History

We are all at home today with it being a bank holiday and an opportunity for people to watch the funeral of the queen. Bridie and Joseph are coming up with Joy, so we will watch the proceedings together, an event we will seldom witness, especially as this monarch served 70 years. After listening to history podcasts for many years, as well as having studied history a good deal, it has been fascinating to see the traditions acted out in a modern setting, the reality of the lengths to which they go in ensuring the legitimacy of the regent, archaic language such as liege-lord on the record across the kingdom as each nation is visited in turn, the central place of the church in it all. Then there is the queue which as become a thing in itself, an experience almost divorced from the reason for it, enough to have served in the line for hours, a modern pilgrimage which celebrates the media focus, to be able to say I was there.

That isn't to say that the people paying their respects are lacking genuine emotions toward the queen. There is no question that for many people it is a moment for gratitude and a recognition of a life lived well in the public spotlight with barely a step out of place. It will be interesting to see what comes next with the accession of Charles at a time when the country is facing so many challenges without a unifying purpose. We seem further apart than ever. At least the war brought people together in suffering, a shared sense of standing for a moral good, the deprivations necessary after the sacrifice of total war. Today the deprivation stands in contrast to obscene wealth where a society has  been created to maximise inequality, where the suffering of the poor, the young and those with little stake in society is simply accepted. No inheritance tax here, exclusion zones around palaces and estates, experiments in trickle down economics once again.

I've begun to understand there is little point in getting too wrapped up in it all. What can I do? On a personal level, I and my family are incredibly fortunate and it seems wiser to be thankful for that and to enjoy the things which bring pleasure. Hence the photo showing the tomatoes about to be roasted for lunch and for putting in jars for the winter, the squash for later and the bread baking, 30 pence a loaf rather than the £1.20. Our fortune is being able to enjoy the allotments and having the time to do these things. Time. I read that the working time directive is going to be abolished, a brexit benefit! More hours at work and wages which fail to meet the cost of living, the working poor. What kind of life is that?