Uniform

One of the few perks of doing national service in Norway is that you get a huge discount—I believe it’s 90 per cent—when you travel by train. Consequently I have always found it slightly sinister when travelling around Norway to find myself surrounded by uniformed soldiers. That’s not a sight I’ve grown up with here, thanks to the blanket ban on our own soldiers careening about in khakis that was implemented at the height of the IRA’s activities.

On the way to work today, however, on the petrol station forecourt at Vauxhall I passed a soldier in full uniform and, I’m pretty sure I recall, a maroon beret, which would make him part of the Parachute Regiment. He was just wandering into the shop, but the shock of seeing him was almost as great as if he’d pointed a gun at me. Has the ban been lifted? Can they tootle about in full view now? Or was he being reckless?