W2322

Male, retired teacher, married, aged 67 Now living in Fareham, Hants Part 3: The Diamond Jubilee 2nd – 5th June 2012 Saturday 2 June 06:00 An early start for the family, as my wife is teaching on a powerboat course at the centre in Portsmouth, and because this is regulated by the tides and high tide is at 09:56 today, she had to be away from home at 07:00. So I awoke her, then stayed in bed reading. 07:00 Breakfast (coffee and muesli), put on a dark clothes wash, checked emails. 08:00 Gardening - improving the soil and planting out some bedding dahlias. Hanging out the clothes from my earlier wash, and ironing two shirts. 09:00 Tutoring my Indian student at his house. We did some cloze exercises I had prepared myself, one from The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and one from a Radio Times article on Shakespeare 10:00 Checking the post and some other domestic jobs. 11:00 I am reading the final pages of a novel (Rachel Cusk, The Bradshaw Variations) which needs to go back to the library today. Listening to Classic FM (courtesy Alan Titchmarsh) playing patriotic music as I read. 12:00 Walked into town, 15 minutes away. Went to library and also bought a new shaver, my previous one having packed up yesterday. 13:00 Began walking back from town. Noticed the small museum was offering Jubilee activity days today and Tuesday - but then it's half-term week, so they would normally do that anyway. On the way home I counted how many houses in my street had decorations. It's two out of a total of over 140. Made myself lunch (scrambled egg) and listened to Classic FM. 14:00 Mowing the lawn. 15:00 Still mowing the lawn. It is not that we have a huge lawn - far from it; but part of it, at my wife's suggestion, is lefty as a wild flower meadow, and then about now it is mown so that it becomes more like a normal lawn. This process I am just beginning now, but it takes quite a lot of time. Some of the fritillaries and anemones have not yet seeded, so I am having to mow carefully around them. Drove 4 miles to the sea for a walk in the fresh air along the prom to Lee-on-Solent. On the way I observed three houses with bunting and flags, all including the Flag of St George as well as the Union Flag. 16:00 Walking by the sea. Afterwards I drove to Sainsbury's in Fareham to do some food shopping. 17:00 A little after this I arrived home, to find my wife returning from her sailing. We talked about our days, and I fetched in the washing from the line. Went to fetch fish and chips from a shop in West Street. 18:00 We both began watching an edition of Foyle's War, which I missed the first time around but think is superb. I love the authentic wartime setting, and I admire Michael Kitchen's acting enormously. 20:00 Wrote an email or two and washed a car - in the rain, but it was covered in Sahara dust and bird shit, so needed attention. Then as my hair was thoroughly wet, I washed my hair properly. Piano practice until - 21:00 Watched Lewis. 23:00 Went to bed. Sunday 3 June 06:30 Woke and read in bed 07:30 Got up and had breakfast with my wife. 08:00 My wife departed for her sailing session in Portsmouth harbour. I answered some emails, spent a few minutes in the garden (which had got thoroughly watered overnight) and then sharpened some woodworking tools. 09:00 Went to the church, but discovered there is a different pattern to worship this morning (I'd missed out on that because for various reasons I had not been to this church for 3 weeks). So I returned home to do a little writing and woodwork. 10:30 Left again to go to church for a Jubilee service on the village green at Stubbington, a few miles south of my town of Fareham. 11:00 Tried again to go to church - but it certainly wasn't being held on the Green, as advertised. Came home, disconsolate. and did some more woodwork. 12:00 I need to walk into town to change the shaver I bought yesterday, because apparently it only trims stubble, it doesn't shave you. Now what a stupid idea!! 13:00 I've at last got myself a new shaver and put it on to charge. Am about to get myself some lunch - sandwiches and yogurt, and I read a few pages of a German novel I am reading. 14:00 Began watching the Thames flotilla, with occasional reads of my German novel. The sun has come out here! I watched this for most of the four hours it was being broadcast, my wife coming in afgter an hour or so. I was most impressed: by the range of boats which had been assembled by the superb organisation by the good humour of the crowd and their happiness, despite the weather above all, by the stamina of the Queen and all the royal family, as they watched 18:00 We got ourselves a simple tea - bread and butter, crisps and tinned rice. Then I called my sister for our weekly chat, and arranged when we would see each other again. She had also been watching the flotilla, and also admired the Queen's stamina. 19:00 Piano practice - which for once went quite well! 20:00 This sounds as if I always spend my evenings watching television, which I don't. However, we watched on BBC2 Simon Reeve finishing his journey around the Indian Ocean 21:00 Followed by Nick Crane on Coast, a programme about extremes and disasters. 22:00 I am yawning, so I am going to get ready for bed. I'm taking with me James Patterson, Wer sich umdreht oder lacht and Sarah Rayne, The Sin Eater. Monday 4 June 07:30 Woke up and got up. Put on a dark wash. 08:00 Breakfast, discussing the day, looking on the internet to check the weather for today for this area. It is NOT encouraging! I scrubbed down the work surfaces in the kitchen, as there was a smell of salmon. 09:00 At the gym - I walked in as it is just a mile away. The brisk walk counts as my warm-up. I worked steadily for nearly an hour, and also had a chat with a couple of members. 10:00 Walked back via Tesco, where I bought some glue, coffee and cheese. The weather has bucked up, and now almost feels like April instead of February. June? That's months away! 11:00 Answered a few emails and made some drinks for us. 11:30 Began watching the film on BBC2, Ring of Bright Water. We had seen it when it first came out in 1969, and knew Gavin Maxwell's book, so it was quite a nostalgia trip for us. More seriously, it made us ponder why such beautiful, harmless, wholesome films are not made nowadays. It is very, very sad that they are not. 13:00 The film finished at 13:10 and we each made ourselves a sandwich and hot drink. Then, the day being still very cold, we put the heating on! I checked out the film locations for Ring of Bright Water - mainly around Oban and the Island of Seil, very beautiful and unspoilt places. 14:00 Ironing those things that needed it from the dark wash I did earlier. I followed this with a long piano practice. 15:00 We were on the allotment, picking strawberries and building a cage for the brassicas 18:00 Back home, with strawberries to wash and rhubarb to prepare for the freezer. But first, some food - fish fingers, followed by strawberries ice-cream. 19:00 Some more emails and writing, followed by a little time in the garden - the weather is now sunny and almost warm! 20:00 Rang an old friend and got up to date with news. 21:00 Reading and chatting in the family. 22:30 In bed. Tuesday 5 June 06:00 Woke and read in bed for a while 06:47 While in the bathroom I was disgusted to see that our binmen were coming around as usual on a Tuesday! Reasoning that we were in the middle of two bank holidays, I had not put our bin out for collection, so we shan't have our landfill bin emptied now for another two weeks. Drat! 07:00 Breakfast, emails, reading, planning the day, piano 09:00 We decided to make jam from the strawberries picked yesterday. My wife went to the supermarket to buy lemons, pectin and sugar, while I retrieved the pyrex mixing bowl from my daughters'. Then I spent ages preparing the fruit, and we discussed different recipes. 11:30 Things are rather leisurely this morning! We decided to go out for lunch, to a lovely little café we know in Emsworth. The meal was delicious. While we were out, the rain started in earnest, and continued steadily for the rest of the day. 13:20 Back home, we assembled all the jars and ingredients and began making jam, all 14 jars of it. We worked together steadily until about 16:00, then I washed everything up. 16:00 The Jubilee Concert highlights were on TV. My wife watched them, while I half-watched them and did odd jobs on the computer, including answering Part 2 of this Directive.. 17:00 Was approached by a German gymnasium student of English - would I look over her English article on a panda? I agreed to. 18:00 Evening meal 19:00 Television - BBC2 programme on trams, and Springwatch. Both excellent. 21:00 I tackled that article by a German student, which really had a lot of problems. Tried to write tactful comments and email to her! My wife is labelling the strawberry jam, which looks very good. 22:00 Watched the news, including a summary of the Jubilee weekend. 22:30 Bed and reading

W4376

Female Age 43 Married Designer and creator of personalised scrapbooks Part Three: The Diamond Jubilee 2nd – 5th June 2012 Saturday 2nd June I travel down to my parents in Yorkshire to go along to their local village fete. Both of my daughters come with me, but J has to be at work today so misses out on the start of the Jubilee festivities. On the way to Halifax, we stop off on the outskirts of Leeds to pick up a 1920’s typewriter that my daughter has bought on e-bay. We have lunch at my parents and then all wander out into the village for the fete. Many people come from the village, plus others from surrounding villages. They have organised various attractions: four vintage cars, dog agility performances, art show, a barbeque stall, bouncy castle, inflatable sumo wrestler costumes, brass band recital, an opportunity to have a go at the Paralympic sport of boccia (similar to boules), plus a selection of cake/book/plant stalls. There is a children’s parade down the village street, with them all dressed as princes, princesses, kings and queens. The Mayor of Calderdale presents them with prizes, announces the fete open and then everyone spends money, eats cakes and enjoys a cold, wet but Jubilee afternoon. Before we return home, we eat out at Aldo’s, an Italian restaurant in Cleckheaton. So having spent the afternoon surrounded by bunting and Union Jack flags, it is a treat to sit amongst Italian flags and listen to Italian music. Sunday 3rd June J and I go for a swim this morning at the local health club. The garden then beckons when we get back, with the everlasting problem of weeds needing attention. I go shopping to the supermarket for food for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend. After tea, I watch some of the Jubilee River Pageant on the BBC i-Player. I enjoy being able to fast forward past some of the commentary that is not necessarily as informative as I expected – a bit too much of a show business feel. Monday 4th June I spend the first part of the morning tidying up the house in readiness for J’s parents arriving from Australia for a twelve week holiday with us. We meet them at Newcastle Airport, and whilst waiting for them to come into the Arrivals Hall. We stand next to a couple waiting for their relatives, she wearing a tiara and he wearing a Queen Elizabeth mask. This does cause a lot of smiles as other people spot them waiting. Paul’s parents arrive and we drive back home, and they enjoy seeing the flags and bunting hung outside local businesses and houses. We spend the rest of the day catching up on family news and finish the day off with a game of cards, before the jet lag starts to kick in and they, and us call it a night. Tuesday 5th June Today we have planned a Jubilee lunch so it is a bit disappointing that the weather is cold and wet and we are not going to be able to have our lunch outside. I had hoped for a warm sunny day to fit with my theme of a ‘typically English’ picnic party, in honour of the Jubilee and to give my parents-in-law something different to look forward to, as opposed to the inevitable barbecue. But weather aside, I just put up the home-made floral bunting inside the house, and put the large green bottles of summery flowers on window ledges. Each bottle also has a floral Union Jack postcard coming out of it, and gives the house the summer garden feel that we are not going to be able to experience outside. Guests arrive for lunch, including my parents, friends and neighbours, and we start the lunch off with Pimms. Everyone has contributed something to the lunch, so we have a magnificent picnic spread, even including a nod to history with coronation chicken. It’s good to be together for an afternoon of gossip, games of snooker and even afternoon tea of scones, jam and cream. We round off the afternoon with a glass of champagne and a toast to the Queen, which just seems to be the right thing to do. Once everyone has gone home, we eat up the leftovers, and our daughters and their friends who are here for a sleepover finish off the evening watching DVD’s, and the rest of the adults play cards. Why spoil the habit of a lifetime by not playing cards, even if it is the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

V3773

Female psychology graduate, ex-bookseller, ex-primary teacher, currently hospital pharmacy assistant, 50 years old co-habiting in the West Midlands Saturday 2nd June 2012 I wanted to go to Kenilworth Show in the morning, recommended by a friend who lives in the country, but my partner, A, wasn’t interested and I didn’t want to go on my own so we went into Solihull and I looked out for some Jubilee memorabilia. Most shops that were part of a chain had a royalty/British theme in the windows and sold various royalty/British items such as mugs, tea towels, biscuits etc. Costa Coffee just had red, white and blue paper chain links along the counter. John Lewis had more of an emphasis on the London Olympics, although they also stocked Jubilee things. Independent stores didn’t tend to have changed their stock or display, just red, white and blue balloons or bunting outside. I don’t know why I wanted memorabilia – maybe just an excuse to buy stuff, or maybe because it was the only way I was likely to get involved – but it had to be relatively tasteful, and something I would use. In the end I found some stuff in Robert Dyas and used a voucher they’d previously handed out giving 15% off during Jubilee weekend. If I’d seen anything I liked featuring the Queen I might have bought it, but as it turned out the items I bought were more traditional British than they were royal. I bought three tea towels, a mug and a water bottle. Pre-discount, the tea towels were 2 for £4 (one with old-style telephone boxes and one with post boxes) and the other one, featuring lots of Union Jacks, not all in the traditional colours, was reduced to £1. I also bought a mug with bunting painted onto it (also reduced, to £1.99) and a folding Union Jack water bottle (£1.99). Solihull had scheduled a few fun things for the town centre later on, such as a fashion show, face painting and some jazz bands. The jazz bands weren’t really part of the jubilee celebrations (jazz not being known for its traditional British roots) – they were part of Solihull jazz weekend. Driving home for about ten minutes along mostly busy residential roads we saw one house with a Union Jack hanging by the front door, and just a couple of houses with bunting. I asked A whether I should enter into the spirit of the thing and stand my (fairly insignificant) mug in the front window but we thought perhaps not. Apart from Solihull town centre I wasn’t aware of any local Jubilee celebrations. Our road is too busy anyway, but there wasn’t anything organised for the quieter road around the corner that A’s relatives lived in. Someone I know thought that street parties were more likely to take place on council estates, which suggested to me that they thought perhaps it was a class thing. Maybe some neighbourhoods are just friendlier than others. At home I had an early afternoon sleep as usual, A investigated music CDs (American/blues) on the Internet, and we watched a DVD of The Ghost (Robert Harris/Roman Polanski). Not as good as the book. After tea/dinner we watched the final of The Voice, and went to bed by 9.30. Sunday 3rd Up by 8 and watched a few minutes of BBC Breakfast talking about the river pageant that would dominate BBC1 viewing for most of the day, but switched over to watch two Channel 4 repeats of an American sitcom (Everybody Loves Raymond, if you must know). Out at 9.30 to do the grocery shop we do every other Sunday at Sainsbury’s. A said that on Friday the assistants had been wearing Union Jack bowler hats, but there was no sign of that today. I didn’t notice anything especially Jubilee-ish at Sainsbury’s. One car we saw on the way home, in the drizzle, had a flag sticking out of the window, and another had an England flag which A thought was probably more to do with football. At home I had another sleep, and then while I was trying to do some Nectar Canvass surveys (trying to get more Nectar points off future shopping by doing online surveys for companies) A was watching some of the BBC coverage of the river pageant. I could tell he was missing me because he shouted up the stairs that the Queen had fallen in the river. “No she hasn’t” I shouted back without needing to check my facts. Then apparently Clare Balding had fallen in the river too, so although I knew darned well she hadn’t, I gave up doing computer stuff and went to watch some river pageantry with him. I don’t usually think of myself as Royalist or nationalist, but I do get drawn in and eventually find myself rather moved by these occasions, with such a large proportion of Britain’s population (and the Commonwealth) all celebrating at once. I’d phoned Mum in the morning for a chat, and she said that it made you think there wasn’t a God (not that I think she believes anyway) that such a big day for Britain should have such miserable weather. I said I thought would help people to feel British, because they’d still turn out in the rain to support Her Majesty. I thought that it showed more loyalty for her subjects to support her in the rain, because if it had been sunny, one wouldn’t have been sure that they’d turned up to support one, or just because it was a lovely day to be out. The Royal boat was rather splendid, and so were the gondolas and the New Zealand boat with the men (who must have been freezing) performing the haka. I missed the Little Boats of Dunkirk, which I know I would have found moving, but saw the puppet war horse (from the theatre production) on a rooftop, which the Queen seemed to like. I came back right at the end when the London Philharmonic Orchestra was playing, and some very damp choristers were singing on top of the orchestra boat, and although I know they have to go ahead and perform anyway, I found everyone’s dedication in the rain quite touching. The royal family seemed to enjoy the upbeat sea shanty more than Land of Hope and Glory or whatever song it was that went just before. They must like a change from the same old nationalist tunes, however apt or stirring they may be for the occasion. Kate and Camilla seemed to get the giggles during one of the pieces, and I enjoyed seeing that, and the various bits of chat the family had, wondering what they’d be talking about. The local news showed that there were a few parties going on in villages, and also in inner-city Birmingham, I think. Slightly envious of the friendly communities, but being expected to join in would be A’s idea of hell. In the evening we just had a non-Royal tea, watched non-Royal telly and a recording of a non-Royal episode of Doc Martin. Mum phoned to say that the pergola attached to the back of her house had collapsed (but she wasn’t holding a Jubilee party under it so no one got squashed). Monday 4th Up at 6.30 to see A off to work at a local branch of a DIY chain. I had breakfast, put a wash on and mostly got on with Mass Obs, though I also tried to sleep once or twice. Dad returned a call I’d made the previous day, to tell me he was fine, and I asked him whether his call was free, before I settled in for a longer conversation. I don’t think we mentioned the Jubilee at all, or maybe I asked him whether he was doing anything for it, knowing that he probably wasn’t. As it happened I think he went to a Japanese festival in a nearby park. When A came home (about 12.20) he said that lots of staff had dressed up to come to work. The lady meeting and greeting customers was dressed as a Beefeater, one woman wore a red, white and blue curly wig, a couple of employees wore England ’66 football shirts and other employees just wore a variety of red, white and blue clothes. A wore his black uniform top, as usual. He’d said that he’d listen to some music so I could get on with Mass Obs. However, after listening to one CD he was fed up so I went and had a cup of tea with him once or twice in the garden, though it was only warm up near the house. After he’d grudgingly let me get back to work he made us the evening meal (which lacked a Jubilee theme) and we sat down to watch telly for the rest of the evening. The One Show featured interviews on a bus – Sir Cliff in the driver’s seat (one or two lines of “Summer Holiday”) – with Sir Paul, Sir Elton, Sir Kylie and Sir Gary, then we watched the first part of the Jubilee concert. We found it rather weak until (Sir) Tom Jones performed, and didn’t blame the Queen for not turning up until 9pm (reportedly armed with ear plugs). She probably left it until just after Sir Tom so that she could enjoy hearing him as she arrived, but at the same time wouldn’t be tempted to throw her knickers at him. We were pleased to see will.i.am because his energy and sense of fun make us laugh but all the performances and songs until Sir Tom’s arrival were bland and boring. Even the Annie Lennox song that I usually enjoy seemed to have had had the edges knocked off, and had gone all shapeless and Mariah-fied, which so often seems to happen to great songs for live performances. I liked the classical performances a little more, at least they retained their crispness, but Sir Tom was the first singer who seemed to get the crowd (including the Royal family) really enthusiastic. The comedians that introduced the acts were a little more entertaining, though they didn’t get a very enthusiastic response from the crowd, and Lee Mack made a joke about Prince Harry then muttered ‘Is he laughing?’ After Sir Tom we waited to hear the jubilee song, but it wasn’t anything special – Lord Lloyd-Webber hadn’t made it as rousing as I know he’s capable of doing. We were promised Slum Drummers from a Commonwealth country – Kenya, I think, probably not Canada – and a brilliant Aboriginal musician, but although we could see them they were kind of swallowed up in amongst the African Children’s choir (whom, we’re told, absolutely love being in London) and the Military Wives. We realised that there wouldn’t be a repeat of Brian May’s guitar rendition of ‘God Save the Queen’ from the roof of Buck House (performed for the Golden Jubilee in 2002) but we were delighted to see that he’d been invited to watch the concert from the Royal box. Many reporters seemed to think that the Duke’s absence was verging on tragic, but although the Queen will have missed him, I can’t imagine that he was devastated to miss it, and I’m sure he’ll be better soon. Bed just after 9, and A wouldn’t record the rest of the concert. He’s in charge of entertainment and I can’t be bothered to argue, and we know these things often turn out disappointing anyway. Tuesday 5th Up at 6.30 again. It was grey and cold, but luckily it wasn’t raining or I’d have ended up giving A a lift to work. Wasn’t tempted to try to go back to sleep today until at least 9.25 – I must have been catching up, finally. Looked forward to seeing a programme featuring the concert highlights that would be on from 3.45 until 5.30, so we could see the bits that we missed after 9pm. I read that will.i.am appeared again towards the end and hoped that we had a glimpse of him to look forward to. Put on my whites wash (work tunics), worked on Mass Obs, and also tried to set up my camera to point at the bird feeding table (not very successfully) in order to record visitors to it. Didn’t sleep until after A came home and we’d watched the morning’s recording of Frasier, then I semi-permanently dyed my hair before we settled down to watch the concert highlights. Pleased to see that the drearier stuff was cut out or shortened to one song, enjoyed Tom Jones (both songs) again and Shirley Bassey. They both still had strong voices, whereas Sir Paul’s, Sir Elton’s, Sir Cliff’s and Stevie Wonder’s voices seem to have weakened more with age. Is it a Welsh thing? Or have Sir Tom and Dame Shirley continued to focus on singing and been less distracted by other things? Kylie was quite upbeat and entertaining although her songs are nothing special, but it probably helped that as well as being attractive she’s backed by dancers. Didn’t see will.i.am at the end though A said he saw him when all the performers walked onto the stage to hear Prince Charles’ speech (to ‘Your Majesty…Mummy…’ which got a laugh). Quite touched during the speech, including when the Prince suggested that if everyone shouted very loud his father might hear from the hospital. Fantastic fireworks to Land of Hope and Glory at the end. After tea and making sandwiches for the next day, I carried on with some Mass Obs bits then watched Springwatch before bed. I don’t have any visual displays to report, and the only photo I shall attach is the one of my Jubilee purchases from Robert Dyas. My monthly online Costa Coffee points statement was headed ‘Your monthly statement Ma’am’ and went on to say ‘It's Diamond Jubilee time! Bestowed here is your balance as of 25th May 2012. If one would like to check one's balance at any time, then simply login to one's account. Remember, you can collect and spend your points on all coffee and food in store like our royally tasty Coronation chicken sandwich or our simply spiffing lemon tart with lashings of lemon curd. Raise a glass to Queen and coffee!’

L4388

female 26 years single Bootle freelance writer Saturday, 2nd June - At breakfast-time - 9am - I noticed a number of small, hard, flesh-coloured spots on the palm of my right hand. According to mum they’re may be callouses, which can appear quite early on in life. I always associated these with hard physical labour, not writing and typing. The right is my writing hand and the only one with which I can manipulate anything with ease, but I wouldn’t have thought it had had enough use to show on the skin, especially not the palm.... After my usual breakfast (small glass of milk, slice of buttered bread, small bowl of porridge and half a hot-cross bun) and flick-through The Times and i - avoiding the formers’ ridiculously twee articles on the royal family - mum and I walked to the Aintree Retail Park for shopping. There was a cool breeze and mizzle in the air. The grass in verges and a patch of nearby ‘waste ground’ is lush and sending up tall seed-stems. At least a dozen species of wild flower must be in that area alone. The waste ground is so thick with them, grasses, horse tails and young trees I call it ‘the Garden’. A double-decker bus headed for Heydock Park came onto Dunningsbridge Rd. out of Heysham Rd., the first time I’ve seen a bus come that way and bound for Chester. It reminded mum of the first and only bet she won on a racehorse at Haydock, decades ago. She chose it for its name ‘Blue Jacket’, same colour as the bus. Heysham Rd. itself was blissfully free of the HGVs that thunder down it every weekday. At the retail park we played dodge -‘ems with the other grazers, most of them either naturally wall-eyed or made that way by each other. It’s always bad on Saturdays and the long weekend to come may be acerbating it. There were the same Union Jack-embossed objects that have been there for weeks and months. Seeing these things all year feels like being in America. Who buys them and why I don’t know. The two-dimensional attitudes behind flag-waving leave me cold. Still, they’re better that the the one-dimensional attitudes behind the flying of most St. Georges’ flags. As for signs of Jubilee fervour, in the surrounding handful of miles around our house I’ve seen about ten houses showing flags and bunting and half a dozen or so small shops with same (an odd selection of bakers, hairdressers, a solicitors‘, a jeweller, news-agents, a printer cartridge-seller, an army surplus, pubs, restaurants, and a motor parts dealer), along with a couple of churches, a school, two social clubs and three community centres. The most bizarre shop display is in Liverpool city centre - in River Islands’ store window black mannequins in patterned summer shirts hold leashes attached to model corgis (who sport sunglasses). There are no street parties happening round here and I’ve not heard any conversations about the Jubilee. 1 pm : After lunch in my room (mini sausages, chips, strawberry yoghurt and cucumber slices - no ‘patriotic’ clichés intended!) I looked through the Radio Times, including their personal-memories-of-the-Queen page. There’s a wildlife-spotting feel to these, of a creature glimpsed in and out of its habitat (the Queens’ habitats probably being palace grounds, racecourses and yachts). Considering RT has been asking for contributions for months there don’t seem many of them. Had my 4 o’clock snack - two satsumas, some grapes and a Tracker - then wrote my diary. At 5 I eschewed my daily online GCSE maths lesson and watched the unbeatable BBC4s’ documentary about the coronation on playback via the laptop. An evocative social history, great to see MO contributions used after more than half a century. Some of the memorabilia reminded me of the cardboard palace and carriage mums’ step-father bought her at the time. Childrens’ stuff notwithstanding, I couldn’t help wishing that there was a tighter control on tat now and that the press were currently handled in a manner more similar to that jowly Dukes’. Following this I had my dinner at 6:40 - fish, buttered bread, sliced raw carrot, peas and a slice of malt loaf. At 7:15 I read John Maxstone-Grahams’ The Only Way to Cross for a couple of hours in mums’ bed (mine’s a bed-desk combo I‘ve been sitting at for most of the afternoon) then listened in the same place to The Little Princess soundtrack (again, no Jubilee connection!) on my portable CD player. Have just realised that my cool linen trousers have the faint shape of sailor-pants and that on top I’m wearing red, white and blue… Downstairs with mum I watched the end of the BBC news and the beginning of a BBC4 programme about zeppelins. Remarkable that a female journalist was present on one of their flights and that her diaries form the entire narration. Looks to be well worth watching in a few days. To bed at 11 o’clock. Sunday 3rd June - Washed my hair and moved bath-time forward a few hours, in order to watch the pageant on BBC 1, followed by weekly low-level preening (eyebrows, cuticles etc.). Listened to some Classic FM on the radio. They’re doing four days of ‘British’ music, needless to say. More surprisingly, there have been some nice pieces I haven’t heard before - a real novelty for this station. Lunch at 1 in my room - chips, fish fingers, apricot yoghurt, cucumber slices. Spent an hour afterwards dusting my room then settled in for the pageant, on my TV with mum (eldest brother watching in his room). 2:30pm-6:15pm - It seems to be much darker over London than here, maybe because it’s been raining steadily here for much of the day whereas it’s just building up there. What an otherworldly effect the silver-grey light has on the scene - like an old photo, historic in a way not intended. Wonderful seeing the cloud repeatedly obscuring the Shard, improving its aspect considerably. How cold, tired and aged the Queen looked. It was good of her to stand for so long but she and the Duke really should have sat down more. Their barge was better-looking than expected. I particularly wanted to see the more unusual boats and sailing ships and hear the bells (floating and land-bound). These wishes were only slightly fulfilled. To blame for this could be the sheer number of vessels, the fact that sail-ships had to be sail-less and close to the dock and the BBC. The latters’ presenters were as numerous and full of themselves as I feared they would be; there was no knowledge of the boats, their haunting calls or flags:; continuity between the commentator and the multiple camera-shots was near-non-existent; where there should have been surrounding sounds (bells, music) there was talk and silence; they got bored half-way through (or presumed we were), leaving many boats to pass unseen and un-heard. Shambolic, in a word. At least we knew when we wouldn’t miss anything while going to the loo, fetching Cornetto treats, writing my diary, putting the roast in the oven etc. Fortunately we didn’t miss my favourite moment, which came from land - Joey. Its operators' legs gave it the fleeting appearance of a pantomime cow, but the structure itself had the beauty and bearing of a real equine. Inexplicably, it brought me close to tears. So spirited, distinctive and unexpected (not to mention dangerous - manhandling a large object on a wet roof in a wind). It only took a few breaks in routine for it not to feel like a Sunday At 6:45 I had dinner - boiled egg, pasta in tomato sauce, peas, carrot and malt loaf - in my room then read another few chapters of my book and listened to Fiddler on the Roof on CD before bed at 11. Monday, 4th June - Went on the Circle walk after breakfast - from Park Lane, through Walton Vale, Bootle cemetery, Orrell Lane, Bridle Road and back onto Park Lane. This is usually my least favourite walk because of the busy roads and crowded Vale. Today, though, everywhere is much quieter - at times there was nothing stirring in the vicinity except me and birds. On a lawn around the Shop Direct offices on Park Lane a man in green overalls was throwing a rubber ring for an English terrier, the only sign of life I’ve seen by those blank-faced buildings. Such inversions are the true worth of bank holidays to me. That said, since March I have volunteered each Monday at a charity bookshop in Ormskirk. I like being there but I also appreciate not being there on bank holiday Mondays, so much so that I don’t give the place a thought at these times. There were few clouds left in the sky but those that were there grew tall and grey-bellied as I walked. The grass seed-heads on Bridle Rd. are shoulder-high, taller than I’ve ever seen them. During the hour-and-a-half walk I used my spectacles, sunglasses and umbrella (though not simultaneously). Between 2 and 4 I did a bit of the MO directive then at half-four watched the horse show on ITV playback via the laptop. ‘Ethnic’ things are always interesting to me, as long as they’re authentic and have meaning to the participants. These seemed to be both, despite the sense of absurdity that accompanies every public event and the slight air of kitsch variety-show. I’m glad most of the acts involved horses doing natural things (running and trotting about) rather than pussy-footing. Fewer musical accompaniments would have improved it, as they added little to most of the acts. Presentation-wise, there were a surfeit of un-necessary speakers, who both addressed the Queen rather toe-curlingly and spoke about her as if she wasn’t there (I wish the monarch had greeted representatives of the performers at the end rather than the speakers, but I suppose that would take a while). I don’t know how ITV decided which bits were ‘highlights’ and which weren’t but the effect was much quieter and more contained than the pageant, not least because of the differing natures of the events no doubt. Had beef-balls and bread etc. for dinner at the usual time, then read my book and listened to the Highgrove Suite CD - lots of beautiful music on this for a mere £5 - before bed at 11. Tuesday, 5th June - The roads and streets are even quieter today, a small miracle. Walked to Netherton Village this morning, a handful of beautiful stone houses around a small green near the Leeds-Liverpool canal. To think these have survived all that has been built around them and that I didn‘t know of their existence until a year or so ago. I stopped on the small bridge over the canal to watch the ducks and a coot family below. Within seconds, though, each one was paddling towards me, evidently with treats in mind. I didn’t have any so to save their energy and the coot chicks’ plaintive cheeps I moved on. On a roadside verge opposite some arable fields (another revelation to me) there’s another dead magpie, just an impression of greasy feathers, beak and feet. After lunch I watched the parade on BBC 1 for the horses, catching some of the Westminster Hall lunch beforehand. The relative simplicity of todays’ jubilee events probably made them the most generally meaningful ones for the royals (though not much to me). Would have liked to hear the horses’ hooves but the soft ground and cheering must have muffled them. There can’t be much swiftness about the great drum-horses Achilles and Mercury. Names more indicative of weight and presence might be better - Ajax is the only alternative I’ve thought of so far. It was good to see the Queen perhaps genuinely smiling during the ‘balcony scene’ afterwards but fly-pasts, for me, are at best dull and at worst distasteful. For the three hours following this I wrote my diary and some of the MO directive, had my half-hour break/snack and re-started my maths lessons, stumbling over multiplication, division and ratios (multiplication and division in disguise). After fish and pasta etc. for dinner I finished The Only Way to Cross. What a readable, if occasionally opinionated, tome considering it‘s over 50 years old. My favourite chapters are those describing life on board the liners, particularly for the crews (my great-grandfather was a steward on board at least one of the ships mentioned) and immigrants (I have forebears who emigrated to America and Britain from Europe in the early 20th century). I only heard of the book because it was mentioned in the bibliography of a very enjoyable novel, The Secret of Jules and Josephine. Listened to the Pride and Prejudice TV series soundtrack before 11 o'clock bed.

H4890

MO Number: H4890 Sex: Male: Age: 23 Martial Status: Single Occupation: Finance Assistant Brighton, East Sussex Saturday, 2nd June. I wake in the morning to grey skies and an early start. There is not that glaring blue that peeps through my blinds any more like there was last week. Still, with eleven days off with no work to go to I feel that it is still another day to enjoy thoroughly and get something done. A quick trip into town is needed. Getting on the 5 I notice the the extreme levels of bunting attached to every pole, arch and hanging outside the Ladies Mile Pub at the bottom of Mackie Avenue, enough to make me note that the Union Jack version will no doubt be replaced by the end of the week by St. George bunting before turning back to the Union Jack in July in times for the Olympics. Town bares little mention of the Jubilee as I quickly withdraw some cash and head into Maplins to pick up a wireless adapter for my new PC before heading straight back out. The afternoon is spent playing with this new toy along with some reading and a bit of Grand Design. Sunday, 3rd June. There certainly seems to be a muggy start to the day as I wake, gray skies and a lazy Sunday feel to it. There is not a lot to do in the morning as I don't have to go out until the afternoon to go to a garden party, loosely tied to the fact that there is a four day weekend, rather than any royal celebration. The news seems to have nothing on it bar various angles of the Thames and the people lining up to watch the boats come down the river. I have a quick roast dinner for lunch with the family before taking the quick twenty minuet walk to Vicky and Luke's. On the way I pass the Ladies Mile Pub once again, although this time with a fire truck outside the front, presumably for show rather than there being a large fire. There are plenty of people there, but considering few of them will have to work the next day it is unsurprising. On this brief walk I see around six or seven houses with bunting hung outside along with a church as well. All with the Union Jack on them, not a St. George one in sight. The same goes for those cheap tacky car flags which are usually seen around when the World Cup or Euro Championship is on. Once again I see around half a dozen of them, all Union Jack, not a St. George to be seen in sight, quite strange when you consider the Euro's start in around a week. There are large piles of snakes and burgers that begin filling up the table within an hour after I arrive. Not to mention the large amounts of cans and bottles of Pimm's lying around the kitchen. The weather just about holds out, despite a strong wind that makes starting the portable barbeque's difficult, all four of them. We solve this with large amounts of lighter fluid and old magazines and newspapers for kindling. The girls get very busy creating large amounts of cupcakes whilst the guys take full control of the various barbeques, everyone likes to take control off the Pimm's. We do put on the Royal Boat Show, mainly because we cannot decide what music to put on until we just decide to put it onto shuffle. No one pays much attention, apart to see if someone has fallen into the Thames yet or to note just how wet it is in London in comparison to Brighton. We eat burgers and cup cakes, whilst playing Sing Star until the Playstation slowly dies a slow and painful death. We hardly notice how fast the time goes, especially when it starts to get dark around nine. The remaining dozen or so of us play a board came that revolves around using playdoh to create objects along with pictionary. I leave around eleven. By the time I pass the Ladies Mile Pub again I can hear a lot of singing and drunken revelry as I pass it, hardly surprising. Monday, 4th June. Third day of the long weekend brings a lay in for once which is far more tolerable than getting up early for work on a Monday morning. It is a bit of a lazy day, certainly not as busy as the day before. I get some reading done along with some time surfing the internet. Once again there is little on the television bar constant coverage of the Jubilee. I talk with friends about going out tonight into town,Coalition has an offer on where you can get in free if you dress up as HRH. With the large amounts of Queen masks going around I don't see that as being too difficult. The TV downstairs has constant coverage of BBC News and the Jubilee Concert. I think Prince Phillip has the right idea faking an illness to skip it all.

F4813

Female in early 40s In full-time employment, residing with partner in Catterick Village, North Yorkshire Saturday 2 June Dry, but cool and overcast. Awake around 6.30am as usual and enjoy a leisurely half hour in bed with a cup of tea, reading Jeanette Winterson’s excellent memoir Why be happy when you could be normal? Then throw on some clothes, brush my teeth and rub a flannel over my face before driving to the Royal Mail sorting office on the trading estate in Richmond to collect some parcels. En route I come across a cycle race in progress and the traffic lights set up at Catterick Bridge in preparation for the day’s horse racing. With a cynic’s satisfaction I cheerfully note that only a handful of houses in the local vicinity are “flying the flag”. On return I sit in front of the TV news with my breakfast, but turn off after only a few moments because of relentless broadcasting about preparations for the Jubilee celebrations - it seems that arrangements for just about any event have taken 3 years. I vaguely recall the Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977, when I was 6 years old. Somewhere in the loft I still have a piece of school work I completed at that time; it includes pencil drawings of soldiers in red uniforms and bearskins and predictions about what I will be doing in 25 years time - these include being married to my friend D and being the proud owner of some Venetian blinds. The dalliance in my 20s, with the blinds but never D, was brief. My partner (C) prepares and cooks homemade beef burgers for lunch, after which we watch a quietly amiable film, El Baño del Papa, which I recorded earlier in the week. The story is based around the actual visit of Pope John Paul II to a poor rural community in Uruguay and the preparations and hopes of the people for the visit and their ensuing disappointments - in light of the Jubilee celebrations, clearly a TV scheduler with a sense of humour! C then disappears to the garage to service and clean our tandem whilst I make a gluten-free apple crumble and then relax with a bit more Jeanette Winterson. After tea C and I watch another film I have recently recorded, The Belles of St. Trinian’s. Mid-film we pause as my family phone – my sister, her husband and their 2 daughters are at my parents’ house in Surrey so I speak to all 5 of them, although it is so noisy at their end of the phone that conversation is difficult. My 10 year old niece tells me that tomorrow she and her sister will be going with my parents to a village Jubilee Party on Warlingham Green. My sister and her husband are off to the bright lights of Las Vegas. Later I play the piano to test out a new clip-on piano lamp I have just purchased since the eco-bulbs with which we light the house are so dim. Half an hour of playing folk songs – Salley Gardens, Rowan Tree, The Ash Grove, Greensleeves and a rousing Land of my Fathers – then C goes off to find a CD of Paul Robeson singing the latter accompanied by a Welsh male voice choir. This leads to an hour or so of C playing CDs – more deep and sonorous Paul Robeson followed by the contrasting counter-tenor of Andreas Scholl– whilst I gently doze on the sofa. Sunday 3 June Dry, gloomy and cool. Again awake around 6.30am and sit in bed with a cup of tea, C and Jeanette Winterson – I am rattling through her as I am enjoying her writing so much. The TV news is again swiftly turned off at breakfast as it is dominated by news of the preparations for today’s Jubilee pageant on the Thames. C and I sort our cluttered garage and load the car for items to go to the tip up the road. The Sunday market is on as usual and the first shoppers are already arriving at the racecourse – it draws people from far and wide, a pull I find (having once surveyed the goods on offer) somewhat inexplicable. We have a mid-morning cuppa and watch part of a documentary about Georges Méliès, a French early cinematographer. I then keep an eye on the ladder whilst C goes into the loft to put some inhibitor in the heating system and to check the mousetraps (empty) and then C goes out to hoover his car whilst I finish the Winterson memoir. Before he goes out, C puts on another audio cassette to transfer to digital file – he is working his way through our collection by a tape a day now cassette players are becoming all but obsolete. Bank holiday weekends offer an ideal opportunity to combine outstanding household chores with relaxation, on the basis that likely traffic jams mean there is no point in travelling anywhere far afield. Today we have an easy lunch – quick-cook rice with a lamb stew ready-meal and cold leftover crumble. We listen to an audio recording of George Eliot’s Silas Marner read by Andrew Sachs– a fine combination of one of my favourite novels with one of my favourite audio book readers. After lunch I hoover my car (a job long overdue), do some more tidying in the garage and run the hoover around the house. After tea, we watch more of the Méliès DVD and then I settle down on the sofa with The Observer, which is mercifully light on Jubilee news. C makes his weekly phone call to his mum in Lincoln – she is also avoiding the Jubilee and instead of her usual daytime TV viewing has watched back-to-back 4 episodes of Borgen, a Danish political drama which we have lent her on DVD. Clearly she is hooked. Later C and I start to watch District 9, an action-filled yet thoughtful Sci-Fi film, before my eyes start to droop and we go up to bed; the recorder catches the end for us. We are watching far more television this weekend than is good for anyone. Monday 4 June Sunny spells and a gentle breeze – lovely. Catterick Village Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations scheduled for today. The day starts with a cup of tea in bed with yesterday’s Observer and then C and I watch the end of District 9 over breakfast. After showering we do some gardening – weeding and hedge trimming – and then have a cup of tea, sitting on the bench to enjoy the garden in a more passive way. Washing up after lunch I spot a small blue butterfly in the garden, circling a potted potentilla. C and I go out for a closer look – it is a Holly Blue, a first for our garden. The fragile blue of its wings, the delicate stripes on its antennae and the soft yellow of the flowers paint a more entrancing picture than any Jubilee pageant. Once lunch has digested, C and I go out on the tandem – it is several months since its and our last outing so I am a little apprehensive but we manage 17 miles and on return I can still just about sit down. The weather is perfect for cycling – sunny (but not too hot) and calm; we pass curious red deer on the Hornby estate, a cricket match and game of quoits at Crakehall and the farmers’ market in Bedale. Crakehall is awash with Union flags, but somehow the bright weather and bucolic surroundings temper my default detractor setting and I find myself thinking it all looks rather jolly. On our return the Catterick Village Jubilee celebrations have moved from the relatively safe distance of Low Green (open air service, tree planting, family picnic, fancy dress competition) to the sports field closer to our home. The afternoon promises children’s races, bouncy castle and assault course, fast food and bar and a children’s disco followed by an adults’ disco. Pessimists by nature, C and I are apprehensive about the potential for noise and littering, but our fears are completely unfounded; the numbers attending are only middling, the disco music played at a very reasonable level and by the following morning all is cleared up and if anything more litter-free than usual. Tea in the garden and then a phone call from my sister who is in Las Vegas – please will I record for her the Jubilee concert organised by Gary Barlow; I hide my possibly unjustified contempt and acquiesce. The evening is cool so we resort to putting the heating on for half an hour –most unusual for June. I prepare dinner of lamb leg steaks, potatoes, carrots and broccoli, flavouring the lamb with sprigs of rosemary from the garden. I listen to the Ultimate Dirty Dancing CD I have just purchased to replace one of our old cassettes – for a brief moment jiggling around the kitchen, I feel like a teenager again: energised and confused all at the same time. After pottering around to do a few chores, we sit down to listen to a Radio 4 play we recorded some time ago, starring the comedian Jonny Vegas; it is ostensibly about a man showing some potential house buyers around his property, but as with most dramas explores deeper issues than those on the surface. And so to bed in my fleece dressing gown, burrowing under the lightweight duvet we decided to change to several weeks ago when the weather prematurely proclaimed summer had arrived. Tuesday 5 June Cloudy and cool, but still dry. After tea in bed then breakfast, C and I decide to take advantage of what forecasters suggest may be the last of any dry weather for several days and get the tandem out of the garage. After yesterday’s excursion I am feeling the pain in various parts of my nether regions and am not sure I will make it far – in such circumstances, however, there is no option but to try and ride through it with as much grimacing and ouching as I (if not C sitting immediately in front of me) feel is required. Each rumble strip and pot hole (and these are multiplying in austerity Britain) is punishing and after 5 miles I ask nicely if we might turn round and go home – C obliges. After lunch, we watch The Edge of the World, a short black and white film about the demise of communities on remote Scottish islands over the last 60 or so years. Then C and I check diaries to confirm our work movements with each other and to work out when we might try and fit in some family visits – it is difficult when working full-time to find adequate time to visit relatives who live some distance away. I then phone my parents to try and arrange a date for a visit in August, but my mother sounds unenthusiastic – “don’t worry about coming down if it’s difficult”. As often when I have spoken to my parents I feel as if I have let them down in some way (by not getting married, by not having children, by not living in Surrey, although not necessarily in that order). I make some gluten-free almond tarts and prepare dinner of chicken breasts filled with cheddar cheese and wrapped in bacon, potato gratin (ready-made for the oven) and petit-pois. Whilst C and I eat we listen to the final chapters of Silas Marner – where all (unlike so much of real life) ends well. After clearing up and sorting out piles of washing, we settle down to watch This is England, a film which resonates for both of us with memories of the 1980s (politics, music, fashions). Tomorrow work beckons……………

S4059

31, Female, Married IT Administrator, West Midlands 2nd June – I woke up not in my own bed but in a Travelodge bed. This morning was the start of our holiday. We left the hotel at about 7.30am and headed for Dover. What should have been a 60 minute journey turned into 2 and half hours. The radio station explained that everyone was trying to get away for the weekend and was headed for Dover, even without tickets. We weren’t too worried as we had a crossing already booked. We arrived at the port and had a smooth crossing over to Calais. Once in Calais we began the 3 hour journey down towards Disneyland Paris. The weather was very hot and we presumed the UK was experiencing the same. It wasn’t until we called home a few days later that we heard the weather wasn’t so good. Our apartment was great, and we were all looking forward to the start of our holiday 3rd -5th June – We spent the next few days in the Disneyland Parks, and were lucky enough not to have much rain at all. I was surprised, as I thought there would be some references to the Jubilee. However, I think the focus was on the 20th Anniversary of the opening of Disneyland. If we had been at home we would have watched the events on television, but we are not close followers of the Royal Family and so were not too bothered about missing anything. If I had to choose again, I would miss the celebrations and go on holiday with my family. There were no events happening in ur neighbourhood, that I know of.