clarinets of every size
Sep. 19th, 2022 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestI remember (albeit vaguely) the kind of hysteria that gripped the UK when Diana, Princess of Wales died. There is a quite different tone here at the moment. Nobody is surprised that Queen Elizabeth died, but there is a feeling of respectful sadness. (It's not helped by the media who are All Queen, All The Time, which is frankly rather irritating. Even this evening, good grief, the news opens with It was the Queen's Funeral Today. In case it had escaped anyone's notice.)
I'm not saying that everybody cares, or is sad, or is even affected. There are no doubt plenty who are taking very little notice, and others who fervently hope the system will now change. (It won't.) But the fact that an amazing number of people were willing to stand in a queue for fourteen hours in order to file past a coffin and pay their respects is... well, it's impressive. And very British, I think. In fact, it's hard to think of anything more British. I hope somebody was handing out cups of tea to the people in The Queue.
I didn't queue for anything when Diana died, didn't line the route to throw flowers at her passing coffin or anything like that, but I went to my grandmother's place to watch the funeral, and on the way home down the M1, saw the hearse containing Diana's coffin as it passed northward. All the few cars which were travelling south pulled over to watch them pass. Which I'm kinda glad happened. As a result of it I can sorta understand why people would queue to view the coffin. A moment which doesn't seem to justify the effort involved can mean a surprising amount.
Today's funeral was very sober and sombre in tone. It was impeccable, it was grand, all those things. I was impressed by the parade. Solidly Christian in tone, which always turns me off, of course, but beautifully sung and choreographed. I bet those bearers get drunk with relief tonight! What a terrifying job.
And yet... as soon as I turned off the TV and went to help Beast install the last two water butts, I started thinking about the people who were missing from the funeral. I'm sure I heard a commentator mention NHS representation at some point, but I didn't see it. The Queen was not just the Queen of the Armed Forces (of the UK and Commonwealth), she was monarch of the rest of us, too. We could have had representation from other groups of citizens. The arts—actors, musicians, writers etc. Athletes. Trades Unions. Teachers. WIs and Round Tables. Council workers. It might have detracted somewhat from the pomp and circumstance of all those fabulous military uniforms—some of which are amazingly... something—but it could have represented so much more of the nation over which the Queen reigned. No doubt the logistics would have been formidable, but it could have been done, had anyone thought of it.
I mean. I'm not saying it felt like the end of a military dictatorship, because it didn't, but. So many uniforms. Except for the one living member of the royal family who earned his on active service in a war zone. Hmm.
I'm not saying that everybody cares, or is sad, or is even affected. There are no doubt plenty who are taking very little notice, and others who fervently hope the system will now change. (It won't.) But the fact that an amazing number of people were willing to stand in a queue for fourteen hours in order to file past a coffin and pay their respects is... well, it's impressive. And very British, I think. In fact, it's hard to think of anything more British. I hope somebody was handing out cups of tea to the people in The Queue.
I didn't queue for anything when Diana died, didn't line the route to throw flowers at her passing coffin or anything like that, but I went to my grandmother's place to watch the funeral, and on the way home down the M1, saw the hearse containing Diana's coffin as it passed northward. All the few cars which were travelling south pulled over to watch them pass. Which I'm kinda glad happened. As a result of it I can sorta understand why people would queue to view the coffin. A moment which doesn't seem to justify the effort involved can mean a surprising amount.
Today's funeral was very sober and sombre in tone. It was impeccable, it was grand, all those things. I was impressed by the parade. Solidly Christian in tone, which always turns me off, of course, but beautifully sung and choreographed. I bet those bearers get drunk with relief tonight! What a terrifying job.
And yet... as soon as I turned off the TV and went to help Beast install the last two water butts, I started thinking about the people who were missing from the funeral. I'm sure I heard a commentator mention NHS representation at some point, but I didn't see it. The Queen was not just the Queen of the Armed Forces (of the UK and Commonwealth), she was monarch of the rest of us, too. We could have had representation from other groups of citizens. The arts—actors, musicians, writers etc. Athletes. Trades Unions. Teachers. WIs and Round Tables. Council workers. It might have detracted somewhat from the pomp and circumstance of all those fabulous military uniforms—some of which are amazingly... something—but it could have represented so much more of the nation over which the Queen reigned. No doubt the logistics would have been formidable, but it could have been done, had anyone thought of it.
I mean. I'm not saying it felt like the end of a military dictatorship, because it didn't, but. So many uniforms. Except for the one living member of the royal family who earned his on active service in a war zone. Hmm.
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Date: 2022-09-20 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-20 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-20 06:16 pm (UTC)And in remembering that, I think we can focus on the other things that are good about our nation - well, it had that effect on me.
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Date: 2022-09-20 06:18 pm (UTC)Not a single broken step in that manoeuvre.
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Date: 2022-09-20 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-20 08:42 am (UTC)Many of those would not have been up to the rigour of that long march.
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Date: 2022-09-20 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-20 06:14 pm (UTC)Every inch of that route and what people did was meticulous.
I remember when the procession got to Horse Guards, Oswin wondered if the procession would be able to get through the arch without bumping into the walls.
I bet they wouldn't touch the walls.
Sure enough, the crew pulling the gun carriage went seamlessly through the centre arch, with two flanking columns exactly fitting the side arches.
Furthermore, I'll bet everyone in that procession had already had specific training on what to do in emergencies. eg. Terrorist attack, the King having a heart attack, etc.
This funeral had been a long time in the planning, and just tweaked in a few small details on the day. Harder to give civilians that degree of planning in just a few days. (Though the holders of the Victoria and George cross were there.)
My bet is that the Coronation will be where you see civilian organisations en masse. They'll have more time to incorporate them, and to give them details of things like forming up at the end of the procession (did you see how everyone lined up on the grass? They knew where they were going in advance and how to get there exactly).
And I shall look forward to that days and I'll probably be cheering and I might even dig out my Union Jack...
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Date: 2022-09-20 09:03 pm (UTC)I hope you're right about the coronation. I'd be very pleased to see that. It might be a once-in-a-lifetime event for me, though I'm a few years younger than the King.
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Date: 2022-09-20 02:45 pm (UTC)