VERITY LUSH: Royalist or not, don't ruin royal baby joy

Of course the media are going to report it, and if you can’t be happy for new parents and a tiny innocent newborn, then who on earth can you be happy for? The child is fifth in line to the throne, and his father will one day be King of England. Just as we learn about Henry VIII at school, so people will one day learn about the current royals. By reporting a birth, nobody is taking a royal stance one way or the other, but they are reporting history. ‘IF YOU DON’T LIKE MY PEACHES, DON’T SHAKE MY TREE.’ There are times in life when we realise we have had enough of the male cow manure. There is only so much of certain situations, people, places or scenarios in which you find yourself, that you can take. Every so often, you need a clear out. You may find yourself in a relationship, or workplace, or friendship, where you start to think that the BBC could probably film the shenanigans and viewers would pay their license fees just to watch the farce play out at 10pm on BBC2. This is where stage exit left is required, for the purposes of self-preservation. I’m reading the work of author, Shirley Jackson at the moment. She once wrote that ‘no live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality’. To me, this means that once you see something for what it really is, there is no going back. Be it a cheating partner, or a dishonest friend, or a slippery work colleague, none of us can trick our minds into ignoring and brushing aside the reality with which we have been faced. Not if we wish to stay sane. Some skill is required here. Judging when is the best time to make your escape can be tricky. As is deciding whether to go quietly or make your point. We begin to hone such skills when we are still children in the playground, and some of it depends on whether it’s a mere falling out, or if, for example, it’s an underhand bully. Do we offload to friends (and can you trust them?), do we chuck our toys about and stomp off, finding new situations instead, or do we go silently with alleged dignity? This probably depends on whether or not said situation needs resolving for the sake of others, and whether or not we are feeling brave enough to take it on. Jackson again has lessons to offer here, as she replied rather succinctly (and perfectly) to a reader who did not enjoy her work, and perhaps we would all do well to follow her lead. ‘If you don’t like my peaches, don’t shake my tree.’ HATS OFF TO THOSE INCREDIBLE MARATHON RUNNERS I watched the London Marathon last weekend, in awe, as ever. Sadly this was from the sofa, but a live marathon is an amazing atmosphere. It was an epic achievement, from the record-breaking success of Mo Farah, to your average runner who had decided that this was the year they were going to challenge themselves to the max. To take on that kind of feat, particularly in the sweltering conditions that nobody could have predicted, is to really push yourself well out of any comfort zone. Being on the move for an average of five hours is hard in the best of conditions, so hats off to anyone who is reading this and took part. And a huge well done, too!