"A Plague On Both Your Houses"

I don't think the ill-fated Mercutio had chicken-pox in mind, but chicken-pox (so it would appear) is what Susannah has come out with today (and possibly Noah has too - which would explain why he was so miserable going round the Longshaw Estate in the freezing cold yesterday)...

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I knocked out a lot of loose plaster (the previous owner - a builder - had done a real botch-job, and we're only just now getting round to sorting it out), and Jo made her first attempt at plastering over a sizeable area. It looks pretty good for a first-time effort, and certainly no worse than the rest of the room!

In between the domesticity of our weekend, I've caught glimpses at least of the Pope's funeral yesterday, and the (postponed a day because of the funeral) wedding of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall today - and the (postponed some hours because of the wedding) Grand National steeplechase. It interests me that Civic Events should still command such interest in such an individualistic age; the crowd at the Pope's funeral in particular was full of young adults. The royal wedding was great - I thought the low-key nature of it appropriate, not so much in relation to the couple's history, but more so in relation to the monarchy behaving in an appropriate manner for twentifirst-century Europe - such as most of the senior members of the family leaving the blessing all together on a coach: Royals On Tour, or on some package holiday! More in keeping with Scandinavian monarchs who ride around on bicycles.

The Pope's funeral was clearly an occasion that caused many young adults to pause and consider how they will choose to live their lives, and face death when their time comes. The royal wedding Blessing spoke of seeking and receiving forgiveness, and determining to move on; of commitment to each other for the duration, albeit not to the approval of some; and also of the damage that duty can cause when it becomes Duty. This weekend leaves us with much to ponder. The question is, will these questions persist, demanding a lasting impact; or, will we have all moved on by next weekend, caught up in the onslaught of everyday life (not to mention General election campaigns)?