The UK is turning a royal shade of purple!
The streets are fluffily-festively flowered,
the horses are lining up,
the marching bands are warming up,
the corgis are dressing up.
And Mother Nature has promised to keep the skies gloriously lit up!
Alongside Buckingham Palace, adoring royalists are already choosing their spots, readying themselves for the long wait to see their Queen. Tents are being put in place, accented with flags from across the UK and the world.
Within the same space the stands, the stalls, the staging, and the flags are all lined up in perfect symmetry.
The countdown is on. One sees and feels it everywhere. A hurriedness, wishing the special days of celebration closer. Early morning passersby on the way to their last days of work before special Jubilee public holidays and committed joggers alike break their stride to take in sights of Buckingham Palace shining brightly in the early morning while rigging companies and landscapers buzz about building what will be a gala stage soon to be seen across the globe. Just in case, generators hum, elevating energy levels.
Soon, very soon, the air will fill with the scent of scones baking as classically British fare is consumed across the land, accompanied by joyful toasts echoing far and wide. Bubbles, bunting, fascinators, full tails, all the frills one would expect at a time so significant, so special, so celebratory.
And so healing.
Time for a celebration that will be a marker of a lifetime, in all our lifetimes.
Symmetry, once more.
The Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be – has already become, in fact – an event of immense anticipation and unification.
So too was the Coronation of Her Majesty on June 02nd 1953 – her crowning as Queen marking the turning of a page for the country and Commonwealth in the post-war years. A bookmark in her life.
70 years on, another bookmark in the story of her life, and all our lives.
In so many ways it feels as if, like Mother Nature, Her Majesty knew then, and now, what was needed to embed the eyes of her people on the future, with hope, with a heart-smile. To give one and all a chance to confidently meet again, hug again, dream again…
In the buildup to the Jubilee, one can feel a distinct decompression in minds and hearts across United Kingdom. Even globally, excitement for Her Majesty is felt. There’s a feeling of finally, finally, we’re able to breathe again.
For this reason, in so many ways, this moment, this Platinum Jubilee, is an essential part of the therapy that is needed to bring people through what has been one of the darkest times in our generation. There’s a poetic symmetry, not just in the flags that so majestically line The Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace, but a symmetry in these times.
70 years ago, and now, people are coming together, knowing that the intensity of the COVID-19 trauma experienced had passed.
70 years ago, and now, there is acute understanding of the work needing to be done to rebuild lives and livelihoods.
And still, 70 years ago, and now, there is respect for the need to also rebuild hope and hearts.
Importantly now, like then, national budgets are tight. So much money has been spent in recent past on pure survival – keeping people, businesses, and communities strong, healthy, and alive. But now, like then, investment in the Platinum Jubilee is accepted as a priceless investment in resetting spirit and the sense of direction. Now, right now, the Platinum Jubilee is this generation’s one chance to bring everyone together – the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and even parts of the world, to be tightly, warmly and confidently held together in a deep, loving purple ribbon.
Her Majesty, like Mother Nature, knew we would reach this point. And that when we did, pausing to mark the moment was critical so as to not only reset our eyes and hearts on our tomorrow, but appreciate the journey taken in our past. To breathe again.
Symmetry, in her actions, and words – most recently on April 5, 2020, when Her Majesty delivered her speech to the United Kingdom in the early days of national shutdown due to COVID-19: Symmetry of thought, statement, guiding spirit:
“Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it. I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge, and those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any, that the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet, good-humoured resolve, and of fellow feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future.
It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made in 1940, helped by my sister. We as children spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones, but now as then, we know deep down that it is the right thing to do. While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour. Using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal, we will succeed, and that success will belong to every one of us.
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again.
We will meet again.
But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.”
Thank you, Ma’am. May the celebrations, and healing, begin. x
Copyright: ANITA MENDIRATTA 2022