From the Yellow House to ...the Palace?

As Dori mentioned in her blog post yesterday, I have now returned to work after our wonderful anniversary celebrations last week. I never find it easy getting back into the swing of work-life again – who does?! I have heard that going back to work is a little like suffering from jetlag – your body clock has gotten used to a different timetable for a week or two, and now has to readjust to the old routine. Whether that is true or not, I do know that the first day back always seems to last twice as long as any other normal day!

Well, that was yesterday. Today I was able to escape from the office as I had a client to see in Salisbury. It is by far the best part of my job – being able to escape the confines of the office to drive amongst the glorious Wiltshire countryside. :-) I also had to deliver a new printer to a colleague who lives in a small village near to Salisbury. He works from home and asked if I could drop the printer off (not literally!) when I was in the area. It was interesting to see how he had arranged his workspace separate from his living area. Dori and I hope to be working from home ourselves in the future, so I was keen to pick up some tips from somebody who is already treading that path. My colleague said that he didn’t miss the commute at all, and that he saved hundreds on fuel alone. Less time dealing with crazy traffic, and environmentally friendly to boot!

When I returned home, Dori greeted me excitedly with some great news. You may remember that I mentioned in my post on April 19th, that we sent off an item of post that I would elaborate on once we had received the reply. Well, today we did receive that reply – tickets for next month’s Trooping the Colour. For those that don’t know, Trooping the Colour is the Queen’s official birthday parade and takes place every year on one Saturday in June. Her Maj is one of the few people who get to celebrate two birthdays, her real one (in April) and an official one in June. Trooping the Colour is a military ceremony, performed by soldiers of the Household Division in their famous red and black uniforms and bearskin helmets. The troops are inspected by the Queen, and other members of the Royal Family either take part in the parade, or watch the ceremony along with other dignitaries and members of the public. And this year, those members of the public will include Dori & Brit Boy!!

You can watch the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade by turning up on the day and securing a position along The Mall. But, in order to be in the stands on Horse Guards Parade and to get to watch the ceremony itself, you must have tickets. We did some research a few months ago and found that these tickets are partly allocated by means of a public ballot, and so we gave it a go and were amazed when we got the letter to say we had been successful. There is a dress code for those of us that are in the stands, so I will have to root around in the wardrobe to see where I left my suit! Dori is also making plans for what she will wear. We are both very excited by this opportunity and I am sure that we will both be sharing many memories and pictures with you all after the event.

This year’s Trooping the Colour takes place on June 13th.