a very British death

An inquest has reached an open verdict on the death of a judge, six years ago.

This story caught the media interest in the UK because

1. The victim was a judge hence plenty of scope for pictures of him wearing his robes and his silly wig.
2. The victim was having an affair with a glamorous mistress.
3. The storyline was identical to an episode of 'Midsomer Murders' aired in March 2003.
4. The wife was arrested but later released without charge.
5. The mistress was also under suspicion for blackmail.

However, what I found interesting (it's not really appropriate to say hilarious) about this case was the sequence of events after the judge told his wife of the affair and the fact he wanted a divorce. After dropping this bombshell to his wife of 34 years, he then went upstairs to, wait for it, change into his gardening clothes and prepared to mow the lawn.

The man went to the garden shed to mount his expensive, deluxe ride-on lawn-mower, when a stray spark ignited petrol fumes causing a massive explosion.

The distraught wife, in a very British way, ran outside and, horrified at the blazing inferno dialled 999 in an attempt to save the life of her unfaithful husband hurriedly gathered in her washing.