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We have now reached the Day of Destiny for our new King, so say many of the national newspapers. I noticed that there wasn't a thread about the Coronation on here, so with a brief mention on the HM Queen Elizabeth II obituary thread, - I did resist, but now, I thought I would do the honours: I will be watching the coverage on BBC One (and also getting radio coverage courtesy of BBC Radio 4 on 92.7 MHz FM in my neck of the woods; television in one corner of the room and radio in the other corner). I feel that as a citizen, a pro-Royalist (and a loyal subject) that one needs to be a witness to this historic event - I don't think that it will be the only time that I will witness a monarch's Coronation in my lifetime, but it will obviously be the first time. Weather-wise, I hope that it will be spelt REIGN and not RAIN. No, I didn't get an invitation, unless one counts my Television Licence in order to witness the historic event. Former Prime Ministers are invited, including one of them who will be celebrating his own birthday today: Tony Blair reaches his 70th birthday on the day of the Coronation, and so it will be a very special day to him, no doubt! I wouldn't have minded it to have been midweek such as being a Wednesday instead, and in a month like June or July just like Jubilees and some Royal Weddings have taken place on. The local elections on Thursday did put a bit of strain on plans so close to the Coronation event (it was like having an election two days before Christmas to be honest), but I did have my ID card in my wallet (one of those hologram ones and a former doctor at the practice I was act before I moved to my present address was my referee) - I do wish that the Coronation was at least a month after the elections as a result. On Friday, I spent most of the day out and about to try and get the final of my plans ready, and by mid afternoon I managed to complete them at last.
It's a funny thing about television programmes and that C-word: first of all, it does look like the first few letters of the words "coronavirus"; and secondly, when i usually when I type in the word "Coronation" on the Sky Digital EPG in order to look for special programmes being scheduled, the only programmes which usually come up (provided that the Digibox isn't having problems giving that information more than two days ahead in which it often does) are (obviously) Coronation Street and Classic Coronation Street on ITV 1 and ITV 3 respectively - quite often the only television programme which has the word "Coronation" in its title and comes up on the Sky EPG, (and I even contacted ITV by email a couple of weeks ago to ironically ask whether they will be showing an episode on the day itself!) However, I had noticed that over 30 programmes which have the word "Coronation" came up including one or two on the obscure channels. But this Coronation is certainly no soap opera (not even by The Sun); this is a time when one defends the Licence Fee with regards to the coverage - the fact that it helps to support the coverage that we get to see as citizens, and the coverage that we need to see as citizens. Just like the Royal Family, we do pay through our taxes, but at the end of the day it is worth it - the Royal Family are part of our cultural identity as British citizen, and that is why I donated to the Prince's Trust last year. It does make me proud as a result; my noticeboard at home is full of Coronation stuff including the logo and other plans.
Also, contrary to what negative origanisations such as Republic; the Green Party supporting anti-Royalists; and what some other people assume, the main answer is: no, I do not think that Saturday is just about a 74 year old man sitting down on a chair in central London and having an expensive heavy "hat" placed on his head, (in which Private Eye summed up on its latest front cover); this is something in which recent generations didn't have a chance to see back in 1953 or before - it is our chance to sample history before our very eyes. While good old "Auntie" Edna, (referred to in her affectionate sense as someone that one could turn to back then, rather than one's own mother's sister), was the probably only person in the street who probably had a television set back then (and community spirit afforded the whole street to gather in the front room to watch the historic coverage - something in which one couldn't imagine happening these days), almost every room at home, apart from the bathroom, is more likely to have a television set in there. The terraced inner-city street in which my late father lived on in 1953 had a street party, and to prove it, a picture of it was published in the Wednesday 3rd June 1953 issue of the local newspaper. We have been thinking about this day probably for decades, never mind years, and this was while the late Queen Elizabeth II was still during earlier decades of her reign. HM King Charles III has reigned for 240 days (Saturday being the 241st day of his reign), and this day will be historic - certainly not one to be missed. As he is 74 years of age, I don't think that we will get a Jubilee out of him, but I believe that he will reign for possibly 15 to 20 years.
I don't usually purchase daily newspapers when I go out first thing in the morning as a result of getting most of my news from the television, the radio, or the internet, unless it is a special event happening such as the days between the death and the funeral of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last year, but it does put me in a Times and a Daily Mail mood, (yes, indeed), due to the former's historic and the latter's pro-Royal stance, avoiding red-top newspapers and left-wing ones for once. I want it to be perfect with things to be on schedule - we only have just one bite of the cherry; the television coverage starts at 7.30 am; the radio coverage starts at 10.00 am; and the Coronation service itself starts at 10.20 am. I will toast the King with a bottle of McGuigan's non-alcoholic wine (goes well with roast chicken, apparently) being chilled in the fridge - Coronation chicken sandwiches were not available from my Tesco online shop on Wednesday afternoon, and so I decided on some Tyrrell's Coronation chicken crisps instead. I was also surprised as the fact that some people will not be even seeing a frame of the event, quite often by choice: I read that someone refused to do so, blaming the "elitism at the top" as the main reason. I also listened to Five Live yesterday where some said that they would be working throughout the three day break and so wouldn't be seeing much of the event, even if they wanted to do so, but the Jonathan Dimbleby interview after midday was interesting. Local churches have things happening during the three days ahead, and it's great to know that they are taking an active part; however, as most churches don't have a satellite dish, cable box, or even a TV Licence, it's best to watch the coverage at home.
Since Coronavirus, there has been very little that we have celebrated in life, or even bothered to do so - being alive and healthy is one of them, but apart from that, not much else. Christmas and birthdays and all that, but they happen every year - seeing the new King do his first Christmas message at 3.00 pm last year on Christmas Day took some getting used to, but we already knew that big changes had already taken place. It is healthy and normal to celebrate anything, no matter how big or small or personal the celebration happens to be - we need to celebrate, no matter what the celebration happens to be. Personally, celebration isn't much in my own vocabulary, and any excuse to do so is well invited - the fact that lots of people are in the same boat and celebrating provides a great advertisement and invitation to do the same. As for the Sunday evening concert, a great line up including Lionel Richie (number one in the charts on the day I was born courtesy of the Commodores); Take That, Katy Perry and others at Windsor Castle. And we have a Bank Holiday on Monday to recover from it as well - I hope that it will compensate for when I was unwell during last year's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and this year, things will be different - talk about letting one's hair down! Kudos to those pro-Royalists who had camped out in central London for days, never mind hours to see the big event! My own Nottingham perspective will, no doubt, afford me just as much a prominent perspective of the proceedings!
Best wishes to HM King Charles III on the day of his Coronation!!! God save the King!!!
It's a funny thing about television programmes and that C-word: first of all, it does look like the first few letters of the words "coronavirus"; and secondly, when i usually when I type in the word "Coronation" on the Sky Digital EPG in order to look for special programmes being scheduled, the only programmes which usually come up (provided that the Digibox isn't having problems giving that information more than two days ahead in which it often does) are (obviously) Coronation Street and Classic Coronation Street on ITV 1 and ITV 3 respectively - quite often the only television programme which has the word "Coronation" in its title and comes up on the Sky EPG, (and I even contacted ITV by email a couple of weeks ago to ironically ask whether they will be showing an episode on the day itself!) However, I had noticed that over 30 programmes which have the word "Coronation" came up including one or two on the obscure channels. But this Coronation is certainly no soap opera (not even by The Sun); this is a time when one defends the Licence Fee with regards to the coverage - the fact that it helps to support the coverage that we get to see as citizens, and the coverage that we need to see as citizens. Just like the Royal Family, we do pay through our taxes, but at the end of the day it is worth it - the Royal Family are part of our cultural identity as British citizen, and that is why I donated to the Prince's Trust last year. It does make me proud as a result; my noticeboard at home is full of Coronation stuff including the logo and other plans.
Also, contrary to what negative origanisations such as Republic; the Green Party supporting anti-Royalists; and what some other people assume, the main answer is: no, I do not think that Saturday is just about a 74 year old man sitting down on a chair in central London and having an expensive heavy "hat" placed on his head, (in which Private Eye summed up on its latest front cover); this is something in which recent generations didn't have a chance to see back in 1953 or before - it is our chance to sample history before our very eyes. While good old "Auntie" Edna, (referred to in her affectionate sense as someone that one could turn to back then, rather than one's own mother's sister), was the probably only person in the street who probably had a television set back then (and community spirit afforded the whole street to gather in the front room to watch the historic coverage - something in which one couldn't imagine happening these days), almost every room at home, apart from the bathroom, is more likely to have a television set in there. The terraced inner-city street in which my late father lived on in 1953 had a street party, and to prove it, a picture of it was published in the Wednesday 3rd June 1953 issue of the local newspaper. We have been thinking about this day probably for decades, never mind years, and this was while the late Queen Elizabeth II was still during earlier decades of her reign. HM King Charles III has reigned for 240 days (Saturday being the 241st day of his reign), and this day will be historic - certainly not one to be missed. As he is 74 years of age, I don't think that we will get a Jubilee out of him, but I believe that he will reign for possibly 15 to 20 years.
I don't usually purchase daily newspapers when I go out first thing in the morning as a result of getting most of my news from the television, the radio, or the internet, unless it is a special event happening such as the days between the death and the funeral of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last year, but it does put me in a Times and a Daily Mail mood, (yes, indeed), due to the former's historic and the latter's pro-Royal stance, avoiding red-top newspapers and left-wing ones for once. I want it to be perfect with things to be on schedule - we only have just one bite of the cherry; the television coverage starts at 7.30 am; the radio coverage starts at 10.00 am; and the Coronation service itself starts at 10.20 am. I will toast the King with a bottle of McGuigan's non-alcoholic wine (goes well with roast chicken, apparently) being chilled in the fridge - Coronation chicken sandwiches were not available from my Tesco online shop on Wednesday afternoon, and so I decided on some Tyrrell's Coronation chicken crisps instead. I was also surprised as the fact that some people will not be even seeing a frame of the event, quite often by choice: I read that someone refused to do so, blaming the "elitism at the top" as the main reason. I also listened to Five Live yesterday where some said that they would be working throughout the three day break and so wouldn't be seeing much of the event, even if they wanted to do so, but the Jonathan Dimbleby interview after midday was interesting. Local churches have things happening during the three days ahead, and it's great to know that they are taking an active part; however, as most churches don't have a satellite dish, cable box, or even a TV Licence, it's best to watch the coverage at home.
Since Coronavirus, there has been very little that we have celebrated in life, or even bothered to do so - being alive and healthy is one of them, but apart from that, not much else. Christmas and birthdays and all that, but they happen every year - seeing the new King do his first Christmas message at 3.00 pm last year on Christmas Day took some getting used to, but we already knew that big changes had already taken place. It is healthy and normal to celebrate anything, no matter how big or small or personal the celebration happens to be - we need to celebrate, no matter what the celebration happens to be. Personally, celebration isn't much in my own vocabulary, and any excuse to do so is well invited - the fact that lots of people are in the same boat and celebrating provides a great advertisement and invitation to do the same. As for the Sunday evening concert, a great line up including Lionel Richie (number one in the charts on the day I was born courtesy of the Commodores); Take That, Katy Perry and others at Windsor Castle. And we have a Bank Holiday on Monday to recover from it as well - I hope that it will compensate for when I was unwell during last year's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and this year, things will be different - talk about letting one's hair down! Kudos to those pro-Royalists who had camped out in central London for days, never mind hours to see the big event! My own Nottingham perspective will, no doubt, afford me just as much a prominent perspective of the proceedings!
Best wishes to HM King Charles III on the day of his Coronation!!! God save the King!!!
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