What have the Queen and an African vicar got in common? The answer? I met them both on the same day. Naturally, I slightly exaggerate. I met the African, I saw the Queen. The Queen and Prince Philip visited Ely Cathedral for the 900th celebration of the Ely Diocese. It was a great occasion.(For me another Forrest Gump moment!). I sat opposite them in the service, with lots of others. The African vicar, Gershom Muhanga, was staying with us. I'm aware that all this can seem an exercise in name dropping. The point is the amazing contrast between these two worlds and being there to witness them both; just like Forrest. There was the pomp, the protocol,the fleeting glance of royalty and the sense, "I was there." But to be there to encounter the Ugandan man was more amazing. A man who took a photograph of me lighting a domestic fire, who had never seen a piece of coal, who had no choice but to live a simple life. Here on a scholarship, he arrived at our house with one coat which had been given, a rolled umbrella we had bought him and a small brief case which was borrowed. He talked to our people about the suffering of the orphans, the terrible conditions of Rwandan Refugees in Mbarara and our need to be grateful for all we have in this country. When asked what he liked about England he said "everything,you should be grateful for everything." Of course someone has to buy the coat and the umbrella to give, but I learned from him that life can be simple and uncomplicated; we need so little to live. When I explained to him as I left for the Cathedral the complex arrangements he asked "are such people free?"