At the same time, the royal family does touch the real world, albeit the part of it inhabited by what remains of the landed upper classes: a life of moors and deer-stalking, of summers under Scottish rain, dogs and horses, the church, the armed forces, the same few boarding schools and the right sort of nightclubs.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

"They just say that it might snow and the whole city shuts down, " said Sheri Sable, who was out walking her two dogs in light rain and marveled at how even the dog park she frequents failed to open at 7 a.m.

WSJ: Snowstorm spares DC, heads toward New England

Mr Maharaj said there were still some South Africans who "sit with their dogs in front in a van or truck with a worker at the back in pouring rain or extremely cold weather".

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