The following letter in Mrs S's Daily Mail this week:
Reading about the possible withdrawal of the guard at Balmoral due to savage defence cuts, are things really that bad? What it costs to provide the guard for a few months of the year must be a drop in the ocean compared to the billions wasted on bad procurement, contracts and poor financial management throughout the Mod.
Is it only the guard at Balmoral who are in the firing line, or have they included the guards at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle? Push come to shove, they could also save money by not participating in the likes of the Tattoo, trooping the colours or any other royal tournaments.
Wimbledon has come and gone -- what do the number of Navy, army and RAFpersonnel you see standing around there really do? Is the Mod paying them as well?
It's about time that Joe Public smelt the coffee and realised that, yes, things really are that bad!
Incidentally, on the subject of Wimbledon, I thought it was volunteers on leave. Is that right? If not, then yes bin that commitment too.