A celebration of Raincoats!

   Today is the 14th of July, le quatorze juillet, the day when the proud French nation celebrate their Nationhood, the casting off of the chains of royalty and specifically, the Storming of the Bastille. And by George, from the Météo, it looks as if it will be storms they are going to have! The chief event of the day is the Défilée, the military parade down the Champs Elysée, a very impressive march-past of troops, cavalry, tanks and vehicles and a fly-past of aircraft including the Patrouille de France, the French version of the Red Arrows, trailing trails of red, white and blue smoke. The new President Hollande and his `companion` will be there to take the salute and the whole event will be covered all morning on French TV. The Army has been practising for weeks.
  To make the whole event perfect, all it needs is bright sunshine, but there`s the rub! The Heavens often seem not in the mood, and showers, even heavy rain often seem to take a delight in bringing the preparations of mortals down to earth, drenching the participants with a cold shower. To avoid discomfort, even pneumonia, the sensible precaution is an umbrella and/or a good mac. But it`s precisely this wise action which the modern politician seems to have abandoned. How often do you see the great and good walking or standing in the rain in their smart blue suits. drenched to the skin, as if to wear a mac would be admitting worldly weakness? I am reminded of King Canute trying to turn the tide. Or of the Beatles` Penny Lane `For the Banker never wears a mac, in the pouring rain, very strange...` Goodness knows, I was never an admirer of Harold Wilson, but at least he did not scorn a macintosh and was in fact famous for his Gannex and pipe,( another thing not often seen nowadays). Do the politicians think that the People will scorn the for taking sensible precautions? Will it be seen as a sign of weakness, of lack of optimism? I really don`t know. M. Hollande in particular, seems unfortunate in his weather and has already been dampened several times since his election. His plane was even struck by lightning and had to turn back for a check-up.  You would think he could learn by experience, but there, he`s a politico and must be well used to squaring the circle. We will see later whether his luck holds out today!

 Bye for now, going to have a hot drink, the thought of the rain running down the back of my neck has given me the shivers!