Queen's visit could have been organised better

Why was it decided to close Castle Street and Exeter Street?

Why was nothing organised in way of entertainment for crowds inside The Close who waited two hours to get a glimpse of the Queen in her Jubilee year?

What purpose was served by stopping members of the public from crossing the green to reach the stalls selling food?

What genius decided to position the Salisbury Plain Military Wives’ Choir in a place where they would obstruct the view for so many children?

Above all, why stop people from leaving the Close before the Royal departure? It wasn’t as if the public had been invited to the lunch with the great and the good of the county.

Hopefully the various organisers will be getting together for a wash-up and, after the self-congratulation, glance through the letters in the Journal to work out what could and should have been done better.

Seen Epsom Downs at the Playhouse?

If you haven’t you should. It’s an odd piece and at the end of the first half we weren’t sure whether to stay.

Thankfully we did, because the second half was both pacier and more entertaining.

Although it’s a bit disjointed a cast of nine playing 45 roles that’s probably inevitable.

All in all, it's a very entertaining piece, and you can have a flutter on the gee-gees during the interval.

There are some particularly clever sound-effects, especially the arrival of a couple of helicopters, complete with plastic bags being blown around by the rotor-blades’ downwash.

Both the early morning canter on the downs, and the parade in the paddock earned spontaneous applause.

But best of all is the way they stage the Derby itself, which really is exciting. The director tells me the original 1977 production required the actors playing the horses to be naked.

He couldn’t see any need for that, and took the executive decision to dress them in sportsgear. A good call, methinks.

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