.....and again I have come over all patriotic....

It doesn't seem so long ago that I was waxing all lyrical about this tiny Island nation and our diminishing place in the World and how the eyes of the World were drawn to us in the event of a Royal Wedding and here we are again, this time a Diamond Jubilee and again I have come over all patriotic....

It has been a brilliant time to be in the United Kingdom. The feelings of neighbourliness and Englishness are wonderful. On one hand I can't help but feel it is a shame that our feelings of national pride are so closely linked to our Monarch but on the other hand it would be far worse to have a President and have to link your feelings to a transient post. This is the only ruler I have ever known, she has been there the whole of my life and it is impossible to imagine a time without her. There are republicans, thankfully a very small minority in the UK, that think a presidential system would be better but they don't seem to understand that the relationship between the people and the Monarch is extremely precious and special, something that we would all be incomplete without. Maybe they need to move to another Country that embraces their beliefs rather than whinging about something that isn't going to change.
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The weather has been poor for the Jubilee but we are English, rain is part and parcel of our lives so we carried on. I attended a street party in the grounds of our local Church. My wife and daughter had been invited to play as part of a string quartet, named the Boughton String Quartet after Aylesbury's sole composer, Rutland Boughton, son of a green grocer and a genuinely talented composer. Fortunately, as the weather was so bad, they played inside the church and it was wonderful to hear. It was a fairly informal affair, no-one was expected to sit and listen but classical is always nice to hear as it isn't a usual part of most people's lives and to hear short but popular pieces is always a welcome surprise.

Outside the weather didn't improve, infact it got worse but in a brief break in the weather, entertainment was provided by some fire bugs.

It was quite a day, the alternative would have been to go into London and attend the flotilla. It was a close run decision but the idea of supporting the Jubilee locally struck me as a wonderful thing to do and to see the effort that the local residents had made was incredible and with a turnout of around 500 people, it was a lovely day.
The only downside was an incredible Jazz band that played outside to a handful of people sheltering under trees.

Yesterday was the Jubilee concert. I watched it on television but left the house before 10pm as they were lighting beacons across the Country. I would have loved to be at Hadrians Wall but that is a few hundred miles away and I wasn't organised enough to think about it in advance but fortunately they were lighting 60 beacons in my County so I attended Coombe Hill along with 1000 people. It was amazing, I shan't say a word more about it and let the pictures do the talking.

It was the final day of the celebrations today. I had intended to go into London but circumstances prevented that so I watched it on television instead. I found it all quite moving, being a Royalist I suppose I would and of course have no idea how others see it. The fly pasts were amazing, 4 SPITFIRES!! I didn't know we had that many that could still fly. The Red Arrows.....always incredible and the Lancaster and Hurricane, it couldn't be any more complete. Oh wait, yes it could, the Irish guards laid down their guns, removed their hats and cheered the Queen.
So much pomp and pageantry, I couldn't live in a Country without it. I love our history, our rubbish weather, the Countryside and the Cities. I love the various dialects up and down the Country. That is the thing about being English, we love our Country with a passion, it takes a state occasion or a football match for us to remember that and forget that we hate people. We hate foreigners, Northerners, Southerners, our Neighbours, other drivers and the youth of today. We are arrogant but gracious, kind hosts yet rude to strangers, full of our own self importance but concious that we aren't "the master race".
At times like this I wish that you could all take a step in my shoes to appreciate how special being a part of living history is and how it determines who and what you are. I have no idea why 4 billion people watched the Diamond Jubilee but I feel very lucky to be English, but reading back on previous blog entries, I do have a permanent appreciation for this Land, its eccentricities and peculiar landscapes.
In the words of the motto of our Monarchy, a perfect description on what it is to be English, Dieu et mon Droit.....God and my Right.

Arrogant bastards.