Royal Purple has replaced the red, white and blue. There are plenty of Union Jack flags out there, but from my TV eye from the Canadian side of the pond, I have seen in London and other Brits points, lots of sombre purple. Royal Purple, and if that is a sombre colour, that is about the only sombre thing that is present at this celebration of four days of fun for the Queen’s Platinum – 70 – years on the throne. To underline the happiness, the Archbishop of York, at the Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, talked in his sermon of the Joy, and many times over!
Well as a sunny-side-up Pollyanna kind of a person, I am loving it. Yes, I know, Covid is not really over, Russia is still being beyond awful in their delusional empire craving land grab attacks on Ukraine, but how lovely it is to take time for a real celebration.
A celebration of what a country can be. A party that seems to reach out to all those layers of the British classes and society. You could stay at home and complain about how expensive it all is and it’s too many days off work, or you could put on your pretty frock or fancy trousers and get out there and join in the fun on this sunny June weekend plus.
When I was in England for the first two weeks of May I got into the swirl. My English family is off to Epsom Downs for the Derby horserace. They had their tickers, now the question of hats, dresses and footwear.
Street parties were into finally planning, up and down the land (as they say, I guess because Britain is a country that runs north south. In Canada we say across the land, or a favourite boast from sea to sea to sea). Much bunting is to be displayed (another side note: good on the Brits to have a unique and obscure term for strings of street flags and banners}. Just before I left the official jubilee desert was declared. Dame Mary Berry of the Great British Bake Off was one of the judges. It is a mouth-watering jazzed-up trifle.
But this week I have seen a decoration that calls for my admiration in its skill, creativity and availability to all. Letter-box topers. Those wonderful red visible letter boxes are now graced with knitted or crocheted confections of crowns and queens and guards and corgies and horses. So Adorable! No one is saying Rule Britannia this weekend – way too colonial – but let’s rock the letter box.