Turning Point ?

My last post was back at the end of March but time marches on and we are now halfway through April. Easter came and went and was pretty much a non-event for me, not helped by the dodgy weather. Now we are two weeks from the May Day bank holiday and once that is out of the way, it’s full steam ahead to the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 London Olympics. Works are underway all over London to “tart up” the place for both the Royal milestone and the juggernaut that is the Olympics. We may be just about be coming out of recession, depending on who you listen to, but there seems to be an awful lot of our money swilling around to pay for these when there is still an awful lot of hardship as well. This is more a comment from me than a complaint as I will be out there making the most of both occasions, as will most people I suspect. I will be beside the Thames in June to see HM on her barge, and I will be joining the throng at Excel in Docklands to watch a session of the wrestling. The latter however does not involve the Queen and wrestling was not my first choice. These are in fact the only tickets I could lay my hands on at an affordable price. My view is that most people, even those with a negative opinion at the moment, will get swept up in these two great events. I also believe that there will be a benefit to the country, part financial but also a great boost to the national morale. A shot in the arm, a kick up the bum, a wake-up call, a sign that maybe things are getting better. I do hope so because this scepter'd isle we call home has been a miserable place since September 2007 when there was a run on the Northern Rock bank. Maybe things were on the wane before that but in the mind of many, this was the event that signalled the decline in the UK. I hope people do get involved this summer and more importantly feel involved. We have just passed the 100 day mark to the start of the Olympics, and the momentum to the Jubilee is building, albeit at a slightly more sedate pace. These are both important events for the country and hopefully they will both be enjoyed and remembered for the right reasons.