No one can do Pomp and Ceremony Like The British

Pomp and ceremony goes hand in hand with a visit to London if you´ve never been before.

As a child l never understood ´the changing of the Guard´but always looked forward to seeing all these wonderful red coats and enormous bearskin hats on the soldiers outside Buckinham Palace. Of course it was a ceremonial way of changing shifts, really. Time for one group of men to go off duty and another group to come on.

Unless you´ve been living on Mars, recently, or the Wilds of the North pole, l´m sure you´ll know that a Royal Wedding makes the Changing of the guard (a daily ritual) fade in comparison and a Right Royal Wedding is upon us on April 29th.

During a recession when everyone is tightening their belts, so to speak and cutbacks are a word that comes up on every single news buletin, you could be forgiven for thinking. .........

that the Wedding of Prince William in a few days time is going to cost a fortune and the money could be spent elsewhere. Well, sorry any anti-Royals, closet communists or those wishing for an over throw of the Royal family in favour of a republic, but there´s nothing the Brits like more during a recession than a lavish affair to take their minds off the gloom and doom.

One thing l´ve noticed about Princely weddings is the amount of money that is MADE for the small business man!!! Yes. It´s true and something that l am guilty of myself,......wittering on about the small businessman being hit the hardest during ´´cutbacks´´.

So just think for a moment of the amount of people who, not only will be lining the streets on this special day, but will have camped out on the pavement all through the night before to get a good view of he Queen and countless other Royals driving slowly past.

Not only will these literally thousands of people need to eat more than the packed supper and breakfast they may have brought with them, but they´ll be very thirsty. Every small shop around will sell masses of bottles of water, juices, colas and beers. More than they sometimes sell in a week.

Think of the souvenirs. Everything from a beautiful china plate with a picture of Prince William and the lovely Kate to the tackiest thing you can think of WILL be sold. Tacky in these circumstances is not meant to be insulting. It´s a fact we all recognise as we dry the dishes with a picture of the happy couple on the tea Towel, or drink tea out of a mug with the royal crest on it. This time l notice there is something called the Royal sick-bag very akin to what you´ll find in your seat pocket in flight, but more colourful and , sorry to say with a picture of the happy couple on it. l still haven´t worked out if it is the sarcasm of ´´all this palaver is making me sick´ or genuinely for people who overindulge there in a great crowd...... You have to make your own mind up about that one.

The point is there are hundreds and hundreds of different types of souveneirs that will make the small business man very happy.

Needless to say millions of women cannot wait to see THE dress. l hope they won´t be disappointed. Think about it. How does the lovely Kate dress now???. Very simple outfits. Always super smart, but not fussy. l just can´t see her going for the enormous dress filled with yards and yards of lace and pearl and ruffles. i may be wrong . We´ll have to wait and see. One thing is for sure it will be beautiful. She is a beautiful young woman whatever she wears.

One newspaper article said she wanted to wear flowers in her hair (aaww) but has been told she must wear a Tiara. (can´t always believe the press,) but somehow it sounded likely that flowers in her hair would be her style. Again we´ll have to wait and see. The other thing mentioned in the same newspaper article was that she wanted to arrive in a car with her dad, not a Royal coach. Really can´t blame the girl for that. Those carriages look so uncomfortable, and being drawn by beautiful horses may look lovely but l´m sure the ride would make anyone sea-sick. (Hey she could get one of her own sick-bags!!!)

THE STAG NIGHT

Another thing that sounds precarious is the fact that Prince william has asked his brother Harry to organise the Stag Night. O my gosh!!! Having Prince Harry to organise a party would fill me with dread. William may never arrive at Westminster Abbey. We could find him chained to a railing somewhere, and Harry won´t be able to remember where!!!!

Being fair to young Prince Harry, he has changed a lot from the teenager always being photographed falling out of London nightclubs in the early hours of the morning into a young man who does good charity work, loves his life as a soldier and has generally ´grown - up¨

Having said what a remarkable change we´ve seen in this charming young man , Prince Harry, it´s still a stag night, so l still find the idea a bit scary. As long as they all make it to the altar in one piece, that will be fine.

THE EAST END

The East end of London is known for loving what they call ´´a good knees up´´ ,so parties in the street have been arranged in various parts of London and l´m sure the Londoners will be happy to forget the recession and enjoy theirday to the full. Oh, in case you are unfamiliar with term á good knees up´´ just means letting your hair down, all ages get up to dance and sometimes (groan) sing.

All over Britain people will have their own ways of celebrating.  Personally being slightly immobile at the moment l´ve opted for the best seat in the house, T.v.   You get better views from the camera than being there. (though l do understand people like to go for the atmosphere)  But , if l can´t be there l´ll feel like l am. l might just lock myself in the bedroom with needed supplies of chocolate and drinks, switch off the mobile and let my husband deal with any callers if he wants to. If not he can sit with me and we´ll put a Do Not Disturb  sign on the door,  Ha Ha,!!

l wonder what the cake will be like ...........................