comment, filed for Scotland on Sunday, 15 April 1990
Two years ago I was sitting in a guest house 8,900 feet above sea level toasting tired feet over a box of hot coals secreted beneath my table. On the radio, a bizarre broadcast was in progress.
"On the auspicious occasion of his auspicious majesty's forty-third birthday, there have been celebrations throughout the country", reported a rich, respectful, upper-class English voice. "Tributes to his auspicious majesty on this auspicious occasion have been pouring in from foreign leaders."