Block Party
Our neighbour Martin, who was born in his house, recalls the Queen's coronation in '52, which he watched at Trafalgar Square, climbing on shoulders to see the action. Why Trafalgar Sq? It was the central point of the procession so Martin got three looks at Royal carriage and other dignitaries : the Queen of Tonga, he tells me, "so fat her carriage tilted." Martin BTW not the oldest on our our block : that honour goes to Richard, a CBE, also born in his house, seven years before Martin (recall Martin a part of the Second World War evacuation which he explained , patiently, to Madeleine when she studied this period in school).
I meet Dominic who is a retired art dealer who spent his spare time foraging car boot sales for under-valued treasures : he made enough to buy a detached property nearby us and now 'day trades' one mineral-rights stock which, he notes, "swings 50 points a day - more than enough volatility for me." Munir, to my right, a self-made accountant from India - he trained as a mechanical engineer but when Britain junked its manufacturing for services in the '80s and '90s, he was forced to pursue a different profession. Munir's shy pretty daughter hangs on Munir's shoulder; she is one year older than Eitan , and now attends the Tiffen School for Girls - one of the most selective independents in London. Munir tells me the Queen stands for family values otherwise lost in this country. I don't take the bait.
Sometimes I feel like an alien in a strange land.
"God save the queen
The fascist regime
They made you a moron
Potential H-bomb
"God save the queen
She ain't no human being
There is no future
In England's dreaming"
--God Save The Queen", the Sex Pistols
