It is one of the oldest ceremonies in the British Isles – the State Opening of Parliament, steeped in tradition and some seemingly pointless routines that should have been buried in history centuries ago. Yet, the Brits – and many others – love it. Now, though, the Guardian has given it a new epithet – a “Festival of Bling”! Liberace would no doubt have looked perfectly at home seated amongst the Lords in all their finery – although I suspect he’d be wearing a few more rings.

 

The Queen walked with that slight caution that you would have if you were carrying the weight of a large bag of potatoes on your head. Or a crown as we call it . . .

 

You could hardly call it an austerity opening, though looking round the House of Lords I could see only about a dozen tiaras. The place still looked like a festival of bling, a convention of white rappers all desperate to show how minted they were. The event was designed hundreds of years ago to convince continental ambassadors that this wet, windswept country off the west coast of Europe was immensely wealthy. That might well be part of the intention today.

 

The Queen and Prince Philip arrived. She was covered in diamonds. It looked as if she had been rolled in jewellery like a chicken nugget in breadcrumbs. The TV lights seared down. Every time she made the slightest movement, her entire ensemble flashed like a disco ball.

 

http://www.guardian....stival-of-bling

Simon Hoggart's a veteran journalist and ought to know better than this. This kind of slick parliamentary 'sketch' reporting is an established art in most quality British newspapers and I often enjoy reading them, but to pile in so blatantly against such an obvious target who cannot answer back is best left for young anarchists with chips on their shoulders. Rogie's verdict: 3 out of 10, could do better Simon.