Politics runs through Sasha Swire’s veins. Her father is Sir John Nott, Minister of Defence during the Falklands war, and her husband is Sir Hugo Swire, Conservative MP and Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as it then was.
The State Opening of Parliament today was scaled back because of Covid. Her Majesty as ever was a class-act; an old trouper at a familiar gig – her 67th performance.
“A 2 storey house of mid-c19 appearance. 7 bay front with die; keystones over windows; balustraded enclosed porch.” (Burke’s Guide to Country Houses, Mark Bence-Jones)
Crossword clue: a ditch in a desert (4, 5). I made that up. Real crossword clue in The Times yesterday: this won’t turn in the lock (5, 4) answer; canal boat.
Wing Commander Gibson ,VC, DSO and bar, DFC and bar was the bravest of the brave. He died flying a Mosquito on a raid to Bremen in September 1944 aged twenty-six.