Rick's b.log - entry 2022/09/15

Even my little inner goth is shocked

I get that The Queen was a hugely influential person. I get that huge numbers of people used to come to Bucking-ham palace in order to try to catch a glimpse of her (or, failing that, annoy the Queen's Guards). I get that she is quite possibly the only non-fictional person in the world properly deserving of being bestowed the title "The Queen". And I even get that quite a lot of people are upset at her death and that these people wish to pay respects to The One True Monarch.

But, guys... what the actual hell?

Queues miles long in London for people to shuffle by the ornate royal coffin, which is guarded at all times between now and when the burial procession starts. It is something known as "Lying in State". It doesn't happen very often because you have to be really bloody important for such a thing to happen.

It's a singularly bizarre and - sorry - exceedingly creepy way of paying homage. People are lining up to walk past a box containing a cadaver that is beginning the slow process of decomposition.
Even my little inner goth is shocked. Why are you all doing this? That's not The Queen, it's a fancy box watched over by fancy people, containing a very not-fancy corpse. It's been nearly a week, already.

Ewww.

Coffins belong in cemeteries with bats and spiders and dark-haired girls wearing fancy black lace dresses (if you're stuck, just picture Amy Lee).

Seriously. The Queen was somebody very special, certainly. And it is clear from before and now that she is able to unite a country that otherwise talks of devolution.

But, people. Really... The best thing you can do for The Queen is to remember her, the things she achieved, trying to guide an old stuffy institution into the twentieth century (almost), and overseeing a transition between colonies and a Commonwealth (not always exactly peaceful, but better than the long past; maybe some day there might even be apologies for the murder and mayhem?).
The way to keep her alive now is simply to not forget.

You don't need to walk past a body in a box. Just find somebody you like who feels the same way you do and talk to them. Poke fun at clueless Americans (as I did above by the intentional mispronunciation). Take bets on how many people will be talking about being a republic this time next year, especially seeing as it seems as if slimy Andrew is slithering back into royal life.

And please, don't buy flowers. Just don't. They'll be laid, they'll look pretty for a few days, then they'll all get swept up with the torn flags, cigarette packs, random shoes, and all the other crap that is tidied and sent to landfill.

There's something far better, far more important, and far more worthwhile than spending money on flowers to last but a couple of days.

Donate something to your local food bank.

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Gavin Wraith, 15th September 2022, 21:29

I seem to recall that somebody is supposed to have said "Let the dead bury the dead", or something similar. The wall-to-wall pieties on the BBC are to my mind rather tedious by now, and may even trigger a backlash.

Rick, 15th September 2022, 21:41

Thanks to our highly polarised world, *whatever* the Beeb does, people will whinge.  Too left, too right, too woke, too clueless, too much Queen, not enough Queen... etc.

Rob, 16th September 2022, 00:59

I think they said the flowers will be collected up, composted, and used in the gardens. That's why they want them with no plastic wrappings. Still a bloody expensive way of making compost.

J.G.Harston, 16th September 2022, 14:18

We reviewed our Death Of An Important Person protocol four years ago, and we collect the flowers, compost them, and use them as the feed mulch to plant a tree of remembrance.    The top gate in the town park is the George V Gate from the time before last, so we'll probably end up using a space near the bottom gate, and probably name it the Elizabeth II Gate.    Me, I had a haircut yesterday to be presentable at the local civic 'do' on Sunday. Only second time in a church since my grandma's funeral on (spooky!) 19th Sep 1993.

David Pilling, 16th September 2022, 16:44

I felt the events at Westminster hall pushed the boundaries of reality. Obviously very real but getting into the territory of what you might read in Tolkein.

Rick, 16th September 2022, 18:07

The news on Love '80s said the queues are now about *fourteen* hours long.  So... adult sized disposable nappies, then? 😂

Rob, 16th September 2022, 22:28

22 hours now.. 😲

Rick, 16th September 2022, 22:35

Well, let it NEVER be in doubt that the English are champions of Competitive Queueing. 🏆

David Pilling, 16th September 2022, 22:37

Hidden workings - tales of bracelets, not going to have people walk in from the street without security checks.

J.G.Harston, 16th September 2022, 23:54

People pushing in? Must be furriners, no Real British Person would do that. ;)    Puts me in mind of a cartoon I remember, showing several queues merging and the queuers getting lost.

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