A difficult week

This week has been an interesting one for B and I. I am proud to be British especially after watching the amazing flotilla celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, but upset for B given the state of affairs in Egypt. It is difficult flicking between proud and disgust for how different countries are handling things.

On Saturday 3 June, 2012, Hosni Mubarak was found guilty for cconspiring in the killing of protesters during the 2011 protests and recfieved a life seteance, as was his former interior minister Habib al-Adly. Mubarak’s two sons – Gamal and Alaa were found not guilty of corruption because too much time had past since their crimes for them to be charged. A number of other former ministers were found guilty, but because some of them escaped to countries including Qatar and UK (less proud now) they were sentenced in absentia and their extraditions sort. For full verdict visit this site.

Following the initial guilty verdict the people in Egypt were incredibly excited, I even shouted out in joy when I found out. However this initial joy was short lived when the people discovered Gamal and Alaa were being let go and that Mubarak was likely to be successful in appealing the verdict. People took to the streets and the scenes in Alexandria and Cairo – Tahrir Square in particular – seemed very familiar to those that paid attention to the 2011 protests. What will happen next? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain – there are hard times ahead.

In happier news – and I admit to being a fan of most of the royals (don’t get me started on Prince ‘I like freebies’ Andrew) – the Queen is celebrating 60 years on the throne and in just three more years she will become the longest reigning monarch in British history. Stop whinging people of the UK and enjoy the fact that despite having our own problems, we have a country so many others wish they could be a part of. Here are a couple of my fave pics from the day.

Enjoy

OB