The Good: I got to meet the Queen, shake her hand and do the whole neck-bow with "Good Evening, Ma'am" bit. I also got to meet HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and got to chat with him. He asked me where I came from and about the Rhodes Scholarship (which, surprisingly, he knew little about). It was quite interesting. Prince Philip is about my height. I also managed to see the Throne Room, where the Queen knights people, and talk to the Royal Nurse.

The Bad: I didn't get to meet Nelson Mandela, who arrived later and was circulating around with the help of an aide and a cane. Apparently he is more frail then the press reports.

The Ugly: Plenty of wine and orange juice- but no food. We left for Buckingham Palace at 2.30pm and returned at around 10pm, and weren't given anything to eat in between apart from some quite poor canapes. For goodness sake! Between the Rhodes Trust and the Monarchy, you'd think someone would have the money to give us some sandwiches!

All in all, though, an excellent experience, one I will remember fondly.

[By the way, if you called me at about 6.15pm, I was in line to meet the Queen and it would have been really bad if I had whipped out my phone. Whoever it was, drop me a line!]