This coming weekend is the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in the United Kingdom. Because it’s the Platinum Jubilee, we have an extra Bank Holiday on Friday. As a resident of Britain, I am obliged to have thoughts about it; so, I put down my cup of tea for a moment, made myself a cup of tea to help me think, and glanced along my mental queue. Turns out I have three thoughts and another thought.
I’m not feeling vastly royalist: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth exercises a most useful amount of soft power and tourist draw, so I’m not against her or the concept of the monarchy in general (compared to, for example, the Board of British Gas or another large company the monarchy does much more to earn the amount they get); however, I’m also not feeling an overwhelming patriotic fervour.
Firefighters are more important than street parties: however much certain jingoists might claim that banning unauthorised street parties is being a “killjoy”, I prefer to sit on the pavement and allow the emergency services sufficient access to properties rather than having a table to share with neighbours while their house burns.
An extra day off is good: in common with many authors, my inner critic starts to murble the instant I pause; so having an official extra day of not-work is greatly helpful for avoiding fits of “just a little bit” when I should be resting.
It feels odd today not being a Bank Holiday: the last Monday in May is traditionally a Bank Holiday. This year, that Bank Holiday has been moved to this coming Thursday to make a four-day weekend. I understand why the Government did it but it still feels weird that today is a normal day.
So, thoughts had. Time for a cup of tea. Toodle-ho and cheery-pip to you all.
Davetopia 
You set down your tea before you made it?
Murble – drowning with bubbles, or the American bastardization of Bocce ball?
Years ago I had to codify British holidays for use in a financial trading app, (London Metals Exchange and GBP and all that). “Banking” holidays always threw me, as if banking controlled the populace.
But, hey, Queens may do what queens may do. With the concept of King(dom) ever recede from British culture? Seems rather hypocritical, does it not? Can you imagine decendants of French Royalty being ceremoniously paraded around — for fun — to stage mock executions? “Ooh, it eez only for play, you knoo.” THUNK! “Ooh, see de cabbage head roll!”
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Of course I put my cup of tea down to make a cup of tea: I needed both hands.
Murbling is betwixt murmuring and burbling.
Bank Holidays could be seen as the opposite: a weakening of bank control. Bank Holidays were originally created to defer any payments due on that day to the next day, i.e. they created a holiday from the bank.
I don’t think the monarch will be gone from British society until people stop campaigning to have monarchy gone from British society.
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A holiday FROM the banks. Never considered that.
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But then there’s that spurious argument that all French are descendant from Charlemagne. They’d have to build a kilometers long queue to line up all the “victims”.
“Next, stick out your tongue. OK, you’re related to Hugo the Frisky Monk. That line over there.”
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