Nowhere else in the world can you follow soldiers as they march along town streets accompanied by the indomitable sounds of a big brass band, and sometimes (if you’re lucky) trailing behind them a well loved pony or Irish wolfhound.
On the day I visited Windsor to experience this delight, a regiment of Gurkhas were being relived by the Royal Signals. The Gurkhas, headed back to barracks, marching a little quicker than most, look upon it first, the images appear perhaps sped up.
This motion of pacey movement professes an image that this troop don’t hang around, they get things done. I for one certainly would not want to step in their path, especially as they all carry Kukris blades, a rather intimidating Nepalese national weapon, its use and shape dating back nearly a thousand years.
The British army has seen Gurkha soldiers such as these in active since for over 200 years. Each solider recruited from Nepal.