The revolution begins here?

Well, if you read the Daily Mail and its allies. Some protestors damaged Prince Charles's Rolls-Royce after it drove into a protest area.

Let's not forget that the King and Queen were booed and jeered when they did their famous tour of the East End during the Blitz (an annoying little story which subverts the standard narrative of everyone being in it together), and Victoria was in serious danger of popular revolt until everybody went all soppy towards the end of her life - 7 assassination attempts. Before that, of course, the royal family were the butt of some outrageous satire.

Here's a Gillray drawing of the Royal Family, entitled 'The Monstrous Craw', in which the Prince of Wales - feckless, stupid, greedy and corrupt - is fed cash by his equally awful parents during a brief period of amity between them:

Is this treatment of Charles and Camilla worse than the cops yanking a man out of his wheelchair?

So let's all calm down. I assume that Wills and Kate - despite having degrees - weren't protesting, so it's about time the royals got a glimpse of life outside the bubble they're forced to live in. It's not all polo and Duchy Originals Organic Oatcakes. Melbourne, Victoria's Prime Minister tried to keep her from reading Charles Dickens because the novels feature 'paupers, criminals and other unpleasant subjects': do we want your rulers to be similarly shielded from real life?

I'm just desperately sad. I had a great free education and the chance to pursue my interests at postgraduate level. I struggled financially, but I don't have massive debts hanging over me, nor did anyone (except family and friends) question the value of my chosen degrees. The new generation will be forced into worse conditions, degrees and jobs they don't enjoy, and a lifetime of financial bondage - or they can skip university and take their chances in the low-wage 'flexible' economy.

Falling over like ninepins in Downing Street

So several ministers have said they'll quit their posts in a few days: Tom Watson, Beverly Hughes, Patricia Hewitt and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary. Alastair Darling might go over a matter of £350, though I think he's done a good job in saving the actual economy, and Jeff Whoon is off too. Someone might notice. It's not great politics, making the government look incompetent a couple of days before the European elections. I won't miss many of these people, but when you compare Smith to Charles Clarke and David Blunkett, she was a calm, rational, reasonable and pleasant even when wrong, unlike those revolting predecessors.

BUT: what the hell is going on? All these people are going, yet Hazel Blears, the most blatantly corrupt, dishonest, disloyal and untrustworthy minister of all appears to be going nowhere. Astonishing.

I spent the afternoon in Walsall, speaking my mind to the PGCE's external examiner (every course asks someone at a different university to evaluate the standard of the course every year). I did it as a favour - then found that the last bus left at 3.15, almost an hour before I finished. So in the end it cost me money and two horrible sticky rides lasting an hour and a half to get back to Wolves. I'll have to do it again on Thursday. Not impressed!