September 15th
I have been trying to think if there was anything I would be prepared to stand in a five to six mile queue over twenty hours for. I have yet to unearth anything. It would not be a wooden coffin on a catafalque with a royal flag draped over it part dressing, part undressing the coffin beneath. Particularly when you can see the same scene eternally on the BBC's specially created slow TV station. A station where little happens bar a never ending series of the nations most devoted citizens walking by. Driven to tears, no doubt, by waiting so interminably in the wind and rain for this one static view of a still life.
Undoubtedly, whether a monarchist or republican, we have all lost something in the last week. It is a bit more than the Queen, a bit more than our sense of proportion. We valued and we appreciated who she was on a human level. Her role duty and service as a monarch was, however, entirely enabled by her immense wealth. With never a hint of the daily struggles of ordinary folk to hold their life together. Its amazing what you can achieve when you occupy such an elite position. We might all find it easier to be dutiful and serve others, if we didn't have to worry about money, feeding ourselves and paying our bills.
The person who holds that regal symbol, is now changing. This is a moment of instability. Hence the growing emphasis on continuity., the handing on of a baton etc. As the face on our stamps, our money, our royal memorabilia, the photos in government buildings, gradually are altered. Until we start to see the profile of Chas the 3rd appearing on everything, we will not really know how we truly feel about this new era we are now entering. The divisions and unease may feel muted at the moment, but they have not gone away. Concealed behind the loss of one recognisable face.
I don't believe the general public will have really forgotten, nor forgiven, Chas for his infidelity, in the betrayal of 'St Diana'. Every time the Queen Consort shows her face we are reminded of her role as chief hussy to the Prince. We tolerate, but find little love for her. The speed and moment chosen for the redundancies of his loyal staff in Clarence House, well, that demonstrates something too. A lack of tact, and an unthinking, uncaring haste, perhaps. At present our unease or disapproval is being drowned under this flood of over sweetened sentimentality. The Queen never really rocked the royal boat, that was why she was able to act as a unifying focus. Chas may not keep quiet, and that could prove less palatable, to more than just our present authoritarian government.
A person heckles Prince Andrew in the street, shouting 'you're a sick old man' and gets arrested for declaring what we all know to be true, in public. That informs you how much the whole 'national week of mourning' has to be kept pure of grubbiness and dissenting viewpoints. The only placards to be waved must be blank one's. The entire nation is being stage managed to the hilt. Relying on a republican's good sense to self censor. Chose your moment, just so long as its not this one. And if anyone were to over step the mark they would be 'cancelled' anyway. The British state has always been a very effective 'culture war' player, just look at its behaviour during the Empire. The only good republican is a silenced one, in their book.
It is almost as if we are being led to believe that every rainbow cast across a broad English sky is the universe acknowledging the saintly nature of our former Queen. If only we were a Catholic nation, beatification would be on the cards. Maybe the Pope would bend the rules if we asked him nicely.
September 16th
As the country continues being compelled to mourn, a few practical issues have come to mind. Now the Queen has been dead for over a week, and publicly laid in state. Is that what is actually happening? Wouldn't the Queen's body be beginning to whiff a bit by now? Unless the coffin is sealed with a tough silicone sealant. This has encouraged a bit of gruesome speculation in me. Is her coffin really a fridge? Or is the Queen vacuum packed to keep her fresh, or not really there but in a fridge freezer somewhere else, waiting to be quietly swapped over on Sunday night? Could people really be paying there respects to an empty coffin, weighted with sandbags?
As we are not planning to open the shop on Monday, the day of the Queen's funeral. If the weather is fine we may go out and have a picnic somewhere. The more authoritarian elements on Enjoy Sheringham More on Facebook, however, are in high dudgeon at the mere idea of people not watching the funeral. Which it is, apparently, your duty as a citizen to do. After all that is why there is a Bank Holiday. You are meant to just sit there and watch the rolling coverage on TV. Nothing raises my little used libertarian hackles more than being told what I'm expected to do. To this - I Troop The Finger.
September 17th
Quietly things that normally show up regularly on TV just stopped appearing. Film Review programmes don't appear because your not meant to be going out, there's a 'national period of mourning' you fool. Even the mild political ribaldry of Have I Got News For You has to be paused. What if Paul or Ian or some guest were to say something vaguely irreverent, controversial, or take the piss out of Chas the 3rd. Lord help you if you had plans to release your long awaited new album or much praised movie this week. Meanwhile, the Tory government manages to legitimately squeeze another week of doing nothing of practical help, out this period of mourning. Maybe it will all kick into action the moment we hit Tuesday. I am not yet feeling reassured or hopeful for our future.
But, on the other hand there has been some hilarity in the early hours of the morning in our household, over some of the 'performative mourning' aspects. Where people and companies are attempting, very obviously, to be seen doing the right thing or think they can transform their usual product or service promotion by prefacing it with 'Out of respect for the Queen' But it all comes out wearing distinctly odd socks:-
Out if respect for the Queen, The Cockapoo Owners Club will be closing its Facebook pages on Monday to questions and comments.
Out of respect for the Queen our salon is offering 10% off our laser hair removal service this week.
Out of respect for the Queen, our planned Guinea Pig Awareness Week has been moved.
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty peeved about the last one.
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