I fear I shall not be doing much to celebrate the Jubilee over the weekend. A friend just got a new teaching job at a university, so we shall open a bottle of fizz and drink to that instead.
This is not because I am a republican. I think the monarchy is a far better arrangement than having an elected Head of State.
Imagine having the Bliar, Hoots McBroon or Cameron as head of state, not just the head of temporary mismanagement!
Consider how you’d feel if you had a Mafioso like Berlusconi in charge. Or a thief like Chirac.
Consider the lies, the corruption, the sheer mind-blowing incompetence – and the feeling of shame that you may have put this or that creep in a position to cause it, with no calming voice at the top.
No: I am just worried about the great wave of turgid sentimental bilge we are about to be engulfed by. The plague of creepy “royal experts” …
I watched the 1952 Coronation on a small black and white TV set – the first time I had ever seen The Idiot’s Goldfish Bowl. I was moved to tears (I am, quite easily).
No doubt I will be this time round. I wonder if there’s some way of watching without the commentary …
