Schools closed for the Queen’s funeral

[Notme1980]

First off, Queen Elizabeth II was an amazing ruler and an inspiration, we are a forces family and my husband has served her for 30 plus years.

but - I do not want the schools to be closed for her funeral (or for any reason at all), I want us to do what I believe she would have done, press on.

Despite the wall to wall and increasingly ludicrous and nauseating coverage being pumped out by the BBC not everyone really gives much of a fig about the royals and many have treated the death of QE2 with, at best, indifference.

Sure, my kids know the Queen is dead but I haven't turned it into some weird morbid learning activity. We won't be watching the funeral, what will most likely happen is I will try to get some work done whilst occasionally checking they aren't spending all day playing on the Switch. To me it's an inconvience, nothing more. Other people have different options and as many on this thread have said - deal with it.

Agree that the coverage is increasingly ludicrous.

No-one is forced to sit and watch the funeral or to give it any thought. People are given the opportunity to engage if they wish.

And like all things, in some jobs people will never get the time for these events, in the same way they don’t get Christmas Day or might not get New Years Day or any if the other Bank Holidays or regular weekends off. It doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be a public holiday for a death that hasn’t happened for over 70 years.

The decision isn’t made to reflect what individuals think, want or find convenient. Whatever decision is made won’t please everyone. However, everyone regardless of whether they are Monarchists or not and whatever else they might want o do or not do on that particular Monday can surely recognise that this is a one-off and extremely unusual occasion which hasn’t happened for over 70 years. Even if they don’t support the monarch, pretty much all adults understand she WAS the monarch and played a significant public role, which most people want o acknowledge, even if they don’t. So sometimes we just have to accept that these kind of events and days don’t suit us personally or we don’t like them personally…..but still accept it’s what most people want and which is sort of a wider societal thing. You accept it and then if you’re off, you choose to engage with it or do something else that day, and if you’re not off, you find ways to make anything in your life which is impacted by it work. And you move on.
It’s this failure to not be able to see a bigger picture or wider society or what most people want, beyond ones own personal wants and desires that makes me surprised.

I know several people who are ardent critics of the monarchy principle. They still are. But they accept that in this society, after 70 years on the throne, public recognition of Elizabeth’s death and if her funeral is inevitable. Some will be working and having to arrange chikdcare. Some will be off but not watching and just enjoying an extra day off. But they aren’t trying to argue it shouldn’t happen, because they can see that even though they wouldn’t choose it, this is the way it is and aren’t surprised in the slightest that it’s happening.

Ds is due a big multidisciplinary appointment that day. On a personal note we will obviously be gutted if it’s cancelled and hope the wait isn’t too long but I also fully understand why the decision to cancel may be taken.

Well we all know the NHS has availability galore and have space to spare to rearrange a whole national day of service…

Imagine if you were scheduled to get your cancer removed but you can’t because you’re being told watching a special old lady get buried is more important. The impact on patients emotionally at the moment must be huge. Then the impact on staff who have to somehow make up that time with clinics and surgery, rescheduling, contacting patients etc.

I get the logic of your argument, but then I look at reality. I look at boris, who didn’t inherit his position through bloodline, did he inherit through hard work and talent? I look at the USA are they much better off than us through having their leaders get there though supposed hard work and talent? I think our head of state being there through blood line almost gives them a little bit of grounding that you don’t get in a republic like the USA for example as their president becomes the big I am, being elected. I like the fact we have an elected parliament and the head of state is seperate

The whole country should be as locked down as Christmas Day.

What difference does one day make?

There are many other channels that you could be watching. Not every channel is showing HMQ

In 1973chools got a day off for Princess Anne's wedding I was 8 I remember it well This is a much more historic occasion

It would be very frustrating if a medical procedure was delayed or bumped. Likewise if you were due an interview or some kind of big moment that had been due.

But these kind of events can be bumped for numerous reasons. Staff shortages, Practical problems at a venue, weird and unexpected extreme weather, local disruption, an election, etc etc. These things and cancellations do happen. It’s annoying to people and inconvenient, but these are not reasons to say that a one-off event in 70 years shouldn’t happen.

Of course emergency services will continue to run. Some businesses will continue to operate. Those staff will be disappointed not to get a day off when much if the country closes. Not everyone will be pleased. Some will be cross because they miss out on their Op or appointment, others that they have to keep working. You can’t please everyone, and sometimes you have to see a bigger picture and accept that sometimes you’re a ‘winner’ and sometimes you’re a ‘loser’ when it comes to these kind of things. Accept it and move on really.

Absolutely agree with this!

of course they should close. 🙄

You need to get over it!

All heart you aren’t you!

Well said

People are mad when it comes to the Royals. The Queen was a trailblazer in so many ways and I respected her, she was an absolute powerhouse and (amongst other things) broke and rewrote so many patriarchal rules and assumptions in her role throughout her life, and also did truly progressive (for the time) things like breastfeeding her kids which helped change public perception on breastfeeding. But totally agree with the OP as the Queen (and the rest of “The Firm”) always work/worked no matter what. They work through good times and bad, wartime, the Blitz and so on. I don’t think she’d think it was appropriate to have a bank holiday, and I’m pretty sure it’s only going ahead because of some stupid pressure/campaign from The Sun (toilet) paper. Tbh all these people who go to London to be death tourists (“I’m paying my respects by leaving this expensive bunch of plastic wrapped flowers to rot”) are frankly weird in my view. I think we all need to just crack on. The Jubilee was another example of this gratuitous behaviour; some kids in my borough can’t afford to eat and they spunked 15million on giving kids a hardback book with facts about a rich white lady which conveniently left out the fact that the monarchy was bolstered by colonialism. It wasn’t necessary then and nor is this bank holiday. We don’t need to ogle her family in their private grief whilst they’re paraded about for the entertainment of some tit who’s travelled there to try and touch them, and listen to some bellend on the BBC assessing what shoes Kate is wearing. Cost of living crisis, fucked economy. People are mad.

So a patient has cancer and is booked for Monday:

The patient is available
The surgeon is available
The theatre is available
There is no staff shortage

but they’re all at home watching a horse and carriage?

How is that comparable to other enforced cancellations?

Do you know for certain that will happen ? @NotBadConsidering

Ooh thank you for speaking up for TAs!
We are also badly paid, not much above minimum wage. However I wouldn’t swap my job to be a teacher ( I have a degree so I could) because I see how difficult the job can be, far harder than people realise. Although if lots of people think teaching is an easy job with loads of holidays, why don’t more people enter the profession??

I've actually been both, so always feel it's important that people remember that school teaching staff aren't just teachers.

I was a teacher initially, taught for 10+ years at secondary. Then taught adult education in a prison before moving to do some 1:1 guidance there. Then worked as a TA in an infant school when I decided to return to teaching but wanted to move to primary. Have now been employed for well over 10 years as a HLTA in infants, where I teach daily. I made the decision to not return to teaching as a teacher due to work load outside of school but tbh that's crept in to my own job more and more over the years.

Despite what one poster claims about teachers in Mumsnet, I love my job, especially the teaching of the children. It's a good job- it's not like I do it for the money!

No, no one has any idea at the moment about what is going to happen. Which is why I said the uncertainty must be stressful.

But given the knock on effects of everything else being closed - child care, schools etc - it’s highly likely a good proportion of elective surgery and clinics will be postponed.

It must be incredibly stressful if you’re a cancer patient booked for next Monday wondering if you are going to be postponed and when the hell it will get rescheduled for.

Probably the most ignorant post I have ever seen on MN.

For a few parents it will cause issues with child care.
The majority of parents will also be off work and most of those that do have to work will have emergency child care plans already (eg if child is sick or school closes for snow etc).
Majority of the country want this bank holiday.

My daughters school was in on 29 August. Pretty sure they were in on the May holiday too.
*
NoAprilFool*

Where does your child go to school?
In England schools do not open on bank holidays.

You don't think the Queen would have wanted there to be a bank holiday? What, like the one they did for her Jubilee, was that against her wishes as well? Of course it wasn't. The Queen will have been involved in the plans for what would happen when she died.

@SoftSheen why is it ignorant?

We’re thoroughly grateful for a day with our DC, which we’ll be spending outside and away from tv and radio.