Mayor cuts ribbon on Lady Di memorial underpass
"Fitting tribute" to the Queen of Hearts
by Lester Haines
 |
| Our artist's impression of what we
believe temp secretaries may have seen yesterday |
The Mayor and municipal council officials yesterday joined Sir Elton John
and thousands of sobbing, flower-bearing temp secretaries at the inauguration
of the new Lady Diana memorial underpass in Tixover, Rutland.
The £17 million structure - the opening of which marks the completion
of the £254 million "Queen of Hearts" bypass and is 288 miles from Paris
- was described by the Mayor as "a fitting tribute" to the sainted Princess of
Wales.
The underpass features cutting-edge road management systems, including
electronic signposts and an impressive array of speed cameras. The builders
have also incorporated extensive parking facilities to cater for the thousands
who are expected to come and lay wreaths at the site.
A teary-eyed council official told The Rockall Times: "We simply
wanted to pay our own humble tribute to the woman who touched the lives of
hundreds of billions of ordinary people."
Janet Smith, a filing clerk from Basildon, told us: "I've been queuing here
for eleven months to sign the book of remembrance. It's what she would have
wanted."
The moving ceremony concluded with Sir Elton John's emotional rendition of
the theme tune to the Government's new road safety campaign "Kill your speed,
not a Princess".