Returned pasts and more memories

The year 1977 is well etched on my brain not least for the events of the Silver Jubilee of our late Queen, Elizabeth, waiting alongside a road in Bangor, North Wales on school trip to wave at here and school parties.

It was on one afternoon after one everybody in our form had to make a line and wait in turn to be presented with a special Jubilee commemorative mug and a gift one of which was rather like this.

I do have a number including one in blue with gold text through other connections and they are in wooden case still which probably tells you I do value them a lot emotionally.

This last week saw the Coronation of our King, Charles III and this is a special commemorative mug I have.

This is the reverse side.

It is signed by the artist who designed it  and was made locally from bone china, expressly NOT from China.

Having this does take me back me back those earlier years and where youngsters today as then also have had mugs presented to them in a number of instances and given I'm no longer in an official school, this for me makes up for that continuing the tradition where it can be displayed with the others.

In a week where I was publically in grey short trousers at church for a cake and tea coronation get together it's a fitting reminder.

Reflections upon the Funeral of HRH Queen Elizabeth

 Week is almost over with things moving more towards where they were before just over a fortnight ago following the sad but beautifully executed funeral of Her Majesty on Monday, choreographed to a tee with immaculately turned out people performing the ceremonial roles. So british.

I was with my parents who could remember George VI's funeral in February 1952 reading accounts as at that point neither had television at home although by June of 1953 and the Queen's Coronation Dad had got television with pictures on the one and only BBC channel from Birmingham and Mum saw it at a cousins who had a set.

This time sat together having prepared a light midday meal so no one would miss much I was in my green jersey, grey shorts and grey with green bars turn over socks, a nod towards Cubs without going the whole nine yards just looking like a kid following it as they talked about the past.

For me it didn't just bring back memories of the Queen Mothers Funeral on April 9th 2002 but Prince Philip's outside of those family funerals I attended when I was younger so I could understand what Prince George and Princess Charlotte would of been feeling.

These things are a bit hard to get your head around when you're young.

Photo credits: BBC/PA

A nation mourns

We did not touch upon the developing news on Thursday as last weeks entry went to press simply because things were changing that rapidally so it was on the other blog earlier this week we touched upon the death in the afternoon of thursday September 8 of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral.

There was a special on CBBC by Blue Peter looking at her role and her appearences on the show itself such when she was awarded the Gold Badge.

Indeed reports since showed even some of her family were not able to arrive at her bedside before her reported death and that in effect there was a news embargo upon issuing it until the royals all knew having a family member working at ITN News.

As a Monarch she was very hard working, well prepared knowing who about the people she was to meet and the topics that would be discussed and very friendly even where sometimes protocol can trip one up when it comes to how exactly you engage with her.

She was the longest serving monarch we have had - many of us have only known her - seeing out some 15 Prime Ministers in her time.

The Royal family is just that - a family whose only major difference to us is they are born to serve - and I prefer to look upon her death as that of a girl who became a woman who reigned, who had a family we all followed, making scrap books of as children who themselves had children that we all knew.

In later years we saw the girl within with her jokes, those timeless expressions as things just turned comic and not least the great Paddington Bear sketch she recorded for her 70th Jubilee we only celebrated in early June.

Today we have our new King, Charles III having been proclaimed across Great Britain and Northern Ireland plus the realms and territories who will do his very best to follow in his Mother's footsteps and we give our thanks to her.

God Save the King.