London Diary: Brexit no longer a hot topic

Is it already time for the EU to strike back? Despite the Brexit blow, British families had planned holidays, as always, in Europe and queued up to cross over to France at Dover. But apparently due to the shortage of guards on the French side at Calais, as well as the extra security checks, thousands have spent hours, even through the night, waiting at a gargantuan pileup at the border... Well, the question that can be asked is if Brits were so keen to leave, why are they now clamouring to spend their summer vacations in Europe? C’est la vie! Yet, security is what we need more and more. Not just from terrorists but also from our own! This is what the killings in Munich seem to indicate. There are no longer any guarantees where the next killer will come from. Access to guns seem to be no problem at all. Ideology doesn’t seem to matter either. Nor do killers care who they have murdered as their targets in urban areas will always be multicultural communities.

For the past few years, Pippa Middleton has had no other claim to fame apart from being Kate Middleton’s sister. And she had worn that £20,000 Alexander McQueen gown, that so fabulously framed her derrière when her sister married Prince William. But among those who are famous for being famous, the 32-year-old is leading the pack of endangered singletons as she succumbs to marriage. As she plans her own wedding to hedge-fund manager James Mathew, far too much discussion is already going on about the nuptials — and, of course, that £250,000 engagement ring. (Could it actually cost more than the blue sapphire given to Kate by William?) It will be a funny old world if hedge fund managers can outstrip royalty!

Suddenly discussions on Brexit are no longer the hot topic — why bother if you can moan about Ms Middleton’s wedding! Fears are being raised about the bling factor... but the reality is that while Ms Middleton wrote a reportedly atrocious book about partying (she got an advance of £400,000 for the book, which had few takers), there has been a relentless curiosity that has created a celebrity out of a fairly nondescript person... And here I am writing about her too! All change at Downing Street. There are new occupants at numbers 10 and 11. David Cameron has been replaced by Theresa May. Philip Hammond is the new George Osborne. But there is one unmovable figure. Larry the cat at No. 10.

There are still mice to catch. Of course, he has also to guard his territory. So there are occasional disputes with Palmerston, the foreign office cat, living not far away. And there may be more cat fights — as the size and number of the mice caught at the foreign office is likely to undergo an upward revision now that we have Boris Johnson as foreign secretary. Watch this space for bombastic announcements! And all from on board a Boris bike! With the arrival of Ms May now three out of four heads of government — in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Westminster — are women. Ms May flew to Edinburgh to meet Nicola Sturgeon as her first appointment away from London. For a while, when Mr Cameron was a lame duck Prime Minister,

Ms Sturgeon seemed to be the sole functioning head of government. Whatever Brexit may mean, Ms Sturgeon will fight for Scotland’s right to express its desire to “Remain”... Come what may! (As they say.) One of the winners from Ms May’s reshuffle is Priti Patel. She was thought to be a high-flying member of the previous Treasury team. But she argued for Brexit and was a highly visible part of the campaign. She has been given the department for international development (DFID). Despite her lineage, she has been critical of foreign aid and has argued that DFID ought to be slimmed down if not shut. So it will be fun to see how she handles her job! Indians should not expect any special favours — but Ms Patel has always shown a keen interest in building bridges. So we can always hope!

The UEFA football championship is over. Wales made it to the semi-final but no further. But in Wimbledon, Andy Murray cheered us by winning the men’s singles for a second time, a British record. But then came cricket. At Lords we had England versus Pakistan. Gone are the days when Norman Tebbit insisted on a loyalty test for Asians while watching England play India or Pakistan. The weather stayed good throughout the four days the match lasted. At the end, Pakistan won and you could see their large number of supporters cheering them lustily. The times have indeed changed.