Editor: This month we offer you the fourth in a series on Queen Elizabeth ll, looking back down the 60 years of her reign. David Winter, former head of Religion for the BBC, has compiled this for us. This series will run until February 2013, and if you need back copies of this series, please email us and we will send them to you. This month we consider...
Diamond Jubilee: Elizabeth - pt 4. The King is dead, long live the Queen!
In the year when she became 21, the young princess Elizabeth, on a visit to South Africa, made a remarkable and solemn commitment. ‘I declare before you all,’ she said, ‘that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of that great imperial family to which we belong’.
I wonder, as she uttered those brave words, whether she could possibly have imagined that the service to which she was committing herself would involve no less than sixty years as monarch, during a period of vast change in the world and to that ‘imperial family’ which was to become the Commonwealth of nations. If she could, she might have been relieved to know that she and her ‘rock’, Philip, would still be together 64 years later, well into the next millennium.
It was on another visit to Africa in 1952, on their way to Australia and New Zealand, that the next momentous event occurred in her life. Her father’s health had deteriorated the previous year. In fact, on a visit to the United States in 1951 the Princess’s private secretary carried with him the documents of accession, so that she could be instantly declared the monarch should her father die while she was overseas.
That visit passed without incident, but early in the following February, while Elizabeth and Philip were staying at a safari lodge in Kenya en route for the Pacific, news came of the king’s death. There was a bit of a communications breakdown between London and Nairobi, and it was the Princess’s private secretary, alerted by journalists, who tuned into the BBC World Service, and confirmed that King George VI had died.
Prince Philip broke the news to his young wife and immediately they flew back to London where she signed the papers of accession and was declared Queen Elizabeth II. It was her choice to retain her given name - that, of course, of the great Elizabeth I of Tudor times. She became Queen on February 6th 1952, at the age of 24. She and her husband moved immediately into Buckingham Palace.
The royal family name had already been something of an issue. Senior members of the royal family were strongly in favour of the retention of the name ‘Windsor’, but as a concession to Philip’s paternal role, a few years later, after the death of the widowed Queen, some members of the family were permitted to use the name ‘Mountbatten-Windsor’.
It was a hugely significant time for a new monarch to take her place as head of the Commonwealth. The Cold War was at its height, and had indeed become rather hot in several places - Berlin, during the air-lift when the Russians blockaded the western area of the city, and, of course, during the Korean War. Hideous nuclear missiles were lined up on each side and only the appalling consequences of firing them kept fingers off the nuclear buttons. Britain was still recovering from the effects of the War, there was rationing of many items and bomb sites were still visible in our cities (though redevelopment was well under way).
Nevertheless there was an air of hope, some of it centred on the new Queen. There was no doubt that the nation intended to enjoy to the full her coronation, which was planned for the following Summer. When it was revealed that it would be televised live and in full, excitement knew no bounds.
Editor: We continue our column which looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, MAY) down the years. Here is a wide range from which to pick and choose, as your space allows.
All in the month of MAY
It was....
350 years ago:- on 19th May 1662 that the English parliament passed the Act of Uniformity, making the Book of Common Prayer compulsory in religious services and requiring Episcopal ordination for all ministers.
200 years ago:- on 7th May 1812 that Robert Browning, the British poet, was born.
175 years ago:- on 27th May 1837 that Wild Bill Hickok, legendary American frontiersman was born. As a lawman, scout and marksman he helped bring order to the Old West.
150 years ago:- on 24th May 1862 that Westminster Bridge in London was opened.
100 years ago:- on 13th May 1912 that The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) was founded in Britain.
90 years ago:- on 30th May 1922 that Warren G Harding gave the first radio broadcast by a US President.
Also 90 years ago:- on 31st May 1922 that sky-writing was introduced when British RAF pilot Cyril Turner spelt out an advertising message over Epsom Downs during the Epsom Derby horse race.
80 years ago:- on 21st May 1932 that American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
75 years ago:- on 3rd May 1937 that American writer Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel ‘Gone with the Wind’.
Also 75 years ago:- on 12th May 1937 that the Coronation of King George VI took place in London.
70 years ago:- on 4th May 1942 that Germany bombed Exeter, destroying the city centre.
Also 70 years ago:- on 29th May that American singer and actor Bing Crosby recorded his best known song ‘White Christmas’ in Los Angeles.
Also 70 years ago:- on 30th/31st May 1942 that more than 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers carried out a 90-minute raid on Cologne, Germany.
60 years ago:- on 2nd May 1952 that BOAC (now British Airways) launched the world’s first jet passenger service (from London to Johannesburg).
60 years ago:- on 7th May 1952 that British electronics engineer Geoffrey Dummer described the concept of an integrated circuit (microchip) for the first time.
50 years ago:- on 19th May 1962 that American actress Marilyn Monroe famously sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to President John F Kennedy during a birthday party/fundraiser at Madison Square Garden, New York.
40 years ago:- on 4th May 1972 that the Canadian-founded ‘Don’t Make A Wave Committee’ changed its name to ‘Greenpeace’ – the global environment organisation.
Also 40 years ago:- on 28th May 1972 that Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII of the UK, died.
30 years ago:- on 2nd May during the Falklands War the British submarine ‘HMS Conqueror’ sank the Argentine cruiser ‘General Belgrano’. More than 300 Argentine sailors were killed.
Also 30 years ago:- on 4th May that the British destroyer ‘HMS Sheffield’ was hit by Argentine missiles, killing 20 sailors. It sank on 10th May.
Also 30 years ago:- on 27th/28th May that in the Battle of Goose Green, the British forces recaptured Goose Green from the Argentines.
20 years ago:- on 6th May 1992 that Marlene Dietrich, German-born American stage and film actress and singer died.
15 years ago:- on 6th May 1997 that the Bank of England was granted operational independence by the government, including sole responsibility for setting interest rates.
10 years ago:- on 30th May 2002 that a solemn ceremony was held to mark the end of the clean-up operation at Ground Zero in New York City, after the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Editor: Our community reporter Philip Barron considers the drought threatening the UK this summer.
Water - a vital commodity under pressure
As I write, drought prevails over much of Britain and many areas are threatened with hosepipe bans. This reminds us of the importance of water and the fact that there is a growing shortage of it in many parts of the world.
A massive report on the problem just issued by the United Nations shows that many daunting challenges lie ahead. These include providing clean water and sanitation for the poor, feeding a world population set to rise to nine billion by 2050 and coping with the impact of global warming.
In the report, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says: “Pressures on freshwater are rising, from the expanding needs of agriculture, food production and energy consumption to pollution and weak water management. Climate change is a real and growing threat.”
Population growth and a shift to more meat-intensive diet will drive up demand for food by some 70 per cent by 2050. Farming already accounts for around 70 per cent of water use, ranging from 44 per cent in rich countries to over 90 per cent in least-developed economies.
Abstraction of aquifers (underground layers of water-bearing rock or soil) supplies nearly half of all drinking water today. The UN report calls for a massive effort to curb waste. Better irrigation systems, less-thirsty crops and the use of “grey” (used) water are among the options.
There will be competition for water between cities, farmers and ecosystems, and between countries. So far, there seems no major risk of water wars, as countries have chosen to co-operate in water resources rather than fighting over them. A disturbing trend, however, is the buying up of farmland in Africa by western economies, Middle East states, China and India (to produce food or bio-fuels).
Such practices could lead to simply transferring a wasteful water “footprint” to countries where water is already scarce. For Europe, says the UN report, the big problem is water stress induced by climate change for the central and southern part of the continent.
Editor: Isn’t enthusiasm contagious? Here is a delightful story about a very keen milk-bottle collector. Could any of your readers help him?
Your old milk bottles are wanted!
Do you have any old milk bottles? If so, don't throw them out! In fact, the older they are, the better.
Unlikely as this may sound, there is a burgeoning little milk bottle museum in Malvern Worcester, and the owner, Steve Wheeler, is eagerly looking for more old milk bottles. Steve has been collecting for 30 years, and currently has more than 17,000 of them. He has all sizes, from quarts right down to old creams, half pints and the one-third pints originally used to supply local schoolchildren.
Steve explains: "People often have old milk bottles and don't even realise it: they are in their sheds, old barns and dairy buildings. Please, if you find any, don't throw them away! Contact me instead." Steve's aim is to establish a National Milk Bottle Museum, and he is in talks with the National Trust and other bodies.
In the meantime, Steve gives talks to WIs, young farmers' clubs and church groups, etc. while scouring the country for any bottles and dairy memorabilia he can find. He also receives donations from various institutions, such as the Dairymen's Benevolent Society. So - if you have any old milk bottles, why not tell Steve on 01684 569656 or email him at milkbottlepast@hotmail.com.
Editor: We are delighted to offer you this month the first in a series of six articles looking at how our care of animals impacts on our own health and welfare. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH is a neurologist and public health specialist, and Fellow of The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. She works for the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats of the US Food and Drug Administration. Our series is based on her new book, Animals and Public Health: Why treating animals better is critical to human welfare. ....
Why We Must be Kind to Animals
Over the past two decades, a growing number of people across all walks of life have begun to re-examine our relationship with animals. As a result, more people are questioning how we interact with, and treat, animals more than ever before. This comes at a time when the suffering we cause to animals is at an all-time high.
Today, humans are harming animals on a record scale. Worldwide, over 64 billion land animals are raised and slaughtered for food annually. Most of these animals are now reared in massive factory farms, a source of immense animal suffering. Annually, over 115 million animals suffer as they are used in experiments or to supply the biomedical industry throughout the world. Every year, billions of animals (including sea animals) are ripped from their natural habitats and sold as pets and entertainers, or killed for their fur, skin, meat or other body parts. And, with our own population explosion, we are destroying habitats for other animals at a rate that might soon become irreversible.
Why should we care about the fate of animals, one might ask, given that so many people are also suffering? But I would argue that there is no limit to compassion. The vast majority of religions stress compassion for others as a basic tenet- it does not matter if the ‘others’ are human or not.
Additionally, showing kindness toward animals does not mean that we must ignore the plight of humans. On the contrary, the human plight is inextricably tied with that of animals. Philosophers, scientists and religious leaders from Socrates to St. Francis Assisi to Albert Einstein, have long claimed that disregarding the suffering of animals will come back to harm us in one way or another.
These earlier reflections were largely speculation, but today there is evidence of a very real and often a very direct relationship between animal suffering and human welfare and health. In fact, a substantial proportion of the most significant and urgent public health issues we face today are intricately linked with how we treat animals. This includes domestic violence, infectious disease pandemics, climate change, obesity and chronic disease epidemics, the biodiversity crisis (and its resultant human impact) and medical research.
These issues will be explored in greater detail in subsequent issues. In the next article, I will focus on the connection between the abuse of animals and human violence.
Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH is a neurologist and public health specialist, a Fellow of The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and works for the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats of the US Food and Drug Administration. She is the author of the new book, Animals and Public Health: Why treating animals better is critical to human welfare. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series, £52.25
Editor: Here is more encouragement from the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge to keep the heart of your community green....
How we could get our green spaces protected for ever
Town and parish councils can play a vital role in ensuring the green hearts of communities are protected forever, with the help of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge.
Village greens, sports playing fields or playgrounds: they’re all key focuses for communities, encouraging activity and appreciation of the outdoors and fresh air. So why not get involved with the Challenge, and preserve outdoor recreational spaces like these?
Joining in with the Challenge is a great way of connecting our community with the big events of 2012: the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, creating a legacy that will continue forever. Find out more at www.qe2fields.com.
As one Parish Councillor, Trevor, of Little Quinton, found: “The Playing Fields were gifted to the village 100 years ago and we’re delighted that we have been able to make sure, through the QEII Fields Challenge, they will always be there for the village.”
QEII Fields can also access funding streams available just to them: £1million from SITA Trust, County Funding direct from Fields in Trust and applications to Sport England’s People, Places, Play Legacy Fund, are given added weighting.
For many communities, their QEII Field is becoming the focus for the summer and Diamond Jubilee celebrations – through Have a Field Day. Have a Field Day organisers get a free toolkit with ideas as well as a box full of items to help celebrations go with a bang. Balloons, medals, flags, bunting...whatever might be needed, it’s in the box! Find out more at www.qe2fields.com/fieldday
“Our Have a Field Day will be a fantastic celebration of our lovely field and the Queens Diamond Jubilee,” says Jane, of the Fretherne with Saul and Framilode Memorial Hall and Playing Field.
Next time your train is delayed....
Autumn blows wet leaves onto the line; winter dumps the “wrong kind of snow” on the line. Now that it is May, a new threat stalks our railways.... beware the dandelions!
Millions of dandelion seeds become tiny parachutes that are swept up into the air and start gusting about in clouds. When a train ploughs into this cloud, it sucks up vast numbers, which block the air filters. The train then overheats, stopping it in its –er – tracks. A spokesman for York-based Grand Central Trains says that when this last happened, the engines were so packed with dandelion seeds that “they looked like Shaun the Sheep.”
The prize for daft reasons for stopping trains, however, still remains with the train driver who stopped his train for half an hour between Fenchurch St and Southend, complaining that the sun was “too bright”.
We are all more cuddly now
Whatever happened to the British stiff upper lip? It seems these days that we cannot stop hugging each other. In fact, we hug each other about 13 times a day, and each hug lasts for almost 10 seconds, according to a recent poll.
A clinical psychologist suggests that this may be a reaction against our increasing reliance on remote communication. “Human beings need physical contact – the sight, sound, smell and touch of someone else.” Our laptop-based lives, despite Twitter and Facebook, leave us much more alone than in the past.
It seems that nothing replaces direct physical human contact. Nivea, who conducted the poll, found that the main reason people want to hug someone is for simple comfort. So if on Sunday in church, the exchange of the ‘peace’ goes on and on, don’t be surprised!
Get a bigger box!
Does your boss want better work out of you? Then you should be given a bigger office. A recent study has found that employers who want their staff to ‘think outside the box’ should give them literally more space to work in.
Apparently, cramped working environments stifle our creativity. We need airy, less constricted workplaces to stimulate our brains, and boost our inspirational ‘light-bulb’ moments. So... perhaps the boss could swap offices with you?!
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.
Happy 250th birthday, dear sandwich!
As you munch your way through your next sandwich lunch, consider this: 12th – 19th May is British Sandwich Week. Seriously. And not only that: this year the humble sandwich turns 250 years old. (Hope the one in your lunch box is a bit more recent than that.)
According to the British Sandwich Association’s website, it all began back in 1762 when one John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich and an inveterate gambler, called for his manservant to bring him some cuts of beef between slices of bread so that he could eat while continuing to play cards. Soon his friends were asking to have the “same as Sandwich” and – before you could say: “do you want that on seeded or white?” the sandwich was born.
No one really knows what prompted the Earl to come up with the idea of the first ‘sandwich’. All we know is that in calling for a convenience meal, John Montagu sparked a trend that would become a worldwide industry, until today it employs more than 300,000 people in just the UK, and is worth more than £6 billion.
Meanwhile, you may not have heard of the British Sandwich Association, but they are taking good care of you. Their stated aims include: “to safeguard the integrity of the sandwich”, which must be a good thing.
National Smile Month 20 May – to 20 June
Whoever came up with the idea of a ‘National Smile Month’? The mind boggles at the idea of everyone smiling at each other for weeks on end, especially on the trains and buses, never mind in the House of Commons.
In reality, National Smile Month is not about goodwill breaking out across the country, but about dentists urging us to take better care of our teeth; and hence, our smiles. It is an oral health campaign with three key messages: brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste; cut down on how often you have sugary foods and drinks; and visit your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend. At least your dentist will then smile at you!