Time to revisit the Regal Compost Bin

Regular readers will realise that I'm a closet Royalist (yeah, right) and may recall that I celebrated her maj's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 by constructing a commemorative compost bin. Today saw me taking out my latest batch of the brown stuff. It's as good a batch as I've ever made and I'm putting it down to the royal association of this particular bin. Maybe it's my imagination but what comes out of my other two bins just isn't the same. It doesn't have such a regal aroma or break down into such an imperial crumb. Rule Britannia - ruler of the bins. 

The above mentioned bin, looking good after three years of dutiful service. But will it last as long as her maj has reigned over us? I think not.

Compost fit for a queen - and my veg plot. I think I'll be growing some King Edward's in this lot next year.

Her maj always uses a silver spade when she digs. Me? I use my great grandfather's shovel. Dating from the 1930s, Henry Charles Bowyer used it when he was working as a roadman for Bedwas and Machen Urban District Council in South Wales - in fact, the discerning eye can just make out a very worn BMUDC on the handle. I like using this shovel as it links me directly, through my father and grandfather, to a man I can clearly remember. He died when I was about 5 and when I think about him I recall a fob watch in his waistcoat, a funny accent (he came from Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire), a white moustache that smelt of pipe tobacco, chickens, digging and picking things from his garden and, my very last mental image of him, him laid out for his burial in my nan's front room. The room was heady with the scent of Lily of the Valley and I've associated it with death ever since. Never, ever buy me a bunch - I won't be impressed.

The Joy of the Jubilee continues

I've been remembering those heady days of June when the entire nation convulsed in mass hysteria over the Diamond Jubilee. I admit that I was also swept away by the emotion of the occasion and built my own tribute to QEII in my veg plot - a commemorative compost bin (as described in my June 2nd posting). It was emptying out the bin today that brought it all flooding back to me.

This was the first lot of the brown stuff that I'd removed since I dedicated the bin to her maj and what a regal batch it is, too. Fit for a queen? Perhaps. But certainly fit enough to be spread over my Keir Hardy Memorial Flower Bed, There to provide sustenance for my republican roses, democratic dahlias and proletariat paeonies.

Given the rather good job I made of constructing the bin and the loyalty of my gesture, I'm wondering whether I'd be eligible for a Royal Warrant for my efforts. I think the plaque would look rather good above our front door.

Sanity restored

Only in the UK........

.....would you get a chamber choir singing Land of Hope and Glory, on a barge in the Thames, in the pouring rain! Many thanks to the members of the Royal College of Musicians Chamber Choir for providing the one image of the Jubilee Pageant that I will remember.

Heretical thoughts on the Jubilee

Amidst the orgy of deference that comprises the Jubilee celebrations, it appears to be a heresy to do anything other than tug the forelock and bow one's head in obesiance. Sorry, not my style!

According to a poll reported last week, the Royal Family is more popular than ever. Only 22% of those interviewed believed that Britain would be better off without a monarchy and a mere 10% would want an elected head of state after the Queen's demise rather than a regal Charles or William. As some parts of the media (but not Private Eye!) never tire of pointing out in what amount to hagiographies, the unelected monarch is far more popular than any elected politician.

If you think about it, it's not surprising that this is the case. The Queen never has to say anything controversial or allocate resources between competing claims of often equal merit or take decisions that provoke disagreement. If your job is largely confined to uttering bland pleasantries ("have you come far?"), shaking hands, cutting the ribbon at various events and distributing gongs ("arise,Sir Tom Jones"), it's actually quite difficult to be unpopular.

Yes, we British do like our Queen but I don't think this should be taken as a blanket approval of the monarchy. It is, in fact, quite easy for the Royal Family to gain the disapproval of the flag-waving British public. All they have to do is to step outside of the Ruritanian bubble we see as being their true abode and operate in the real world. Witness the ordure heaped upon Prince Charles for his opinions on alternative medicine, GM crops, architecture and so on. Witness how the Duke of Edinburgh is criticised when he expresses his views. Witness how the Queen's approval ratings fell in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death. 

The Queen's longevity is keeping the monarchy alive and well. But it will be interesting to see what happens when she's no longer around. Will the collective affection for Charles still prevent us from seeing what monarchy actually symbolises: hierarchy, hereditary privilege, deference, feudalism and unearned wealth. Surely democracy has a better story to tell?