The State Funeral

The morning of the the State Funeral dawned sharply cold but still and sunny here in Orkney. In the absence of Television all the action could well have seemed a world away in London but with the extensive coverage of the day, we missed nothing.

But first it was a magical gathering of the Singing Selkies and a 20 minute swim round the buoys in calm seas and under a blue sky. I am the new girl who is still a trifle cautious in sea swimming. I have seen too many TV programmes of Rescues at Sea, but I did go further into the deep than my Porty swimming companion would have tolerated. She does not allow me to go out of my depth.

I watched the procession in London and part of the service at Westminster before joining some of the lady swimmers amongst others in the British Legion hall for coffee and biscuits while the service was heard over the tannoy. We all stood for the 2 minute silence and shortly afterwards I left to watch more of the coverage in London and Windsor.

If today was important because of the State Funeral, I also remember it as my Wedding Anniversary- a special day that is another of those dates you never forget.