Granddaughter Number Two returned to university yesterday. The plan for the day kept changing as the day progressed. Initially they were setting off in the morning, picking up en route the mass of stuff left in our attic bedroom. Then they were setting off a bit later and did I fancy a road trip to York? Departure was delayed because they discovered that there was going to be nobody in the house Granddaughter Number Two was sharing with a group of friends until late afternoon. She didn’t at that point have a key to the house. So they would set off mid afternoon and, oh, by the way, could they leave Grandson Number Two at our house because they needed the space in the car for all the clutter she was taking with her? Well, of course!
It’s a big car, seven-seater if all the seats are unfolded. It was packed to the gunnels (which by the way is a corruption of “gunwales”, the highest point on the sides of an old sailing ship) and the seat where the small boy would have sat was packed with pots and pans! So I got to play with a lava kraken and an ice-bug - mysterious creatures made of plastic - before enlisting the small boy’s help in chopping up vegetables. He’s a dab hand at peeling carrots although there is often rather more peel than carrot by the time he has finished!
Checking up in the attic bedroom later, I discovered a duvet, a fitted sheet, a blanket and sundry odds and ends, all of which Granddaughter Number Two assures me via Messenger this morning are “for the tip. Mum knows”. We’ll see how long it takes for that to disappear! This is how you lose the battle against clutter!
I try to avoid articles about the royal family. Headlines are enough. It really doesn’t matter to me whether or not they send birthday greetings to the errant Harry. But I accidentally opened and skimmed one about Kate Middleton and the dress she wore for her end-of-therapy video. Described as a “Veronica Beard boho” peasant dress, it cost £595 and has apparently sold out since the royal video was released. So lots of people can afford expensive frocks! No austerity for them!
According to Barbara Ellen, writing in the Guardian, the release of the video is all to do with making the Prince and Princess of Wales and family look like an “ordinary middle class family”:
“Most strikingly, the video seems to be about class. In that, there’s a firm muting of William’s royal aspect and a reclaiming of Kate’s middle-class centre ground. Yes, the wealthy upper-middle (let’s not go overboard), and probably to market themselves as the perfect ordinary family (the video hums with “just like you” soft power).”
An ordinary middle class family who can afford expensive frocks. Further investigation into that dress leads into an analysis of her choice of colours.
“It has now been speculated that the choice of blue dresses was a deliberate nod to the princess’s commitment to her family.
Royal author Elizabeth Holmes told Vogue magazine: “I think it’s worth considering Catherine’s commitment to blue.”
“For the first official pictures of her as a royal bride-to-be, she wore a vivid blue wrap dress to match the famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring that had belonged to Princess Diana.”
“[Kate] has since worn every shade of blue, from a soft and pale (one might even call it Cinderella blue) to a deep navy.”
It has therefore been speculated that the colour of Kate’s dress was a deliberate choice to reflect the unity of the Wales family – and her commitment to herself.””
Goodness! Who knew that choice of outfit was sooooo important and significant. And some people must have scrutinised that video in depth - some people need to get a life!
But I suppose it gives us something to think about other than the possibility of Ukraine flinging missiles into the heart of Russia and maybe plunging us all into a wider war! Shades of bread and circuses - with more emphasis on the circuses.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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