S4872

Female 43 Single Solihull
Senior Financial Risk Manager for Life Insurance Company

Since Christmas 2011 I had not had more than the odd day off work (I do not work weekends) so I intended to try to get away and enjoy a few days break. I had invited my mother to see a show on Saturday 2nd June (her Mothers’ Day present) so we had lunch out and then saw the show. My intention was to travel to Wales for the rest of the weekend.The forecast, however, was for rain so I decided to stay home until Sunday and then take a view. I took the opportunity to put in some training for some cycling events I am due to take part in.Sunday 3rd June was a bit of a washout where I live – the rain was unrelenting and I did not fancy spending much time outside. I watched the Jubilee Pageant on the TV though agreed with many social commentators that the BBC coverage was not to my taste. I found that they provided little information or commentary and tended to cut away at key moments (such as when the Royal barge passed under Tower Bridge) for chatter with ‘celebs’ that I found juvenile and uninteresting. At those times I tended to switch to Sky or CNN coverage instead.I spent Monday 4th June on a long cycle ride though part way through I did attend a ‘Jubilee Hog Roast’ in a Cotswold village. It was dry, though cold, but most of the villagers joined in and there was a happy atmosphere. Much of the discussion was about the pageant from the previous day when the Queen and Prince Phillip had stood on their barge in rain and wind for many hours. There was a sense of sympathy and most people were impressed at the sense of duty displayed though there was much irritation at the organisers who were not thought to have prepared adequately for ‘British Summer Time’. We later found that the Duke of Edinburgh had been hospitalised with an infection and no-one was surprised though most felt very sorry for him.In the evening I watched parts of the Jubilee concert on television – it was interesting to cut to the Royal Box and see how they were interacting (and to see the Queen with earplugs in). By and large the live performances seemed quite poor though Tom Jones and Stevie Wonder sang in tune and engaged the audience. Prince Charles made a speech at the end which seemed to display just the right level of reverence for his ‘Mummy’ and humour about the weather/performance etc.The weather on Tuesday 5th June was once again poor though the rain held off in the morning for the Thanksgiving Service in St Pauls Cathedral which was televised. I watched a little of it (enough to see that the BBC had upped their game initially with a bit more gravitas (with Huw Edwards rather than the One Show hosts as anchors)) and more commentary on the historical perspective rather than stories about cakes and drag queens. I understand it was rather spoilt later with a link to Fearne Cotton and Paloma Faith discussing the latter’s new album and sick bags with the Queen’s face on them.I did catch up later with the Royal Family’s appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace (just the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry). It seemed significant for 3 reasons:• The absence of the Duke of Edinburgh• The close presence of the Duchess of Cornwall• The absence of the wider royal familyIn fact the Duchess of Cornwall had shared the carriage with the Queen coming back from the service which seemed a final seal of acceptance of her relationship with the Prince of Wales – unthinkable 10 years ago.Over the weekend there were many film montages of the Queen’s reign but one person noticeably missing was the Princess of Wales who seemed essentially airbrushed from proceedings despite being the mother of the next King but one. Public sentiment seems very kind towards the whole family – 1.5 million on the street to celebrate events, a warmth towards the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and a growing confidence from the Duchess of Cambridge as the public continue to adore her. There were some demonstrations against the monarchy but very few arrests over the whole weekend which was refreshing. Overall the view of people I have overheard has been less about inherited privilege and more that the Queen has a remarkable sense of duty and works really hard. There has been some limited chatter about whether people would prefer to see the Duke of Cambridge accede to the throne after the Queen but less than I expected.It was a pleasure to be spared too much political focus – there were no politicians on the Royal barge and few interviews with any of them – it is hard to imagine that Tony Blair would not have been keen to participate and provide some historical soundbites if this had still been his premiership.Many local shops had jubilee themed window displays in my neighbourhood. Some people had decorated their houses and cars, though my street did not have much of this (we are a mixture of ages, races and demographics – there just seemed little interest in external displays). More street parties were arranged than for last year’s royal wedding - apparently my neighbourhood had a large street party but I didn’t know anything about it. I was surprised by the large number of younger people (meaning in their 20s and 30s) that were lining the streets in London. I might have expected a much older audience (though youthful stamina must have been required to survive the conditions!).