Our Gracious Majesty

This weekend our Pommie mates are preparing for 4 HUGE days of partying to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Our Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11. It's probably timely to remind Hedgies in the Excited States of America that Australia remains a Commonwealth country. We are not a Republic (yet), so our figurative Head Honcho is still the Queen of England, yep don't get me started.

Pommie Land will be awash with jubilee gun salutes, carriage processions, beacon lighting, river pageants, palace concerts, church services, festivals, exhibitions, lunches, mad Poms hosting boisterous street parties by the thousands & enough bunting to traverse the globe twice .

Being the laconic, laid-back mob that we are, we've been taking the celebratory things a bit easier. The odd pub or two have cashed in & are having Royal Jubilee BBQ's in their beer gardens at double the normal price. Patrons have been asked to show some respect & eschew their normal flip-flops for something a little posher (Crocs in red, blue or white thanks).

I was getting a little concerned that we weren't embracing the whole shebang until today, when I was speaking to one of my favourite clients, the Royal Flying Doctor Base in Broken Hill. Remote, dusty, outback Australia in all it's glory. I love this hangar & have spent many happy hours in its cavernous surrounds. It's always busy, with aircraft & the medical crews coming in & out constantly, equipment being checked, restocked & reloaded, quick handovers given, a vast area of concrete floors with air redolent with the smell of av gas.

But tonight it's being transformed into something else. The planes will be pushed out onto the tarmac, floors swept clean & equipment stashed. In their place metres of bunting will be strung around, Royal paraphenalia prominently displayed, eskies overflowing with ice will have bottles of beer & bubbles pushed in hard to cool, canapes will be passed around, the band will fire up & the hangar will be fuller than a punter on Melbourne Cup Day. Despite being about as geographically removed from the colourfully garlanded streets of Old Blighty as it gets, the lovely people of Broken Hill will be partying just as hard as their Pommie mates by hosting their very own Royal Jubilee Cocktail Party. My client was soooo excited, I just wanted to hop in the car & head north to join them!

So to my favourite Pommie Hedgies have a mighty time this weekend. And remember that tonight in remote Broken Hill, a group of Colonials will be raising their glasses to a faraway Queen. We are different, but we are the same. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

Images: Hello   RFDS