Greetings! I hope you are keeping well in these strange and uncertain times. We are really missing our Sunday nights at the pub. Conversely meeting virtually makes the world a much smaller place – it’s great that those from further afield are able to join us on Sunday nights. We will share the zoom link nearer the time.
I’m going to let you work out which famous person we’re thinking about this week…
- She owns an elephant, two giant turtles, a jaguar and a pair of sloths
- She became a homeowner at just six years old
- Her birthplace is now a fancy Cantonese restaurant
- She’s the only person in the UK allowed to drive without a licence
- She was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 and has been married for 73 years
Can you tell who it is yet?
Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch in British history. She was just 25 when she took the throne in 1952. No matter what you think of the royal family she is arguably one of the most iconic figures in world history and one of the reasons we get so many tourists in London.
IMDB tells us that she has been portrayed by around 100 actors in various films and TV programmes. If you haven’t seen ‘The Crown’ we would thoroughly recommend it. It really opened our eyes to the challenges she faced in the early years of her reign and the impact her position has on the rest of her family. I even felt sorry for Prince Charles at one point (he is the only royal I’ve ever seen in person – he drove past my high school one sunny afternoon). One of the most memorable episodes from The Crown is when the queen waited a week to visit the town of Aberfan after the mining disaster in 1966 that killed 116 children and 28 adults. Those close to her still refer to this decision as one of her biggest regrets.
Some questions…
- Royal family – love them, hate them or indifferent? If you’re a ‘lover’ who is your favourite and why?
- Have you ever seen or met a royal? If so who and where/why?
- Boris Johnson is her 14th Prime Minister. If you could be a fly on the wall and observe a meeting between her and one of the 14 PM’s which PM would you chose and why? The Crown does a really good job of showing her relationship with Winston Churchill.
- Thinking about the Queen’s decision not to visit Aberfan straight away, are there any significant decisions you have made that you wish you could go back and change? Obviously only share what you are comfortable with.
- What did you make of Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from royal life?
- The Queen is known to have a strong faith. Her Christmas Day broadcasts have become ‘more Christian’ in recent years and in 2014 she said her faith was ‘the anchor of her life’. Things are really tough for all of us at the moment. Does your faith feel like an anchor currently? In what ways?
Peace, Karen
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
