As part of the Queen's Jubilee celebration June 6th last week, 12 members of the Royal Family joined the Queen to welcome the sovereigns of 26 countries for a luncheon at Windsor Castle.

Here is the group photo taken before the royals, many of them very wealthy old kings, sat down to lunch based on a  British-inspired menu was prepared using many ingredients sourced locally.

1. To start, the royals were given a tartlet of poached egg with English asparagus.

2. This was followed by a main course of new season Windsor Lamb with braised potatoes, artichokes, peas, carrots, broad beans, cabbage, and a tomato and basil salad.

3. Kent strawberries, vanilla Charlotte, dessert fruit and cheese concluded the meal.

BBC report of the Banquet :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18099937

 A week before the Banquet, an article in the 'Daily Mail' was entitled :

Soaring toll of elderly starving in their homes: Hospital admissions up 50% as councils cut back care

It made the following points, that :

* the number of people hospitalised because they are malnourished has soared by 50% in five years and 10 patients a week end up in hospital, half of them old men and women aged over 60.

* critics say the latest figures show care services are failing to ensure old men and women get the help they need as more councils are either increasing fees for 'meals on wheels' or denying people access to the service altogether.
* experts warn that many older people cannot afford a healthy diet, partly because rising energy bills force the worst off to choose between heating or eating.

* the Equality and Human Rights Commission warned last year that home care was often so poor it put the elderly at risk of malnutrition.
 
* Michelle Mitchell, of charity 'Age UK', said: ‘It is estimated that one million older people are malnourished. Every case is preventable. Many older people feel they don’t have enough money for a balanced diet whilst others have practical difficulties with shopping and cooking. The consequences can be very serious. In the worst cases older people can end up being admitted to hospital or take much longer to recover from illness or injury.’


Britain, a country where continuity outweighs change : No country for poor old men in 1112, 1212, 1312,1412, 1512, 1612, 1712, 1812, 1912 and of course, 2012.