Lackeys

In the olden days, as I remember them, the Soviet propagandists used to go on about lackeys. Perhaps lackeys of the imperialist powers, perhaps lackeys of evil capitalists - I forget exactly.

So it is ironic that the company with a website at reference 1, run by a nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall - inter alia the name of a public house in which we stay from time to time in Poundbury, the heir to the throne's pet housing estate in Dorset - who also facilitates big donations from rich Russians to the Conservative Party, makes a good part of its living by fawning on said rich Russians and pandering to their various needs. Lackeys indeed.

I was also amused that part of the offering was advice on the best cigar experiences to be had in our increasingly smoke free world. Even in the world of Brexit. It seems that the place to go is Bordeaux, where they have fine wines, fine cigars and a climate well adapted to enjoying both on the terrace of a busy and cheerful café. Or perhaps, if you are really rich, in some more exclusive facility up in the hills, away from the prying eyes of the bureaucrats.

But what is their relationship with the Wealth-X people noticed at reference 2? With both of them being very much into the extraction business. A close and meaningful partnership or something more competitive?

PS: from where I associated to an older meaning of the word 'pander'. Shakespearian meaning even. Do the Quintessentially people manage that side of things themselves, or do they have an arms' length relationship with some more shadowy operation. Perhaps mediated by invisible bank accounts in the British Virgin Islands?

References

Reference 1: https://www.quintessentially.com/.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/03/shenanigans.html.