Luckliy, when I woke early that morning to hear the news on the radio, I was off to Spain for a week on business. I hated travelling for work (and travel generally tbf) but I knew immediately that I'd been handed a fùcking lifeboat on that one.
Back in London on the saturday of the funeral, all the shops by my home off the Chalk Farm Road were shut, except for a motorbike shop and a french restaurant. I nearly bought a motorbike as a sign of disrespect.
It might have been a certain Mr B O'N who at the time came up with the phrase 'Mourning Sickness' to capture what you've described there.
I recall he was giving me both barrels over the EU in that strongly-worded manner of his when he suddenly said "Enjoy the game (Lester), chat to you on Monday". Doesn't sound like someone about to go on holiday for three weeks. I think he has a policy of avoiding politics on here and so has taken a hiatus. He's done it before.
Didn't manage to get through that tbh. It got rather dull.
Where do you stand on the monarchy, Monts? I know you generally sign up to all the standard-issue rightist shibboleths, but you strike me as the sort who who would see that particular institution as an illusion designed to bind together stupid people, rather than bowing and scraping to it deferentially.
I'm not having a go at the monarchy here btw, before anyone feels the obligation to fly in studs-up.
Its an illusion that binds together badly designed branches of government and state. It does its job and saves us from having some ghastly elected head of state.
Of course, if you want a head of state, a written constitution, a disestablished Church of England then it is a significant barrier.