The Royal Wedding - Is Blandford Forum Bothered?

According to the the national newspapers, the country is in a frenzy of preparation for the forthcoming wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Parties are expected to spill out onto the streets, giant screens have been erected on every corner and the bunting industry is experiencing a boom unseen since...well, since the last Royal Wedding.

But there's a discrepancy between that picture and what is happening, or more accurately what isn't happening in Blandford Forum.

The Crown Hotel is having a garden party and...that's pretty much it. A couple of shops in town have mustered a Union Jack colour-themed window display but the association is vague. Oxfords the Bakers are doing a two for £1.50 deal on cakes in celebration. Special mention goes to Set Fair 4 Trade for knitting effigies of the Royals for their window display, but the happy couple themselves are absent. In fact, the only sign of Wills & Kate that we saw in town was in the Tourist Information window. Weird.

So what's going on? Do the people of Blandford Forum care about the Royal Wedding, or is the apparent lack of interest in town a reflection of the public's mood? We asked some of the people milling around the market square on Tuesday afternoon.

Dorothy (60) had concerns about the weather, although not for fear of it ruing the nuptials, "I don't really care about it to be honest...sorry! It just doesn't interest me, I'll spend the day in the garden if its nice, but it's not supposed to be, is it?"

While Derek (46) was positively brusque, "Couldn't care less, I don't even get a day off work. I don't know anyone who's interested."

Christine (52) was a little more upbeat, "I'm happy for them, same as I would be for anyone but its not a special thing for me, I'm sure I'll see some of it on the news."

Ben (31) said "I find weddings tiresome generally, even when I know the people getting married, so no I'm not particularly interested in a royal wedding."

Interestingly, the most postive responses were from the younger residents of the town.

Sara (15) said, "It's sweet! I really like Kate Middleton, she seems normal. I'll watch it on the telly at home, we won't be...like, celebrating or anything."

Amand(15) felt similar "I'm actually quite excited, royal weddings don't happen very often do they? My nan loves the royal family so we'll probably go to her house and watch on television."

But the overall impression is that people in Blandford Forum aren't generally that excited. Are we unusual in that regard or is the media hype surrounding this event just that, hype?

If you're doing something for the Royal Wedding, let us know by commenting...