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When I was a young boy, I think around the age of seven or so, I remember going to school one day to be told it was going to be a very different school day.
We all filed onto a large Midland Red bus, and it transported us three miles to the centre of Solihull simply being told it was going to be a special event…
We lined the private road into Solihull hospital and were given flags - union jacks as they were called in those days and told to wait in line at the edge of the pavement.
A cavalcade came into view and in the middle of it was a gleaming Rolls Royce with a dome glass canopy and inside was a wonderful smiling lady waving back to us whilst we frantically waved our flags to see… THE QUEEN!
Sixty years or so have passed for me since then and time has numbed my brain a little, however, I am sure she was dressed either in lemon or pale green and she looked simply wonderful.
We waited a while and sure enough, she drove past again a short time later and we waved our flags even more than last time. (I believe she was opening a new wing of the hospital which I sampled myself the following year to have my tonsils removed!).
I took the flag home and it was the pride of place on our dresser for a long while, my Mom being a staunch supporter of the Queen and was very proud of it.
I have never forgotten that day and as I went through my teens and twenties my admiration grew for our Queen Elizabeth. In recent years I have marvelled at this truly wonderful woman who dedicated her life to serving this country, revered around the world by so many.
Like most of us I enjoyed the recent Jubilee celebrations though seeing Her Majesty, still much loved, yet so frail, it was clear that we were not to have her with us for much longer.
Still, as I write this the day after her passing, I am, probably like most of us, in shock that it is finally the end of her reign.
I choose to remember her from this summer and with her wonderful sense of fun with the Paddington film for the celebrations. She really did surprise everyone including the members of her family and it was a wonderful moment!
I never had the chance to meet the vision I saw all those years ago as a little boy, but I’ll never forget it…
Thank you Ma’am for simply being there, being our strength and showing us the way.
Until the next time…
Peter
Peter Roper The Family Business Man
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