Political update from the UK

All the women's hats were worn sideways. Go figure

I would have liked to simmer my happiness pot (see previous post) a little longer but, as a former Tory prime minister once said, “Events, dear boy. Events.” Never a truer word.

Yesterday the BBC covered the service at St Pauls Cathedral (it’s in London) celebrating the Queen’s 70-year reign. The Queen, who isn’t well, was unable to attend. I didn’t watch mainly because, in my even longer reign over the kingdom of Robinsonia, one royal event resembles a hundred others.

Later I saw a video clip – on a mobile – that revealed the crowd surrounding the cathedral booing the arrival of our egregious prime minister, Boris Johnson. This pleased me. The public is normally limited to expressing its feelings just once every four years at the ballot box. The booing was immediate and visceral, thus satisfying.

But there was more. I watched the clip again via a much better sound system feeding the TV. Clearly some people had also cheered. This spoiled my vindictive good humour. But how would the BBC refer to the booing during the late evening news? With a long pair of tongs: “The prime minister arrived to a mixed reception.”

I should explain. For complicated ideological reasons the Tory party is seeking to dismantle the BBC, one of the few British institutions we can be proud of. I didn’t expect the news-reader to revel in this spontaneous reaction.

Yes, bad taste was involved. The Queen and all that. But the public is suffering under JohnsonGov and booing was hardly a surprise. Some booers would be returning to homes without heating; gas costs a fortune. And Brexit is more a bucket of vipers than a can of worms.

Musical note: a loud whistle pierced the boos. Someone had come prepared. No doubt, whistles are contemptuous.