Jeez but I'm a sentimental bastard at times… I was walking up Moorgate this morning and sirens started blaring. It was a police car going at a sedate pace, escorting a Green Goddess fire engine straining to go as fast as it could and behind it was a small open-backed lorry with a flashing blue light stuck on the top and the Royal Navy logo on the side. And I almost burst into tears at the sight of the Navy. It was all I could do to stop myself from cheering them on.
Now, I totally support the firefighters' strike (even though I'd forgotten today was strike day). But I'm a sucker for the Navy. It was my childhood dream to be a submarine officer, and the dream made it most of the way to adulthood before it died due to lack of self confidence (and truthfully, it's just as well it did as I'd make an awful serviceman, I'm terrible at following orders). Later, I tried to join the Royal Naval Reserve as a press officer, but somehow it never happened. So, yes, the Navy means a lot to me.
But that reaction was way excessive. And it's not the first time recently – other things have nearly set me off. What's wrong with me at the moment?