www.theblisspages.com - Golden Jubilee

Links on this page: the Queen Mother : why celebrate the jubilee? : party time

why celebrate the jubilee?

I'm not sure I'm a royalist, but I'm certainly not a Republican! Looking at the stature of American Presidents (Nixon, Reagan and Bush Jn. spring to mind), I see the point in relying on genes! I don't think there's anything inherently superior about the Royal family, but I'm quite happy that there's someone that can, theoretically at least, say no to the Government, now that the House of Lords has been emasculated.

I was born in the year of the coronation and was working in my present job during the Silver Jubilee, so Ihad my own Garden Party to celebrate the occasion.

If you're interested, I found some useful sites. Here's where to find out which way up to put your union jack and here's how to draw one.

party time

Thanks to all that came to my Jubilee party on Monday June 3rd 2002. There were over 40 people there. We were lucky with the weather. There were a couple of drops of rain, but overall it was pretty good - the sun even came out for a while!

There was bunting and there were Union Jacks inside and out, but the Ozzie sparkling wine, Champagne, Buck Fizzes and food was even more popular.

I hooked up some music outside as well.

Appropriate music for the day included Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, Sex Pistols God Save the Queen, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Jerusalem and music from the Last Night of the Proms including Land of Hope & Glory and Rule Britannia!

The television coverage of the Jubilee weekend was excellent. I watched the concert in Buckingham Palace gardens, followed by a firework display, which must have been really impressive. On Tuesday 4th June, there was wall-to-wall coverage of the processions, finishing with a flypast of 24 planes.

Overall, I think the BBC did a superlative job.

the Queen Mother

Well, with the passing of the Queen Mother, it was the end of an era. The phrase that summed up my feelings was, "a life fulfilled". One should not be sad about a life that spanned three different centuries, two world wars, the second industrial revolution and ended peacefully.

I liked the poem by David Harkins that was read during the funeral service:

Dry Your Tears

You can shed tears that she is gone or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she's gone or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back,
or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Looking at the Londonart website entry on David Harkins, I see a slightly different version of the poem, entitled 'Remember Me'. Thanks to Judy from Texas for this information.

Now the funerals of the Queen's sister and mother have taken place, we've now moved on and enjoyed the Jubilee.

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: : © Mike Bliss 2008