People from around the Commonwealth and the greater World community will celebrate the 90th Birthday of the Queen today and over the coming weekend, culminating in a street party for 10,000 people in The Mall. Quite a party, that is a lot of ice cream and jelly.
In our community there are many people who have shared the past 90 years with HM The Queen and who have seen vast changes along the way.
By the way, are we celebrating our nonagenarians? If not, why not? Most elderly people endure a lack of company, and too many have little or no excitement in their lives. Why not throw some street parties for our local 90 year olds? They deserve all the love and fun that they can get.
Casting an eye over the last 90 years is quite revealing. Only 8 years since the Great War finished, with many Durham lads unable to come home, the whole Country was in transformation. Men were working in the mines, ships were being built on the Tyne and Wear, and our skies were black with smoke.
In those 90 years we have experienced miracles of science and technology, plus medical advances that allow people to reach 90 where back in the 1920’s that was not likely.
In 1926 John Logie Baird demonstrated television in London. Today we can carry a television around in our pockets, or have a wall mounted TV screens the size of St James’s Park – almost, that’s progress for you.
Many people carry ‘mobile phones’ that, combined with computer technology that could send men to the Moon, at the touch of a screen can enable face to face communications across the world in seconds, quite amazing.
In May 1926 there was a General Strike in support of the Coal Strike, with martial law on the mainland of the Country. Now we have very few coal mines left. How the world has changed?
Agatha Christie went secretly to Harrogate to soak in the sulphur baths, and caused an uproar in the process, nobody knew where she was. Present day ‘celeb’s’ are ‘news’ warts and all and hide in health farms, in plain sight. How times have changed?
Leaving fact and fiction to the historians, it is worthy of note that in the 90 years past we have technological miracles aplenty, transport is transformed in every way; we fly around the world with ease and bewildering speed. There are daily medical miracles, with survival from life threatening illnesses that not long ago were terminal now almost a given.
We have a great deal to be thankful for and to celebrate all of that is a fine thing to do. To all 90 years olds, Happy Birthday and god bless and have a happy time, you deserve it.
Goodness knows what miracles will occur in the next 90 years, men (and women) living on Mars? Cures for many more illnesses (hopefully), peace in our world? We live in hope.
