reduce the cost down to that of one of the current carriers. Going forward this will see the Navy having capacity in its budget to run a further two
Noble Class Destroyers."
The commander of the Navy, Admiral James Thompson said, "We believe the arrangement the King has announced is a good one. It allows us to maintain the flexibility afforded by a carrier while also giving us an extra amount of firepower. Its a compromise driven by costs in some ways but it is a sensible one. The Portworth and Ostlake have served us well but have reached a crossroads in their career." It is understood that the Portworth, which was part of the task force that captured a Traansvaal aircraft carrier, will become a museum ship while the REMNS Ostlake is likely to be scrapped.
MERRIMAN "OFF FOR A HOLIDAY" Dr.Merriman has today headed out of East Moreland heading to Marseille. The former Chancellor of the Royal Merriman University announced that he was stepping down several days ago and retiring from lecturing. At the age of 82 the Professor has announced via social media that he is "off for a holiday. Somewhere sunny, somewhere interesting and somewhere quiet." He later posted that he is going to spend some time touring around Albion before heading to Bakkermaya, fuelling speculation that his grand-daughter, Amelia Merriman, is soon to take over as Governor of Wellow having recently been invited for a kind of interview by the Duchess of Wellow.
The Professor has also stated that once he has had what he has described as "my first real break from teaching in almost 50 years." that he will be working as a part-time consultant on EMTV as they put together a new docu-drama TV show based on the Kings and Queen's of East Moreland. "I can't imagine just sitting at home with my feet up" Dr.Merriman said, "This way I still get to be a history geek and get paid while being under less pressure. I watch a lot of the things like Game of Thrones and East Moreland's history can be every bit as interesting, just with less dragons."
"FLYING CAN OPENER" TO SING AT WEDDING AND BE SWORD BEARER The Royal Palace today announced that the King has named his sword bearer for his upcoming wedding. The position of sword bearer is a highly symbolic one and the individual responsible wields the groom's sword while within the Temple during the ceremony. The King has announced that Flying Officer Hope Meadows will be given this responsibility and will also sing during the ceremony. The 23 year old flies as part of No.6 Squadron, affectionatly known as the Flying Can Openers as their primary role is hunting down and destroying enemy armour. She has been in the squadron for just over 12 months and in that time has taken part in several operations against the Borlanders and the WMRA. The announcement was made by Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker who said. "The King wanted a young officer to undertake the role and having meet Flying Officer Meadows at Archduchess Sophie's passing out parade he was impressed by her commitment to the military. She has overcome many hardships to succeed in life and is a credit to her uniform." As far as we are aware this will be the first time a woman has been a sword bearer for the Royal family.
Flying Officer Meadows also had prior to joining the Air Force a YouTube channel of her singing cover versions of popular songs, it is understood that Duchess Stasya heard this and insisted on the dual role during the ceremony. The 23 year old officer spoke briefly to the media outside her parents home saying, " I grew up two doors down from Alex Redfern's family. I saw how if you worked hard you could be very successful in the military and with my parents support I was able to make my dream of flying a reality. I am excited to take part in the biggest parade of my life and to be trusted with the King's sword makes me both proud and very nervous." Despite the position in the ceremony Flying Officer Meadows is back on duty with No.6 Squadron preparing to head off to The Commonwealth of the Iwi for a training exercise.
KING THANKS ROYAL NYX BALLET FOLLOWING GALA As the curtain fell on the annual Ostlake Dance Festival the King attended the traditional final night gala. The gala is made up of several performances from the winners of various dance competitions as well as performances by professional dancers and singers. Among those performing was the Royal Nyx Ballet Company who opened the show and gave the penultimate performance. The King thanked them for attending saying, "The Ostlake Dance Festival has not been as inclusive of our foreign friends as many other of East Moreland's cultural highlights like the Ozzies or the Festival of Sail. I am delighted therefore the Royal Nyx Ballet Company saw fit to begin their world tour here and I hope they will not be strangers to the Festival." The company played several venues across the city during the festival and in their week long stay an estimated 150,000 people got to see them perform.
The final performance of the show saw the National School Champions perform and receive their award from the King and Duchess Stasya. Students from the Keepton High School for Girls had won the national honour having taken 1st place in three of the five categories that make up the School's Championships. King David's daughter competed for her school as part of their folk dance team in the Under 8's School Championship, however the school finished 10th and so the Princess was denied the oppurtunity to perform for her father. The King said afterwards. "Rhiannon will be tucked up in bed but just like so many children across the nation she has worked hard over the last few months to prepare for this week. Its a great week of activity here and I'm only sad I can't get to see everyone involved. It is things like this that help keep our traditions alive."
Ostlake now begins to prepare to welcome the film industry of the world when the nominations for the Ostlake Movie Awards, affectionately known as the Ozzies open in a weeks time before the final winners are announced on the 10th of February.