Proud to have witnessed great event

Surely the whole principle of the entire ceremony was based on patriotism as well as demonstrating support for the regiment. In our opinion, and indeed that of everyone else to whom we have spoken about it, the Union Jack shoes were entirely appropriate to both the occasion, and the office and ceremonial attire of the mayor, which is after all a British institution.

To confuse military protocol associated with the national flag and a patriotic usage of a reproduction of the same seems entirely disproportionate to the overall occasion. If this is unacceptable, so must be the reproduction of the flag on tee shirts, bags, hats, or any of the other myriad articles that we see being sported by the general public every single day.

What has not been mentioned so far is the amount of time that the mayor took to talk to every single one of the troops in the section of the parade that she covered. It was clear from their reaction that this was much appreciated by them.

One also questions whether Judith Sutcliffe has hit the right target in highlighting the numbers of the public in attendance – it was after all a weekday when the majority of the local population would have been at work. Whether or not the parade was adequately publicised may be an issue, however, the fact remains that a further 900 wristbands remained available on request.

A better turn-out would have been very nice, but this was nevertheless a magnificent occasion that we are proud to have witnessed.

Well done, Trudy: please keep on wearing those shoes! - Jan and Andrew Copson, Warwick.