Cheers Harry

Prince Harry came to UC (the University of Canterbury) today. Sadly rain and hail blew sideways half an hour before he arrived. Then it was just cold and miserable.

Not for me though. I had a ring side seat of proceedings from my desk looking down on the quad where appeared. The Student Volunteer Army (SVA), famous for their community work here and overseas, showed him what they did.

He pleased the crowd, clearly interacting, showing interest and always happy to pose for photos.

The interesting bit for me was the progression of developments over the day. Today there was only one entrance in and out of our building from the basement. A large section of the quad between my building and the library (where the outside proceedings took place) was cordoned off.

That didn't stop one of my colleagues leading us astray during the morning to get from point A to point B. We upset the security guy but by the time he realised what we were doing, we'd nearly finished doing it ;-) I wouldn't describe him as onto it. But things changed during the day. UC security faded (if you can fade in fluro jackets) into the background and the 'the suits' and police appeared.

I found one suit particularly chilling. I just knew he saw nothing else but whatever he was looking for as he scanned the crowd and buildings. He oozed a different level of knowledge, security and action. He reminded me of a crouched tiger or James Bond. He was operating a different level.

I also wondered who was watching us from other vantage points around campus as we watched proceedings from two flights up. Intriguing stuff.

Anyway, cheers Harry. You seem a good bloke - for a Royal. I'll enjoy this cheeky bottle of goodness in a couple of days when the opportunity I'm immersed in has passed.