Coronation Day, 1953

I remember the street party in Macaulay Road very well. I was six years old, had to have some back teeth removed that morning, so all I got was jelly and ice-cream!

Found this which was my Dad's the other day in Mums loft -

Oh what wonders lofts can contain. Hands up all those that have one.

I can't put my hand up because I haven't got a loft, I just have a lot of cupboards. Some might say too many.

And do you have any 1953 Coronation paraphernalia in those cupboards Helen? You have to store all the - may I say 'junk' that your mum collected, and after much afterthought wondered why you kept it in the first place. I have the honour of that task, and if I get rid of it my daughter is going to say to me - 'Mum you remember that 'thingy' you had' ! So I am not buying into the Royalty Fund just to store it for the next few generations to wish I had got rid of it in the 'second place' ! I can see why some folk like Bargain Hunt, they might see something that their Grannie owned and worth a few thou. So, get rid of those cupboards Helen, quick.

Blow me down. We brought a whole lot of Ercol furniture out with us in 1974 and sold it again 6 years later to a keen enthusiast for exactly the same price we bought it for (so how do I connect this with Coronation Day 1953)? I just had to tell you about that little piece of trivia Helen. Sometimes it pays you to hang onto things for investment purposes.

Hi all, I had to be dressed up as a drummer boy. I could never work out why mum's dining table was stuck in the middle of the road. I was 5 at the time. It wasn't the best of weather either. It was also the first year at my infants school. Miss Dixon in Wyken Grange Rd. We had spelling cards, you know B for bat, C for cat & so on. I was ok at that, I knew my alphabet before starting school. I remember a card with the picture of our Queen Mother on it, the first word that I can remember starting with Q. Not boasting, but I knew my numbers as well. Train spotting was a good educator. I'm hopeless at spelling now!! No joke!

The first Royal event I was aware of was the Silver Jubilee. There was a schools poster competition but our teacher forgot to send our entries off.

The way I see it is, I can't remember a thing about Coronation Day 1953, just a lot of bunting in the streets. I was 14 and still at St. Joseph's in Kenilworth. Did we have the day off? Surely I should have remembered that. I must have had my mind on other things like leaving school when I would reach 15.

Are all children going to be given a mug and 5/- piece this time around? I still have my from 53! Due to all their family rubbish that is going on, next Saturday is not going to have the same attraction as 53.

Events are much more visual than they used to be (ie tv) so more memorable but there are so many things to see or read about, stuff isn't as special. The media coverage of all the family is damaging and the days when there were few stories about them allowed a certain amount of mystique. Plus we're a less deferential society than we've ever been. I do sympathise with all of them to a certain extent. Living under that level of scrutiny, aided and abetted by staff, must be hell. Since almost every issue now is politicised they can't even have hobbies without upsetting somebody. If they were paid per gossip story, they'd all be billionaires.

Hi Helen, does your sympathy stretch to Andrew and Harry? Afraid I have absolutely none for either of them.

Hi all, Regards the current monarchy popularity, one tabloid headline stating "Rock-Solid", yet reliable polls suggest 38% against the monarchy. Opinion rating in 1953 wasn't of the calibre that it is nowadays, so can only be estimated. I would be very surprised if in 1953, support for the monarchy was less than ninety percent. The downside to the monarchy in 1953 was the Mountbatten connections, whereas today I believe the unpopularity is the feeling amongst so many, money for old rope. I'm not stating my own opinion on this, except of what I hear in public discussions.