News that rocked the world

After a very late night/early morning we all managed a bit of a lie-in and then we went down to the Corner House to check in on our guests to see if they had everything they needed which they more or less have and what they didn't we can lend them.  They decided that after we had had brunch together they would take a wander down to Polis and have a look in Paps for some nibbly bits and pieces and John and I went home to await their arrival.

Lovely neighbour Richard has very kindly given us two triangular shades so John set about putting them up and then we brought down the sofa which is up on the roof terrace so that more people can sit out there.  Thanks Richard they fit perfectly and will last us a few years which is brilliant.  Our guests arrived - not for a swim today as I think we were all feeling a bit jaded but Stan had a good look around the garden eyeing up some new plants that he wants to take cuttings from. 

We sat around chatting until they decided to go back to their home and have a shower and get ready for our meal out which was to be at Kaponas this evening.  It is the quickest place for us and them to walk to.  John had been round to see George as Bassam pitched up to put in an orange tree.  I had hoped to nip to see Lakis and Argy but they were out.

We had an absolutely lovely meal John and Stan had mixed grill, Janet had lamb chops and Jackie and I plumped for the special which was a bit like stifado with orzo .  We had been keeping an eye on the news as there were rumblings that the Queen was very poorly and her family were traveling to Balmoral to be by her side.  We had said that you always remember where you were when there is a major worldwide incident.  We were in Malta when Princess Diana had died, I was at work when the Twin Towers were struck and in hospital when the Pentagon was hit by a plane.

As it happens we were in Kaponas having just finished our meal when the television inside suddenly cut from the European Football it was televising to bring the official news of the Queen's passing.  An end of an era which left us all somewhat stunned.  She was in her 90s and had looked quiet frail when she had welcomed Liz Truss in as the new Prime Minister on Monday but somehow because she had always been there as Queen during my lifetime I never really imagined that she would not be.

We walked home from Kaponas in a thoughtful mood.  She was John's boss for 28 years and he swore allegiance to her.  We got to see her when they changed the colours at HMS Heron (Yeovilton) and were invited to Buckingham Palace for a garden party in celebration of 100 years of the Fleet Air Arm.  She was not at that party but I remember we sat in a pretty little gazebo in the gardens and wondered how often she had sat there in conversation with some head of state or another.  

Fair Winds and Following Seas your majesty - it is now time to rest.