Wedding fever has gripped at least part of the nation this weekend. Naturally, I have been caught up in this, attending the screening of the event at my school in my best wedding dress (I have 2, just in case). As the bride walked down the aisle I gripped Mummy’s hand and shed a couple of tears, the emotion of this real-life fairy tale being too much for me to contain. I then managed a disdainful glare at the handful of boys who had been dragged, no doubt kicking and screaming, to the event, only to indulge themselves in playfighting in front of the screen.
Let’s face it, this is just not really a boy thing, is it? Daddy has been grumpy about the whole build-up for weeks, declaring that he is just not interested. Happy for him to do his own thing, Mummy made plans that he could opt in or out of depending on his desire. He even had a game of golf planned – which he cancelled. Call me cynical, but is it possible that he secretly wanted to be part of the festivities? And what’s more, did he actually relish his role of Grumpy, slouching around the house with an air of martyrdom and ‘woe is me that I have to put up with all this guff just to suit my female relatives’?
Not so my brother. The Bug quite naturally grumped and grimped his way through the re-runs of royal weddings past, but when it came to this particular big day he declared his love for Prince William most fervidly. Kate, he could take or leave, but the Prince was his role model. He was so in character that on being told to ‘wave to the crowds’ as we drove away from the screening he looked earnestly around our neighbourhood and innocently asked, ‘But where are the crowds?’
Daddy eventually came round to the idea of a celebration, but Mummy had to resort to pouring a Bucks Fizz before he would finally condescend to join the party, and even then I’m sure I hear him whisper ‘humbug’ or some such derogation behind her back! I wonder how many other men and boys were to be found skulking around the sidelines with a glass of fizz, pretending not to enjoy themselves?