Hello everyone,
It was a sad weekend!
Day 383, Saturday, 10th April 2021 (Lockdown 3/ Day 96)
Wake up. Grey miserable day.
Remember. Sad. R.I.P Prince Philip. Struggle to force my old aching body out of
bed. Saturday, BBC News Channel on. Only one item of news. Prince Philip. I
wonder if the Queen is watching it? Okay. Face the day ahead. Must be more
productive than yesterday. Dress. Downstairs. Alarm off. Lounge. Morning little
candle! Yes, my little candle is still brightening up my morning. Second tv on.
Kitchen. Kettle on. Cereals in bowl. Coffee. Collect pills for aching joints. Lounge.
Brekky. iPad.
News. At 12.00 noon there will be
a 41-death gun salute to respect Prince Philip. Meanwhile, the pics and the
stories continue. There was one story which I really liked. Prince Philip was
our Queen’s consort for almost 70 years, walking two steps behind but always
supporting her. Apparently, he saw a little girl holding a daffodil for the
Queen. She did not see her but carried on the walk-about. Prince Philip
noticed. He lifted her over the barrier and told her to go and give her
daffodil to the Queen. Touching. Shows what type of man he was. I am thinking
of one of my own quotes, “A man’s character is best described in his epitaph”.
As a man who often made news for his gaffs rather than his goodness, even he is
probably saying, “Wow” at the obituaries. It is so sad that we all need to wait
for our demise before our good deeds are recognised.
Someone has just mentioned our
Monarch. How would she be feeling this morning? She has woken up as a widow for
the first time. Prince Charles paid her a visit yesterday. He, Princess Anne,
and Prince Edward spoke briefly of him in a BBC programme last night.
Interesting that Prince Andrew was conspicuous by his absence. Prince Edward
and Sophie Wessex have just visited her. Peeps ask about the Queen. Sophie can
be seen saying she is ‘amazing’. I guess she will have prepared herself
mentally for this event and will carry on dutifully doing her duty as she has
done since 1936. She has signed off the funeral arrangements. He did not want
any fuss so he will probably be pleased that there will be no lying in state or
grand procession or big funeral in Westminster Abbey. Instead, due to Covid, it
has been scaled down. It will be at 3.00pm next Saturday in St. George’s
Chapel, Windsor. There will be no more than 30 peeps present, socially
distancing and wearing masks. Boris has declined to attend so that there is more
room for the family. Let’s face it, there is a lot of them. Oh, Harry is
returning minus Meghan. Anyone disappointed? She would probably have tried to
take centre stage proudly showing all her bump. He will have to self-isolate
first and take a Covid test so I guess he will be arriving tomorrow or Monday
or he will miss the funeral. Is this where he will regret his big decision?
Will he decide to stay here? Will he want to be Royal again?
11.30. Thirty minutes before the
gun salute. Feed pesky pigeons. Take rubbish out. Wash up. Tidy round. Get
second cuppa. Sit down and watch this historic moment.
This 41 death gun salute is
taking place at Woolwich Barracks, The Tower of London, at sea, and in numerous
cities around our country, in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Gibraltar. It has
already taken place at Parliament House in Australia. The guns being used at
Woolwich Barracks are the same ones that were used for both their wedding in
1947 and the Coronation. This event is
done with military precision. There is one salute every minute for each year of
his life. That’s 99. We can only see one on our screens, but they are happening
simultaneously in the numerous locations. Amazing. If it were me organising it,
they would be seconds apart! What a spectacle.
The continuous news is closing
now after twenty-four hours and stations are reverting to the scheduled
programmes. The closing pics are beautiful. They are of the two of them looking
at each other, like when your eyes meet across a crowded room when the rest of
the world does not exist. They understood. They were united in love, duty, and service.
They thought as one. Lovely couple. The longest married Royal couple in our
history. She is our longest serving monarch and he the longest serving consort.
Sad. It has also been pointed out that he accepted his inevitable role when he
married her in 1947. He would always be ‘two steps’ behind her in a supporting
role at a time when men were the bread winners and the main stay in
relationships. They brought home the bacon while the wife kept house. He had a
glittering career ahead of him in the navy but was forced to leave it when she
became Queen in 1952. I guess he hoped he would have longer to pursue his
career and she, likewise, would have liked more time as Princess Elizabeth, naval
wife with her children. She has talked of how she enjoyed her life in Malta where
she enjoyed so much freedom. I believe she has also said, when passing the
average semi house, how nice it would be to have a little house and retire with
Philip. Fortunately, they both have the capacity to accept the roles handed to
them in life and both have been sustained by their strong faith. It is that
faith which will keep her Majesty going for the remaining period of her reign.
What will happen to the title,
Duke of Edinburgh? Our Queen remains the Duchess of Edinburgh, among other
titles, but when her time comes, the title will go to Prince Edward and Sophie
Wessex. Isn’t Sophie, Countess of Wessex lovely? She just fits in so well and
accepts her role and position in the pecking order. Thinking. Must Google
first. Yes, Sophie did go out carriage driving with her father-in-law. It was
Prince Philip who pioneered carriage driving as a sport to the UK when he was
50 and decided to give up polo. What could he do instead? Well, he wasn’t one
to sit idle, was he? Ah, sweet. There’s pics of The Lady Louise, his
granddaughter, taking his ponies out carriage driving yesterday. Back to
Sophie, yes. My second memory is correct. In 2016 she accepted the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Diamond challenge in relation to his Award scheme which was 60
years old. She did the 445-mile bike ride from Holyrood House to Buckingham
Palace raising £180,000 for the charity. Go Sophie, Go! Isn’t she great!
Normality this afternoon. Football
matches are going ahead. The Grand National horse race will be run at Aintree
later. Last year it was cancelled. This year without spectators and those
present socially distancing.
What am I doing this afternoon? A
little spring cleaning, I think. Tidy up the desk. Sort out a few papers. Working
on my ancestry. Fascinating hobby. No, I have not forgotten my attempts at
origami. I shall have another go next month. Writing. Playing. Pottering. Sort
out a few more plants ready for summer. Keep an ear open for Antonio, although
it is a little dismal for him today.
Memory alert. Corfu where I had an
enjoyable holiday in 2008. Prince Philip was born there to Princess Alice and
Andrew, the King of Greece, in 1921. Their home was Mon Repos just outside
Corfu town. I remember seeing it. Was it palatial? No. An insignificant,
rundown, small place which you would pass without realising it had been owned
by royalty. Another thought on this one. I left Corfu on a plane. The Prince
left or rather escaped in an orange crate. There was a coup in Greece and he,
with his sisters and parents were forced to flee. They were rescued by a
British ship. So, Royalty leaves in a crate and little old me leaves like
royalty on a plane. His life has not been the typical or ideal image of Royalty
born with a silver spoon, has it? That is probably why he is so down to earth,
and practical.
Watching ‘The Grand National’.
Wow! A first. The winner Rachael Blackmore is the first woman to win this race on
Minella Times.
Dinner. Wait a minute.
Prince Charles is outside his front door at Highgrove paying tribute to his
father. "My dear Papa was
a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the
reaction and the touching things that have been said about him, and from that
point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that. It will sustain
us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time. I particularly
wanted to say that my father, for I suppose the last 70 years, has given the
most remarkable, devoted service to the queen, to my family and to the country,
but also to the whole of the Commonwealth."
Okay, dinner. Chicken and bacon slice with peppers, onions and
tomatoes. The rest of the evening? My usual place. It is the third episode of
‘Keeping Faith’ at 9.00. Then it will be bubble bath time and I shall retire.
Oh, rumour has it that Prince Harry has boarded a plane in LA
and is expected to arrive here soon.
Goodnight my friends.
Day 384 Sunday, 11th
April 2021. (Lockdown 3/ Day 97)
Good morning.
Downstairs. Pigeons! Brekky. Churches
around the UK are remembering Prince Philip and offering prayers for him. Many
have tolled bells 99 times. Breaking news online. The Archbishop of Canterbury
is paying tribute to the Prince Philip at a
special remembrance service.
Justin
Welby, who will lead the Duke of
Edinburgh's funeral, said that the Duke of Edinburgh had led a “great life” and
accepted without question the hand he had been dealt. He said: “For the royal
family, as for every other, no words can reach into the depth of sorrow that
goes into bereavement. We all know that it is not simply a factor of age or
familiarity. It is not obliterated by the reality of a very long life
remarkably led, nor is the predictability of death’s arrival a softening of the
blow. Loss is loss. Our lives are not completed before death, but their
eternity is prepared. So we can indeed pray that the Duke of Edinburgh may rest
in peace and rise in glory. We may pray for comfort. We may pray and offer love
for all who find that a great life leaves a very great gap. For the royal
family and the millions who have themselves suffered loss, we can know that the
presence of Christ will bring peace, and the light of Christ will shine
strongly, and it is in that light that we can strengthen one another with eternal
hope.”
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew,
Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex, and the Lady Louise attended a service
at All Saints Church, Windsor. This is the small church on the Windsor estate
where Princess Beatrice married during Covid restrictions last summer. It is
where the Queen and Prince Philip were photographed with the bride and groom
(socially distanced, of course). Remember? The Princess instead of a massive
wedding with the special wedding dress and pageantry which normally accompanies
Royal weddings, like her sister, had a recycled one! Recycled dress from the
Queen, and tiara with a small number of guests.
Prince Andrew spoke to reporters
afterwards stating, the Queen felt that the loss of her husband had left a huge
void in her life. “The Queen as you would
expect is an incredibly stoic person. She described his passing as a miracle
and she's contemplating, I think is the way that I would put it." Nice to
see and hear from him again, isn’t it? He and Prince Harry will be attending
the funeral but wearing suits as opposed to their military uniforms. Remember?
They lost their ranking in the military when they lost their HRH titles.
Uniforms disappeared.
Oh, Prince Harry has landed
on English soil, security officers were on the tarmac waiting for him. Back to
his old lifestyle with security. Wonder if he has missed it?
Prince Edward said, "It
has been a bit of a shock, however much one tries to prepare oneself for
something like this it is still a dreadful shock. We are still trying to come to
terms with that. It is very very sad but I have to say that the
extraordinary tributes and the memories that everybody has had and been willing
to share has been so fantastic. It
just goes to show, he might have been our father, grandfather, father-in-law. But
he meant so much to so many other people. Just being here this morning with
everybody from Windsor Great Park. He was a ranger here for more years than any
other ranger and he means so much to so many people here."
So sad. Pour Moi. Carry on as usual. Waiting
for ‘Songs of Praise’. As expected, this was a special programme paying tribute
to Prince Philip and hosted by Aled Jones. I loved the hymns chosen as a
tribute. First, “The Lord is my Shepherd” which was sung at their wedding. Then,
there was “For the beauty of the earth”, that brought tears to my eyes. We sang
it at my father’s funeral. Three more followed, “Great is thy faithfulness”,
“Love divine…” and “Abide with me”. Aled spoke with several peeps who had known
the Prince for many years. They spoke of his enormous knowledge on numerous
subjects, his many interests, and ideas. He was determined to use his knowledge
and position to make the world a better place. He had a strong sense that God
had brought him here for a purpose. He never doubted that faith could move
mountains. He was a conservationist before it was fashionable. He often felt
the press misunderstood him, making fun of his gaffs but not reporting many
other things. Some of the ‘gaffs’ were not even true. There are numerous
stories regarding his ‘one-liners’ but his jokes were always intended to put
people at their ease. What a man!
Ah, Princess Anne has just paid
a tribute to her father,
“You know it's going to
happen but you are never really ready.
'My father has been my
teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life
well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.
'His ability to treat
every person as an individual in their own right with their own skills comes
through all the organisations with which he was involved.
'I regard it as an honour
and a privilege to have been asked to follow in his footsteps and it has been a
pleasure to have kept him in touch with their activities.
'I know how much he meant
to them, in the UK, across the Commonwealth and in the wider world.
'I would like to emphasise
how much the family appreciate the messages and memories of so many people
whose lives he also touched. We will miss him but he leaves a legacy which can
inspire us all.'
Actually, I am a little
tired today so I am going to have a siesta and then I will give you the weekly
update.
5.00 pm. Ah, feeling
refreshed. What? Looked out of window. God has still got a dandruff problem.
Must advise him to change shampoo. That white stuff peeps call hail stones is descending
and crashing on to bird table and ground. Pesky pigeons have disappeared.
Data time. Global total
case figure is 136,295,557. Last Sunday it was 131,858,063. That is an increase
of 4 + million again. Things are not getting better. Total death toll is 2,942,490. Perilously
close to 3 million. Recovered 109,604,090, almost 110 million. Good news. If
you catch the dreaded lurgy the odds are in your favour. We now have 24
countries who have passed the 1 million mark. Romania is the latest country.
The next two are likely to be Belgium and Iraq. Here in the good old UK, we
have a total case figure of 4,369,775. The death toll 127,087. That’s 100,000
more than some MP originally predicted.
Right, my friends, I am
off to have my dinner now. Treat this evening. Pizza. Later it’s ‘Midsomer
Murders’. Wonder how many murders tonight? Originally a murder mystery would
have one murder. It was a ‘who dunnit’ not a ‘who done them’! Now, it seems the
longer these series go on for the more murders there are. Will it be five or
six?
Goodnight. Stay safe.
Lady M
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