The Indomitable Ma'am

I was compelled this week to put my feet up for a couple of days. Hence I succumbed to the pre-occupation of the house-bound- Television.

Pre-dominating coverage today were three things- a. The Suffolk murders; b. The glorious 3rd Test at the Ashes and c. Willie passing out of Sandhurst.

My interest is in c. above. Our future Sovereign was fulfilling his rites of passage (lets forget for one minute that HRH lost his Rifle, an unforgiveable -and in fact a Guardroom offence, anyway like the authorities at Sandhurst, I shall sweep that under the plush red carpet).

The coverage of the passing out parade was the usual toadying monologue, which often accompanies these occasions, with the unnamed commentator sounding like a hybrid mutant version of James Whittaker and Alastair Burnett rolled into one sycophantic verbal nightmare.

The expressions on the faces of the new Officers was a study in Military pride, an exhibition of Testo-Xenophobic pride, yes! (Qualification- the most outstanding Graduand was female, which was bloody brilliant). Stern faced young men, stiff backs, marching in formation. HRH marching with his Heckler and Koch set at the right angle (it dawns on me by way of an aside that this rifle is certainly of more use in a parade than in actual combat as has been seen far too many times by the long-suffering British soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and even Sierra Leone)

Equally of note being the Senior officers on the podium, the pride of the British Army in all their ceremonial finery (laughed my head off when I noticed the Sandhurst Commandant whispering a smiley-faced comment to HM, which she staunchly ignored), well was I impressed? Ehm.. yes, but not by the obvious afore-mentioned characters but by the hunched, unlikely figure of HM Queen.

Ma'am maintained an Imperious, stern and determined expression ( strangely akin to a feminine Churchilian mien), which belied the following:

a. The pain she was enduring by standing on that podium with her back injury, at the age of 80 (not quite sure how many of the young officers can beat that);

b. The sheer discipline and restraint that has characterised her reign;

c. Her steely determination and devotion to the tradition she represents.

I'm sorry, but she impressed me most at that passing out parade. Ma'am is for the purpose of this Blog, my heroine of the day. I bow to my Sovereign. I fear I have fallen into the same Royal Hero worship that many seem to fall into thus subsuming all sense of reason. Read again, my reasoning is purely practical. Her personal fortitude and strength of character cannot be diminished by any Republican arguments, that is my view which I stand by.

Oi Bess, now about that Knighthood...