Sunshine and Flowers

It is another long weekend, at least it is for those who have a 9 - 5 office job, with the May Day bank holiday on Monday, and the Royal Wedding yesterday, it is the second four day weekend in a row.

The weather is lovely. We have blue skies and warm sunshine and the trees are heavy with blossoms of various colours and fragrances. At their best are the lilacs, white, pink and purple pendulous blooms which drip fragrance into the breeze. Walking in the park, I marvelled at the delicate horse chestnut flowers; the gorse bushes beginning to break out their bright orange summer coats; the carpets of bluebells beginning to fade and the first of the many flowers appearing on the Dog Roses. These roses are a highlight of the summer for me. They vary from white to the darkest pink, their open flowers wafting scent along the paths.

It is a lovely time of year for a wedding, and on Friday the Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, took place at Westminster Abbey. I do like a Royal Wedding and I think that it shows this country at its best. We really do know how to do pomp and ceremony better than anyone else. The Life Guards on their gleaming horses; the flag waving crowds; the fashion statements, some of which definitely hit a duff note (I don't know what was going on with those hats); visiting dignitaries and European Royalty and everything going without a hitch. Then there was the dress. Kate Middleton has a great sense of style, simple and streamlined and she stayed true to that.

When she arrived at the Abbey, the dress most certainly did not disappoint. It was very Grace Kelly, simple and stylish with a fitted bodice covered in the most exquisite lace and having motifs symbolising Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland. It was a beautiful dress, modern but with references to the past. All in all, I think the wedding was lovely.