Two Days Off Week 38 2022

As we have I think mentioned, it is good to take two days off sometimes if you can in the ministry. That opportunity came last week as last Monday was the bank holiday. Like many others I spent much of the day watching the funeral. A lot of it was not to my liking but you hope some gospel broke through. The thing about it that struck me most was how just when you think this isn't a "Christian country" any more, it turns out it is - sort of. In the evening we watched some less demanding TV. The next day I read a chunk of Moby Dick which I'm not funding easy to get through, mostly because it's long rather than uninteresting. I also watched Catch me if you can a 2002 feature film I'd never seen for some reason. (I have a vague plan to record and watch films I happen never to have seen. I've watched recently High Noon, Twelve angry men and Vertigo).

Death of Queen Elizabeth II

I am not a monarchist but the death of the Queen today s a highly significant event. The former prime minister has eloquently summed up what most of us are feeling.

This is our country's saddest day. In the hearts of every one of us there is an ache at the passing of our Queen, a deep and personal sense of loss - far more intense, perhaps, than we expected.

In these first grim moments since the news, I know that millions and millions of people have been pausing whatever they have been doing, to think about Queen Elizabeth, about the bright and shining light that has finally gone out.

She seemed so timeless and so wonderful that I am afraid we had come to believe, like children, that she would just go on and on.

Wave after wave of grief is rolling across the world, from Balmoral - where our thoughts are with all the Royal Family - and breaking far beyond this country and throughout that great Commonwealth of nations that she so cherished and which cherished her in return.

As is so natural with human beings, it is only when we face the reality of our loss that we truly understand what has gone. It is only really now that we grasp how much she meant for us, how much she did for us, how much she loved us.

As we think of the void she leaves, we understand the vital role she played, selflessly and calmly embodying the continuity and unity of our country.

We think of her deep wisdom, and historic understanding, and her seemingly inexhaustible but understated sense of duty. Relentless though her diary must have felt, she never once let it show, and to tens of thousands of events — great and small — she brought her smile and her warmth and her gentle humour —and for an unrivalled 70 years she spread that magic around her Kingdom.

This is our country's saddest day because she had a unique and simple power to make us happy. That is why we loved her. That is why we grieve for Elizabeth the Great, the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our history.

It was one of her best achievements that she not only modernised the constitutional monarchy, but produced an heir to her throne who will amply do justice to her legacy, and whose own sense of duty is in the best traditions of his mother and his country.

Though our voices may still be choked with sadness we can say with confidence the words not heard in this country for more than seven decades.

God Save The King.

RT HON BORIS JOHNSON MP

10 Longest Reigning British Monarchs

1 Elizabeth II 6 February 1952-September 8 2022 70 years, 214 days ie 25,782 days*

2 Victoria 20 June 1837-22 January 1901 63 years, 216 days ie 23,226 days
3 George III 25 October 1760-29 January 1820 59 years, 96 days ie 21,644 days
4 James VI of Scotland 24 July 1567-27 March 1625 57 years, 246 days ie 21,066 days
5 Henry III 18 October 1216-16 November 1272 56 years, 29 days ie 20,483 days
6 Edward III 25 January 1327-21 June 1377 50 years, 147 days ie 18,410 days
7 William I of Scotland 9 December 1165-4 December 1214 48 years, 360 days ie 17,892 days
8 Llywelyn of Gwynedd 1195-11 April 1240 45 years (approximately)
9 Elizabeth I 17 November 1558-24 March 1603 44 years, 127 days ie 16,198 days
10 David II of Scotland 7 June 1329-22 February 1371 41 years, 260 days ie 15,235 days

*Amended 

10 Longest Lived British Monarchs

1 Elizabeth I1 21 April 1926-September 8 2022 96 years, 139 days and rising ie 35,204 days*
2 Victoria 24 May 1819-22 January 1901 700181000000000000081 years, 7002243000000000000243 days ie 29,828 days
3 George III 4 June 1738-29 January 1820 700181000000000000081 years, 7002239000000000000239 days ie 29,823 days
4 Edward VIII 23 June 1894-28 May 1972 700177000000000000077 years, 7002340000000000000340 days ie 28,463 days
5 George II 10 November 1683-25 October 1760 700176000000000000076 years, 7002350000000000000350 days ie 28,108 days
6 William IV 21 August 1765-20 June 1837 700171000000000000071 years, 7002303000000000000303 days ie 26,235 days
7 George V 3 June 1865-20 January 1936 700170000000000000070 years, 7002231000000000000231 days ie 25,797 days
8 Edward VII 9 November 1841-6 May 1910 700168000000000000068 years, 7002178000000000000178 days ie 25,014 days
9 James II 24 October 1633-16 September 1701700167000000000000067 years, 7002327000000000000327 days ie 24,798 days
10 George IV 12 August 1762-26 June 1830 700167000000000000067 years, 7002318000000000000318 days ie 24,789 days
(Inspired by a question on UC)

*Amended

10 Football Knights

1. Trevor Brooking Jun-2004 For services to sport; also received CBE 1999 and MBE 1981

2. Matt Busby Jun-1969 After guiding Manchester United to the European Cup title

3. Bobby Charlton Jun-1994 For services to football; regarded as second footballer to be knighted; also received CBE 1974 and OBE 1969

4. Alex Ferguson Jun-1999 Only the eighth football manager or player to be knighted; was also awarded an OBE 1984 and a CBE 1995

5. Tom Finney Jan-1998 For services to football; regarded as third footballer to be knighted; also received CBE 1992 and OBE 1961

6. Geoff Hurst Jun-1998 For services to football; regarded as fourth footballer to be knighted; also received MBE 1975

7. Stanley Matthews Jan-1965 For services to football; regarded as first footballer to be knighted; also received CBE 1957 (the only footballer knighted whilst still playing - people feared the Queen would stab the ball by mistake ;-))

8. Alf Ramsey Jan-1967 For services to football (following England's 1966 World Cup triumph)

9. Bobby Robson Jun-2002 For services to football; also received CBE 1990

10. Walter Winterbottom 1978 For services to sport; also received CBE in 1972 and OBE in 1963 (first England manager)

To be Frankel

RacingKel, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

My wife and I did something unusual last Saturday. We sat down to watch a horse race on TV. It was the Champion Stakes at Ascot. We had heard people raving on the radio in the morning going on about Frankel and it turned out to be convenient for us to watch the race, which he won pretty easily, despite being last out of the starting gate. That's 14 wins out of 14 starts. There is something wonderful about seeing someone, or on this occasion, some horse ,as good as everyone says he is. My old dad would have enjoyed seeing it. The Queen certainly did.

Just noticed I blogged on Frankel once before here.

Teulu ar y teledu

If you check here you should see Eleri and Gwion speaking about how wonderful our Queen is on Welsh TV (from about 1:07).