Clearly not up to the usual standard of road signs in the uk. This one should have a red background as it is a warning sign and the sign signifies ” Street Party Road Closed”.
I remember the Silver Jubilee in 1977 and it was a different world then. So many things that we have gone through since then and although not everyone was on the side of the Monarchy, we did have a number one single at the time that did not make it to the top of the charts which was certainly not in favour. So aside from the substantial minority not in favour the country seemed to be having street parties, flying flags , putting the bunting up in a way that I have little evidence of this time.
So what do people in the uk think about the Queen? I get the impression that generally people from other countries are confused.Xi Jinping , Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron , Joe Biden and the Queen , all head of states. This is starting to look a bit odd to the rest of the world.
Well 70 years on the throne is certainly an achievement. Does she have any power?, well yes , but not in the same way as the others. Will we have a monarchy after she dies ? I would say so but it will only continue if it continues to change and adapt as the current head of state has done so for all these years.
So , not the same as before , but we are not the same as before. An ageing population , more people living alone , more people working from home and we are in a digital age so maybe there still is the support but it is done from our Orwellian digital pods that we now live in.
So apart from the obvious celebrations , most people seem pretty happy with the Monarchy at the moment. A non-political head of state that could manage to bring together an amazing celebration which would have included something that would probably appeal to any age and probably most of our very diverse population.
I said non-political but showing off your military expertise to the whole of the world will make an impression on some people. Giving people a pat on the back for doing charitable and great works in the community. Encouraging people to develop themselves and help others and supporting sporting events for people of all abilities and challenges. Having the most amazing group of people who had no hesitation in putting on a fantastic concert in what was basically the front yard.
A person with a sense of humour who probably doesn’t take themselves as seriously as you might think. Encounters with James Bond and afternoon tea with Paddington Bear are absolutely priceless.
Some of you will want an elected head of state, some of you won’t . It is like most things in this world , it depends on the person and the system in the uk means that if you get the right person for the job they could be doing it for a long time.
So the street parties are not the same as in the past but neither are we and in the North East of England you can’t always get sunny days even in June.