Desert Boots

Harry leaves Bolt standing

Prince Harry has been doing the Royal thing in Jamaica in honour of his GrandMa's Jubilee.  Meanwhile his GrandMa has visited Leicester.

FB has been to both Jamaica and Leicester.  He knows which one he would choose.

This has left observers wondering who wields the power in the Windsor household - but given that the Jamaica visit seems to have been built around a race with the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, perhaps GrandMa thought it better to let a youngster take him on.  After all she's probably done that ganja and reggae thing before.

Harry of course beat Bolt hands down - largely because he started long before the gun.  When it was pointed out to him that this was against the rules, he responded to the effect that his family were the rules.  So there.

Where are you
Harry man?

Regrettably,  Harry in Jamaica does not seem to have respected its great cricket tradition.  He could have offered himself to bowl at Chris Gayle, or face any past or present Jamaican quickie - Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh were both Jamaican.  The list of great Jamaican cricketers is more than impressive - Alf Valentine, Jeffrey Dujon, Lawrence Rowe, Jackie Hendricks, Jimmy Adams.  The top all rounder in the women's game is Stephanie Taylor, a Jamaican.  But Jamaica's greatest cricketer was probably the great batsman, George Headley, who was honoured by GrandMa with a MBE in 1956.

Cricket is the great Jamaican heritage and hugely important to its relationship with Britain, and the rest of the world, during his GrandMa's years on the throne.  His GrandMa has seen the West Indies in action many times during her annual visit to the Lords Test and has knighted quite a few of them.  But has she ever bought a Bob Marley record?  Why did the Royal planners ignore this?

Fantasy Bob is rabitting on about Harry because the Prince revealed to the world in the course of his tour some rather nifty footwear.  Harry has obviously done some research in the archives and has discovered that desert boots were FB's footwear of choice throughout his extended student years and for some time after, until they disappeared from the shelves.  FB would get through 2-3 pairs in a year wearing them till they fell apart, so he has perhaps been in possession of approaching 30 pairs.  This may well be a record, but Wisden is silent on the matter.

FB adopted desert boots because they were the epitome of cool at the time (he presumes - and not just because they were cheap), even though they were purchased from Marks and Spencer. FB is flattered by Harry's emulation of his style choices, he takes his responsibility as a style icon seriously as any junior member of the go-ahead Carlton club can attest.

FB remembers desert boots being pretty cheap.  Even so he could only afford one pair at a time.  Harry, being a Royal, flaunts his privileged position by showing off that he has 2 pairs.

2 pairs of royal boots