Hello folks – I hope you’re all safe and well and that this article finds you in good spirits? Me? Well it’s kind of you to ask. As I write this it’s a Monday morning, it’s been raining heavily, and it’s a little gloomy outside but, I’m pleased to say, my spirits are good!
Sometimes the topics for my various rants and musings in this column are a little hard to come by, but not this morning. Last night I turned on the TV and I watched the Jubilee Royal Windsor Horse Show, attended by Her Majesty the Queen and I’m so glad I did. Throughout the broadcast the cameras cut back to Her Majesty and she was absolutely beaming. Weirdly, it really gave me a lift and it got me thinking.
I don’t care whether you’re a royalist or a republican – you can’t fail to be in awe of the Queen and everything she has given to the country and the Commonwealth. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting the Queen face-to-face and of course, I don’t have any kind of personal relationship with her……and yet I do. I grew up a child of the 70s and 80s. I’m now in my 50s and the Queen has always been there. I remember our street party for the Silver Jubilee, all the children in fancy dress, Union Jack hats and a real sense of community, (FYI I went as a cowboy). Every Christmas we listen intently to what she has to say. The newspapers, magazines, documentaries – she has always been there, through good times and bad. I remember my grandparents speaking fondly of her, for the way in which she conducted herself during the war years and now, my own children talk about her with warmth. It’s amazing really – she’s had an impact on everyone from the times of rationing to the digital generation. She has seen it all, done it all, walked tall among the leaders of the world, and lived her whole life in the public eye, virtually never putting a foot wrong.
Having recently witnessed her lose her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, her ongoing mobility issues which inevitably come with age, and various family issues, it was so good to see her out and about and clearly enjoying herself.
So, there it is, the Queen has cheered me up and for that, and her decades of service to our country and our people, I’d like to say thank you Ma’am and I’d like to wish Her Majesty the very best of British for her upcoming Platinum Jubilee. All I need to do now to celebrate with her in style is find a cowboy outfit that fits!
Three Cheers to Her Majesty the Queen…..hip hip!!
