I have spent the morning watching the Trooping of the Colour which marks the start of the Jubilee Celebrations this weekend. It is always a wonderful spectacle and this year, for which thank heaven fasting, the BBC gave us a red button option which means the whole thing could be watched with NO COMMENTARY. Total bliss. I gather from comments already abounding on Twitter that the Beeb spent a lot of time to so called Slebs instead of concentrating on the actual event. I gave up watching BBC cover big events some time ago as they have really lost their way - once they were the only ones who were considered capable enough for this kind of thing, but no more.
Everyone was having a wonderful time and just look a these crowds..
What with one thing and another I have been a bit busy this week - nothing exciting, domestic stuff etc and have also been glued to the TV watching the French Open tennis from Paris. I watch as much tennis as I can and over the years have found the crowd who attend in New York pretty ghastly, but am now coming to the conclusion that the Paris lot are the worst ever. Partisan, one can understand this and I have no problem with that at all, but apparently being abusive and vile to some players when they go to get their towel or get near the front row, cheering double faults and mistakes of the poor sod they have taken agin for some unknown reason and the other night booing Djokovic as he came on court. I am no lover of Djokovic but he is a great champion and to behave like that is appalling. McEnroe was in the commentary box and he was furious.
(It goes without saying that most of the Brits exited stage right in a couple of days)
So what else have I been doing? You will be delighted to hear dear Reader that I had a Man come in to Clean my Carpets. Such excietment. They were looking grubby and stained and flat and horrid and so decided to do something. In came Chris from a company called Powerdean, who had done a brilliant job on my armchair last year, and he came in and got cracking and left the carpets looking pristine and spotless (I saw the water being poured down the loo and could not believe the colour. Mud I think would describe the shade) . Also they feel almost new as the pile had been brought up. I keep looking at my lovely clean floors and beaming. He also helped me put furniture back.
Mem: noticed on his business card that he also cleans ovens. What ho!
I have, believe it or not done a bit of reading. Yes I have but don't get excited, it was nothing toweringly intellectual. After wading through Wuthering Heights my mind needed something a little less fraught. I re-read a couple of Agatha Christies, always a pleasure and then a book The Queen: 70 years of Majestic Style by Bethan Holt which charted her clothes throughout the years. I had forgotten just how stunning she was when young. She looks wonderful now of course, but if you look at early photos of her she looks amazing.
I have been reading the books of Mick Herron which I may have mentioned earlier featuring the Slow Horses, rejects from MI6 who have cocked up in some way and banished to Slough House to moulder away. There has recently been a TV series based on the first novel with Gary Oldman, which was brilliant, and this set me off on my usual binge read and devoured them all in a month. Luckily, a new one was due, Bad Actors. Again, brilliant. But now I have to wait for the next one...
D S Butler - What she Said. A series recommended to me by Amazon so I thought I would give it a go, featuring Detective Karen Hart. Enjoyable and well written, nothing spectacular but pacey and enjoyable. Once more, read the lot in a week or two and this was the latest. So now I have to wait for the next one.......
However, the book I have most enjoyed in the last week is an old favourite - Diary of a Provincial Lady which never fails to bring me huge enjoyment. I will be posting at length in due course.
Last week my granddaughter, Florence, played Meditation from Thais at a farewell concert for her granddad (my ex) who is retiring from conducting as his eyesight is failing. The entire family turned out and it was lovely to see everyone and, without exception, we were all reduced to blubbing wrecks. Words are difficult to find to describe how I felt on listening to her. She has also won a place for weekend tutoring at the Guildhall School of Music. My daughter is due soon from Australia and so a lot to look forward to.
Back soon.
