Tomorrow, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, will visit Galway. He’ll be in my neighbourhood, visiting NUIG ( National University of Ireland, Galway). Back in 1845, when construction commenced on the university, it was originally called Queen’s College, named after his great-great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria. There is a reminder of her reign still attached to the boundary wall on University Road – a postbox bearing her crest (V R – Victoria Regina). Incidentally, the anniversary of the introduction of the first postage stamp (which in turn begat the need for post boxes) into both Britain and Ireland happened a couple of weeks ago, on May 6th. The first stamps were introduced just five years before the start of the college construction, in 1840.