There seems to be a consensus in Britain that the best moment of the Jubilee was Paddington Bear taking afternoon tea with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
For anyone who hasn't seen it, after briefly letting himself down by drinking directly from the spout of the teapot, Paddington offers one of his marmalade sandwiches to Her Majesty. The monarch then reveals she has her own marmalade sandwich in her handbag. "I keep mine in here for later," she confides in Paddington.
The Queen and the bear tapping their tea cups and saucers with silver spoons to the rhythm of We Will Rock You was the icing on the royal cake.
Well done Ma'am for being such a good sport at the age of 96.
Paddington Bear, despite hailing from "darkest Peru", is also something of an authority on English weather and wisely refrained from informing Queen Elizabeth that the Jubilee would be followed by a week of gales, thunderstorms and generally grim weather. Other joyful news was a strike on the London Underground with many commuters walking to work.
For those who might doubt Paddington's credentials concerning the weather he can name 107 different ways that Londoners say "it's raining". The bear's personal preference is "it's bucketing down" but the bear has been known to remark "it's raining cats and dogs".
Big Ben
Much of the appeal of Paddington Bear in recent years can be attributed to actor Ben Whishaw whose voicing is spot on for the character. Whishaw hits exactly the right tone that makes the bear so appealing -- a winning blend of innocence, honesty, optimism and vulnerability. The actor clearly loves the bear.
Whishaw is an accomplished actor and many will be familiar with his role as "Q" in the James Bond films. He is also brilliant in A Very English Scandal in which he plays Norman Scott whose relationship with Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe, played by Hugh Grant, caused quite a stir in political circles in the late 1960s. Well worth watching.
Little big town
The Jubilee proved a trifle disappointing for my home town of Reading. For the fourth time it applied to be named as a city and for the fourth time the bid was rejected. Located in the "Royal County of Berkshire" with an estimated population of over 200,000 and a football team nicknamed The Royals, they thought they might be in with a shout in this Jubilee year. But it was not to be.
The town's elders took this snub firmly on the chin with a leading councillor commenting, "Reading will remain a 'little big town', as it's always been."
Incidentally the idea that a place cannot be a city without having a cathedral is an urban myth. There are plenty of cities in the UK lacking a cathedral including Bath, Stoke, Hull and Southampton.
However, if Reading is really serious about city status one suspects an endorsement from a certain talking bear would probably win over the lady at Buckingham Palace.
Actually I'm quite happy that the place I grew up in remains just a town. It never felt like a city when I was living there.
A river runs through it
It's not the first time Reading suffered a public relations setback. In 2007 a Reader's Digest poll named the town as the worst place for families to live in Britain. However, this only seemed to increase Reading's popularity. Funny old world.
I must admit to having happy childhood memories of living in Reading, especially going for long walks in the nearby countryside with my dad. Occasionally we would stroll along the banks of the Thames past what in later years was to become the site of the Reading (Rock) Festival.
It always helps a town having a river running through it, especially one with the history of the Thames. Not far from where we lived there is the village of Sonning, a lovely spot on the Thames described by author Jerome K. Jerome as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river".
Saturday mornings
On many Saturday mornings I would join my mother on the 5-km bus ride into town. Once we arrived we went our different ways and I usually headed for the WH Smith bookstores. I loved browsing in bookshops and still do if I can find any.
I would also spend many hours in record stores in those glorious days of vinyl, scratches and all. The HMV shop had special booths where you could listen to the albums. I rarely had enough money to buy an LP, but would spend all morning listening to Ray Charles and Chuck Berry before being booted out by the manager who I suspected was more of a Cliff Richard fan.
Signing up
My thanks to readers for continuing to send in delightful Thai signs. I particularly like one from a Chiang Mai park which announces: ''Warning: Limbs may fall", apparently displaying concern over the fate of tree branches in strong winds. Another intriguing one came from a reader who in Koh Lanta spotted "Gasoline For Rent".
The following sign is not from Thailand, but near Inverness in Scotland where at a children's petting zoo there is a warning about climbing fences: "If you fall animals could eat you and that might make them sick''.
Contact PostScript via email at oldcrutch@hotmail.com
