Friday: Delhi to Helsinki transit to Paris (night at the Novotel).

Saturday: Paris to London (Eurostar) to get to Rohan & Kate’s wedding by 4PM … Phew … we made it, though homicidal tendencies returned in the cramped quarters of our hotel, and children nearly didn’t make it …

The wedding was simply stunning, fabulous fun and for India-weary travellers, a great tonic.  St Etheldreda’s is the oldest catholic church in England and was a beautiful weddingly space for old school vows. I particularly liked the 60’s statues of English Catholic martyrs from the time of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I that ran along the north and south walls. The ride to the wedding reception was on a double decker and just right for meeting some other of the guests … one of whom suggested (in relation to the bus) that it was good to see ‘old stock’ being put to good purpose, I immediately suggested ‘heritage’ worked better than ‘old’, and we started up a conversation.  Rohan is a Senior Policy Advisor to the PM and many of his office pals were in attendance.  We  may, or may not, have found ourselves in a nest of red tories.  Nice ones too!  We loved the fashion: long on blonde and short on hems, the men were very dapper and dandy.  Everyone young and gorgeous: the future of Britain!

And wow … the food!  For weeks Xavier and Mei had been dreaming of pork ….

Given that during my last visit the IRA were bombing the place … I was not expecting to be moved by London and the evolving Big Society … hmm, but I was.

Love to Kate and Rohan XXX