Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Back to Future New Europe is old Europe

At the reception, I counted five horsehair wigs. There was a contingent of aldermen in fur-lined red coats and a representation of deputies in fur-lined blue coats, many accompanied by their stern-faced wives.
The gathering was a sea of epaulets, feathers and so much fur, Putin quipped, that some of it had to have come from Russia. Pikemen and musketeers of the Honourable Artillery Company wore metal body armor and helmets with red plumes. Tapestries hung from the trumpets of the state trumpeters.

· Putins at Guildhall. [TownHall ]