C 3603

Male - born 1944MarriedRetired Youth % Community OfficerLiving in Hertfordshire

The Diamond Jubilee 2nd - 5th June 2012(Diary of an anti-monarchist)Saturday 2nd JuneAwoke at 7-15am - unusually early for me - but not through excitement !Made a pot of tea for wife and self. It's a grey, drizzly day. Very similar to the conditions on Coronation Day in 1953. Whilst drinking my tea, I recall watching the Coronation on telly as a 9 year old. Only a minority of folk possessed a television in 1953 - so my family went to a relative's house for the day to watch the proceedings. I recall being utterly bored by it all. It went on for hours and hours. If I wriggled in my chair - or spoke - the grown-ups told me to keep quiet, sit still and watch.I wasn't an anti-royalist when I was nine. I simply found the whole event tedious. And now - 60 years later - I find the Diamond Jubilee celebrations tedious and irrelevant.So - anyone who expects me to recount my personal involvement in the royal celebrations will be disappointed. You should stop reading now. My activities over the weekend will have nothing to do with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.I have another cup of tea - and read the paper. It's no surprise that the front page - and several inside pages are taken up with the Jubilee. I pass over them - and turn to the sports pages.I check my emails - reply to a couple of friends - and then look at the news headlines on the internet. There's an economic crisis throughout Europe - and massacres in Syria - yet the Jubilee celebrations dominate. Our local builder calls round to discuss some work he's doing for us. He asks if my wife and I are attending a street party. No we're not. He says that he is - but sounds less than enthusiastic about doing so.Another cup of tea - and I listen to 'The News Quiz' on BBC Radio 4. It's a panel game - taking a satirical look at the week's news. Naturally, the Queen's Jubilee gets mentioned. The host of the show asks the very question I've been asking myself. The Queen became queen on the death of her father, King George VI, in November 1952. Her coronation was on 2nd June 1953. That's exactly 59 years ago - so why is the nation celebrating her Diamond (60 years on the throne) Jubilee today ? No definitive answer to that is given.It's just turned 1-30pm. My elder son, his wife and their 2 children arrive - having driven down from Sheffield. They are staying with us over the weekend. Thankfully, my 2 grandchildren (aged 5 and 3) are oblivious of the Jubilee - and the nation's contrived celebrations. I'll enjoy playing with them much more than I would enjoy having a picnic in the street with neighbours dressed in red, white and blue, wearing silly hats and rosettes - getting merry on cheap plonk.My three year old grandson has a handheld computerised game. I don't understand how to play it - but his little fingers control it with great speed and dexterity. Just amazing that a child of 3 is demonstrating to a 68 year old how to operate this mini-computer.It's now 3 o'clock. I am anticipating the live television coverage of the England v Belgium football friendly. Just another 2 hours until kick-off.Played with the grandchildren in our garden. They have boundless energy - I don't !5-15pm. Watched England v Belgium - the final friendly match before Euro 2012 starts next Friday. Not an exciting game - but a solid, well-organised performance from England - who win 1-0. 7-30pm. Grandchildren in bed. Adults have their evening meal.9.00pm. My daughter-in-law (who is a physiotherapist) investigates the pain I've been having in my elbow. She diagnoses 'tennis elbow' (though I've never played tennis in my life!) - and suggests some exercises I can do to alleviate the problem.10.00pm. Check emails - and look at football and news websites - avoiding anything Jubilee related.I usually watch at least one TV news broadcast during the day. But not today as I know all news programmes will be dominated by the Jubilee.To bed shortly after 11.00pm - and read for a while.Sunday 3rd JuneAware of grandchildren being up and about shortly after 6.00am - but drift off back to sleep. Re-awoken by my wife bringing me a cup of tea just after 8-30am.It's a dull morning - with light but steady rain. I feel just a twinge of sympathy for folk all over the country who have outdoor celebrations planned. Our village is holding a Jubilee lunch in the grounds of the parish church. I hope they've made alternative 'wet weather' arrangements. Grandson a bit miserable - complains of pains. He worsens. His mother and my wife take him to our local hospital. I walk to local shops (5 mins away) to buy a paper. It's drizzling quite heavily now. I pass a few homes and shops with sodden Union Jacks and bunting hanging limply.Return home with the 'Sunday Times'. Granddaughter wants to play - so I put the paper aside for later.Late morning. Grandson, his mother and my wife return. Doctor at local hospital said grandson has an infection and prescribes antibiotics.Considering it's a long bank holiday weekend - grandson was seen exceedingly speedily. Well done the NHS !Have a cup of tea and get a chance to look at the paper. Just as I feared - many pages and supplements are devoted to the Jubilee celebrations. I ignore those - and read the 'Sports' and 'Finance' sections.Lunch. Little lad obviously still in pain. Hope the antibiotic kicks in soon.2-00pm. My son, daughter-in-law and the 2 children leave to attend a barbecue at a friend's home. It's to celebrate his recent engagement - NOT to celebrate the Jubilee !My wife and I have another cup of tea - and relax. I note that the rain is heavier now - so macs and umbrellas will be the order of the day at local street parties. Either that - or participants will seek shelter indoors.Continue reading the paper. Avoiding the television as it will be wall-to-wall coverage of the Jubilee.6-00pm. Family return. Time for the grandchildren to bath - and get ready for bed.7-00pm. Watch 'All The Queen's Horses' - yes - it's a Jubilee celebration programme - but it features horses. My wife and are volunteers with a local 'Riding for the Disabled' group - so we are both keen on horses.8-00pm. Evening meal - and a glass of wine. 10.00pm I watch the news on BBC 24 (rolling news) . Despite what's happening in the rest of the world - the lead story is the Thames Pageant - today's major Jubilee event.11.00pm. I retire to bed - a bit earlier than usual. Monday 4th JuneSounds of the grandchildren playing woke me about 7-30am. I doze off again until my wife brings me a cup of tea at the more acceptable time of 9 o'clock. Our grandson seems much better today. The antibiotic is working.Family breakfast together - now joined by our younger son as well.It's a brighter, warmer day - though showery.Most of the family walk to the local shops to get a newspaper - and comics for the grandchildren. I choose to stay home and do the washing up - and general tidying.The rest of the morning is taken up with reading the paper, making cups of tea, and reading to the grandchildren.My grandson's comic has a small plastic clapper toy attached - with which he enjoys making a fairly loud noise. He suddenly says, "will this noise distract Grandad ?" Very sophisticated - he's only three !One o'clock - lunch for all the family. Various sandwiches.Afternoon mostly spent entertaining the grandchildren. Playing with Lego, dollies, cars etc. Sunny and warm enough to go out in the garden - so kicked a ball, watched the grandchildren bouncing around on a space-hopper. Took some photographs of them - to add to the thousands I've taken of them previously.I check my emails - only a couple in my inbox. Never much email traffic on a Bank Holiday.6-00ish - evening meal. Then son and daughter-in-law start packing for the journey home to Sheffield. Grandchildren watch CBeebies (BBC TV children's channel.) Wife and I look have a general hunt round to make sure the children aren't leaving anything. Oh - musn't forget the lads antibiotic medicine in the fridge.7-00pm. Much hugging and kissing from our very affectionate grandchildren - and the family departs.My wife and I have a cup of tea - and chat about our grandchildren. I look at news headlines on the internet - and learn that the Duke of Edinburgh has been taken to hospital with a bladder infection. At least he won't have to sit through this evening's Diamond Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace.7-30pm. I watch an hours telly programme about being the England football manager. It's light hearted - and quite amusing.Another cup of tea - and a bit more tidying up.10-00pm Switch on the telly to watch the news. Got my timing wrong - BBC is still showing the Diamond Jubilee Concert from outside Buckingham Place. Paul McCartney is on - trying to recapture the sound of the Beatles. He fails ! The broadcast of the concert finishes at 10-45pm - and I watch the news. Shouldn't have bothered. The Jubilee dominates. A report of over 150 dead in a plane crash in Nigeria is well down the running order.To bed about 11-30pm - and spend 20 minutes reading 'Four Four Two' - a football magazine.Tuesday 5th JuneUp, washed and dressed by 8-00am.My wife and I drive the five miles to our local 'Riding for the Disabled' centre where we have worked as volunteers for the past 7 years. There's no riding today because it's a Bank Holiday - and school half-term week.We're greeted at the gate by the yard manager's dog. She's hoping for a biscuit - and I oblige.My wife and I each groom two horses. It's nice to have the time to give them a thorough clean and make a fuss of them . Mornings when we have riders tend to be a bit hectic and it's not always possible to groom them to the highest standard.When we've finished - we lead the horses to the paddock and release them. They inevitably roll - and dirty their freshly brushed coats.The two and a half hours we are at the yard pass very quickly. We're home in 10 minutes and have lunch. I usually watch the lunch-time news on telly - but not today. Even without participating in any of the events - I've had enough of the Jubilee and don't want to hear any more about it.During the afternoon I read the paper - and attempt the cryptic crossword. I'm stumped by 3 clues.I surf the net - mainly to catch up on the latest football news.6-00pm. Evening meal - then on to my computer to write up this diary.7-00pm Watched Channel 4 news. All but 5 minutes of it was given over to 'highlights' of the four days of Jubilee celebrations. I find it hard difficult to accept that so many people were possessed by 'royalty mania'. But they were. 8-00pm - Bit of domestic administration. Made a list of 'things to do' in the coming days.9-00pm - Watched repeats of a couple of comedy programmes on 'Dave' TV channel.11-00pm - To be comparatively early - and read for 20 minutes.* * * * *Some afterthoughts about the Diamond Jubilee.....My objection to all the celebrations is not that I'm opposed to people getting together to enjoy themselves. It is that the country has been celebrating privilege by birth. Having a royal family reinforces class divisions. Monarchy is anti-democratic. It is outmoded. It is time the people had a choice about who represents them as head of state.I bear no ill will to individual members of the royal family. But I object to the institution of monarchy.Celebrating the Queen being on the throne for 60 years should be considered as ridiculous as worshiping Apollo or Zeus.Kings and Queens belong to the past - not the future.And now the country can get back to normal - and worry about the economic crisis - and how England will fare in the forthcoming Euro 2012 Football competition. And if England win (I doubt they will) - that will be something worthy of celebration.6th June 2012