to think this is just not on? (schools, religion and bribery!)

[EXmrsmascarahead]

my son has come home from school today, they held a Jubilee party and all the children got to join in the celebrations, all well and good.

He has just handed over a book to me, 'New testament, to celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee 2012'. Not a lot wrong with that, I suppose, but he has also told me that in order to get the children to take a copy they have been using bribery, 'you can have a cake only if you take a book'.

none of this sits right with me, I know the queen is head of the church of england but not all the children this is handed out to are CofE, religious or celebrating the jubilee. And in order for them to get the children to take the book they have to bribe them. AIBU?

Plus it looks a bit tacky...

Get enough of them and you could make bunting! There's a countrywide shortage you know.

Wow, and I thought we'd ditched the Divine Right of Kings concept after the whole Charles I thing.

We're not going to have to chop more heads off, are we?

(Good starting pointfor a history debate though I guess)

I've got one. They are being given away by some churches locally and Chris Evans mentioned it on his Radio 2 show earlier in the week - he'd been given one (no cake though).

It's a modern version - New International Version. On the back cover it says 'A Bible was given to The Queen at Her Majesty's Coronation. It was described as the world's most valuable gift. The churches in this land are giving you this gift to mark Her Majesty' Diamond Jubilee.'

Inside there are 8 pages of pics of the Queen throughout her life and captions which link aspects of her reign with bits of the Bible - like her wedding and the wedding Jesus went to; the Sword of Mercy in the coronation with its broken tip which links to the forgiveness Jesus talked about, and the crosses on the crown and other regalia which 'emphasis the significance of Jesus Christ's death on a wooden cross in the first century'.

Not stuff I've read in all the other Diamond Jubilee souvenir mags (I'm an avid royal watcher) - so its something educational to unpack aspects of our culture if nothing else.