Frankie

Loving this procession music accompanied by Big Ben and cannon going off. Feels really foreshadowing. Is Boris considering a coup?

I'm just looking forward to seeing which friend of which MP's company got the armband contract....

In Edinburgh where the queue begins there's an area where I believe wristbands are handed out with toilets and I believe there are portoloos along the mile or so queuing route. In general the queuing system looks fairly informal so I doubt there's going to be much of a problem if someone needs to lose a few mins to pay a visit if you've already been waiting several hours.

There are protest marches fairly regularly in Edinburgh and roads are closed to facilitate. Sometimes I'll agree with these events, sometimes not. It's just life and we get on with it. I don't see the need to complain then or think I'll use the opportunity to protest about something else. Of course these ceremonies are the wrong place for protests - at least the kind of moronic ones we've seen in the last day or two. But thankfully there have only been a tiny number amongst hundreds of thousands of people so it's not a big problem. If a group wanted to organise something more formal then I'm sure they could have been accommodated somewhere locally but I suspect such groups are aware of the context.

Are people (well one person) complaining about road closures? I've travelled around Edinburgh absolutely fine in recent days by car, by public transport, by walking and by cycling. It's not ideal when areas in the city are closed (it also happens for the festival and other events several times a year) but it's far from the end of the world and it's mainly central areas that are affected. The same areas that usually have the best public transport service for the rest of the time compared to us from the sticks. As for protesting, well that's something we shouldn't take for granted and I'm uncomfortable when people's rights are questioned. However, there's a time and a place so none of us should be surprised that one or two morons think shouting/displaying obscenities will be permitted when thousands more are there to peacefully pay their respects. It's only a literal few so I'd suggest they're best ignored rather than arrested or violence applied but I can understand why the police removed them. I'd imagine the same would happen if many similar situations so it's hardly a pro-Monarchy statement.... There's something very unsettling about the last few days but I will also admit to finding much of it fascinating - from all the traditional (archaic and outdated?) ceremonies to huge numbers of people wanting to file past the coffin of someone they never met. I've found the reaction especially interesting from a Scottish perspective. Ultimately, we'll all move on in week or so's time back into our preferred prejudices and biases. For the time being, I'll enjoy something different happening.

In a 'normal' world, it would probably make sense to postpone these fixtures and other events. Post CV19, where businesses and individuals are already struggling, then I say keep these events on and allow people to experience this unusual moment together. I doubt many will be grieving per se but the idea of hundreds of thousands of people attending events and observing silences together seems more respectful to me than sitting by themselves in the house watching Nicholas Witchell patronise them.

Like us all, the Queen was imperfect and although she helped modernise the monarchy and the country during an incredible reign, for some it will never be enough and I can understand that. For many of the rest of us, we thank her for a lifetime of service - a selfless duty none of us will really appreciate. Yes, it was also a lifetime of privilege and, with poverty still prevalent in this country and across the Commonwealth, I share the cynicism of that birth right in a modern world but I, for one, would not have swapped with her for my life of freedom and privacy. In a personally interesting twist of fate my younger brother died 27 years ago yesterday (the weather conditions were eerily the same) so I was already feeling rather melancholy when yesterday's news broke at lunchtime. Whilst I wouldn't say I was upset at someone I didn't know dying, I can understand why so many people will be affected by this extremely unusual moment in recent UK history. Not everyone is a Monarchist (or a Republican) and I'd fancy I reflect the majority where I usually shrug my shoulders when the issue is discussed but, like those with a more religious faith, who are the rest of us to judge if people get comfort from having a focal point in their lives? We all scoff when a celebrity dies and we see people mourning as if it was their favourite relative but I'd fancy there's always someone that would probably surprise us when they go. When Walter Smith died last October, I was surprised at how upset it made me for for a wee bit. I didn't know him but he was part of my daily life for 35 years. That's why people feel attached to people they don't know. Daft - maybe; understandable, yes. To move on, the last couple of years have been amongst the most strange and most difficult when we consider the global pandemic, war just on our doorstep and associated financial crises that may affect us for a good while yet. The loss of Elizabeth II or the accession of Charles III may or may not directly affect these issues and I'm not the kind of person to allow my birth place (or football team or religion) define my life choices but neither will I disrespect those that will find this transition difficult. Cards on the table, for me, as it stands, I still think the monarchy is a fairly positive thing. However, I also agree it's something that will and should not be there forever. Indeed, I think firstly Charles then William will see it's influence reduced over the next generation or two which I don't think it's paradoxical to argue is also a good thing.