Whether
you were camped on the banks of the Thames, at a street party in the
suburbs, curled up with a coffee and the TV, the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant has
been something to remember. You might remember it for the boats but more likely for the terrible
weather. We’re British, a spot of rain won’t dampen our spirits.
Neither will several hours of constant soaking drizzle. We just get
on with it - Royal Family and subjects as well.
It is true that the Thames Jubilee Pageant didn’t quite resemble the
promised Canaletto, but that was more to do with the lack of sunshine
than the boats. The boats were, frankly, brilliant. 1000 of them on the
biggest waterbourne procession for 300 years. The
flotilla contained steamships, barges, narrowboats, canoes, boats displaying the flags of each commonwealth country – each had
their place. Particularly memorable were the Dunkirk boats. What they
had been through was incredible. The sense of history that was shown on the television screens was something spectacular.
Even watching from home you had a sense a community, a sense of being part of something bigger. A few weeks ago the Queen came to visit the town where I live. I waited for several hours in the rain to see her, talking to several different people also waiting. The crowds surprised me, as did the mixture - pensioners, teenagers, babies, workers. Somehow I had been expecting it to be older people and not so many. That said, why was I, a 36 year old, going to see her?
The simple reason is this. She gave up the possibility of a normal life for us. We might argue that we didn't ask her to, but she has been a rock for our country for 60 years. This small pensioner is far stronger than she appears. Jubilate everyone. We should celebrate her.