Tea with the Queen

My last post was certainly over-optimistic about how likely it was the Queen would be able to give me a wave at the Royal Garden Party, which I've just attended (13 July). I'm not very good at estimating numbers in crowds but there must have been a couple of thousand people there. The Royal Archers acted as human cordon but spaced far enough apart so that folk could see as the Queen made her way from the back door of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, through the lavish gardens and to the Royal Tea Tent, which has a replica crown on top of it, seriously! (It's rather kitsch actually). On the way various people were presented to her and, for obvious reasons, that included quite a few soldiers as the rest of us looked on. What would normally be a short walk thereby took an hour. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, the sandwiches, cakes, lemonade and tea were great and the surroundings were, naturally, impressive. I never, in a month of Sundays, imagined I'd attend such an event but life's full of surprises. Anyway, these last two posts have been made in the spirit of a summer interlude. Now I have a submission to the Scottish Labour party's policy consultation to write. Perhaps that'll be the subject of next time's blog. Or maybe the UK Government will have released further details about 'Ageing Well' by then. Ah, policy detail, doncha just love it?