.....Penetrative Judicial Overseer......

I've had a turmultuous time more recently. I mentioned decorating but didn't mention losing my wallet at the same time my car was in for repair. Unfortunately I left it on a bus and was 20 miles from home at the time. I was left standing, an idiot in the street, a peniless pedestrian watching the bus with my wallet sitting on a seat, disappear round a corner and away. Fortunately it was handed in, after I'd cancelled my card and I collected it a few days later. The sense of helplessness and hopelessness were a shock. I had my drivers license, car insurance, Tesco clubcard, Costa card, English Heritage membership card and various other offers and points card things that I use most days, not to mention the pain in having to stand in the bank to explain what a moron I am and please can I have some of my money.
Prior to this, I had to get the bus to and from work as my car was in repair. Getting to work was a pleasant experience, I dozed on the bus, not having to concentrate on the road. Getting home didn't go quite to plan. I arrived at the bus stop with plenty of time to spare so I popped over the road to the Costa who took so long making my coffee that I missed the bus. I took a sip of the coffee and it was awful. As my mood was now foul, I stomped back into Costa, right to the front of the line and thumped the cup on the counter saying " Sorry mate, this coffee is unpalatable, I can't drink it."
The replacement wasn't much better. Give the Milton Keynes Train Station Costa a miss.

I heard in the news that a woman in Iran, blinded by a man whom she turned down for marriage has been given the option of retributional justice, as is the way in Iran, literally an eye for an eye. She was blinded when the man threw acid in her face and the sentence will be carried out by a doctor who will drip acid into the man's eyes. It all sounds quite Barbaric except that it is a law that if implemented properly and strictly, could act as a great deterrent. A murderer is killed, a thief loses everything and a rapist.........I think we may see a drop in sexual assaults. It would make for an historic CV, current employer: Government. Job title : State sponsored rapist or you could make it something funky like Penetrative Judicial Overseer, A few others did spring to mind but decorum is key!

Anyway, onwards and upwards, Summer is here and photographs to be taken.

.....we were the most important Nation on Earth for that one day.

I am a Monarchist, a staunch supporter of the Royal family. I guess that is to be expected, being English but I couldn't find any enthusiasm in the lead up to the Royal Wedding. I thought that maybe it was the fact that the Princes are both younger than me, maybe it is a generational thing or maybe the fact that I had been working flat out on decorating the house, running on empty and late into the evenings after work, isn't conducive to any feelings of goodwill. However cometh the day before, cometh the feelings of Englishness and the patriotism that only the Royal family can confer. Yes, I started to get excited.
Come the Friday morning, I was almost beside myself and cursing my stupidity in not going to London. I vowed to my children that we would be visiting London for future Royal events. I watched the television avidly, soaking up all the details, that proud feeling welling up in my chest as I saw our young Princes, both looking calm and...well...Royal. And then the Queen, looking sunlike in yellow, every inch the Grandmother and naturally the Mother of Englishness.
Once the guests were in the Abbey, I took my wife off to Coombe Hill for the 21 gun salute. It was glorious, a handful of people and 3 great Cannons. I did take my camera of course and stupidly found that my 2 usual memory cards were at home and my spare had other rubbish on it....I had enough for 1 shot.



The rest of the day was spent in that haze of feel good factor that only an English day can bring. The realisation that 2 billion people were watching this tiny green spec in the North Sea and that we were the most important Nation on Earth for that one day.
It does bring many things into perspective and for anybody in England that doesn't support the Monarchy, they must have felt pretty lonely, but it must have also given them pause for thought, if they are important to the rest of the World, what have they missed that everyone else hasn't? I also realised how integral they are to being English. Sure we have the occasional event that makes us all proud but it is only the Royal occasions, weddings and the Queen's Jubilees that bring out the real patriotism that is the definition of who we are. I would think that every Country has days like that, I know that other Countries have more reasons to celebrate their nationality but it is simply amazing that as our place in the World slips and other Nations supplant our standing, for one day we transcended them all and all because we have a Royal Family that have proved to be a focus for the World.....incredible.

By Sunday morning Obama had relegated us to the back pages, ah well, there's always the commemorative plates, tea towels, condoms and toby jugs to remember the day by.