Governor General (GG) was there!

London, England: IT WAS the hottest ticket in London town and Jamaica's Governor General Sir Patrick Allen says it was an honour for him and his wife, Lady Allen, to be among the select group of people who attended yesterday's Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

"It was a moving experience - the sort of event you could read about in history books or watch on television. To be there in person, to be part of such an activity was surreal. It was quite amazing! I feel blessed to have been part of history," Sir Patrick told The Gleaner in London just after the wedding.

"I felt proud to know that Jamaica was represented in the Abbey on an occasion like this when millions of people around the world were watching it on television. I felt honoured that my wife and I could be the ones sitting there on behalf of Jamaica. It really means a lot to us."

He added: "It was a special moment for me, and something I will treasure."

Sir Patrick, who is on a six-day visit to the United Kingdom, left his hotel early yesterday morning to go to Clarence House before going on to Westminster Abbey for the service.

He was full of praise for the planning of the event: "The wedding was a beautiful, beautiful ceremony. Everything went perfectly. It was choreographed nicely. The people who did the planning clearly went through a lot of detail, and everything worked like clockwork.

"The programme was beautiful. The setting of the Abbey was magnificent and has stood the test of time. Everything inside was immaculate."

"My wife and I were fortunate that we got a good seat where we could see everything really well."

- Steve Pope

Royal Wedding romps to victory

LONDON (AP):

It was a good day for a Royal Wedding, even on one of Britain's race courses.

The aptly named Royal Wedding won a race at Fontwell on Friday, with the 4-1 shot holding off Take A Mile to win by 12 lengths just hours after Prince William married Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

The Nick Gifford-trained horse won at Fontwell in February and was invited back to race on the same day as the royal nuptials.

"It's been the plan to run for about two months, and we are delighted it's all worked out," Gifford said.

Bookmakers weren't quite as happy, however, saying they had been showered with bets on the popular horse.

Toll-free hotline for tax dodgers heats up

THE TOLL-FREE hotline established by the Government to allow members of the public to report suspected tax dodgers recorded its first case within minutes of the announcement by Finance Minister Audley Shaw.

Commissioner General of the Tax Administration Department, Viralee Latibeaudiere, said the report would be thoroughly investigated by a special unit within the agency to determine if it is credible.

That unit, she said, will gather information on the suspected delinquent taxpayer before deciding whether to send in auditors, or invite the alleged tax cheat to come in and open his books.

"If not, then you raise an estimated assessment based on the activity they are carrying out," Latibeaudiere explained.

Latibeaudiere