‘It was special’ Uni charity champ mixes with royalty ahead of big day
BRISTOL is gearing up for a big coronation weekend with flags and bunting starting to spread across the city.
Scores of street parties are scheduled to be taking place while residents can also watch the ceremony live from Westminster at big screens stationed in Bristol Cathedral and the Bristol and Bath Science Park.
Saturday’s event is to be rung-in by Bristol’s biggest bell Great George, named after King Charles’ grandfather George V who officially opened the Wills Memorial Building, where it is housed, in 1925.
The 9.5 tonnes gong – the seventh largest in England – is only rung manually for significant national and local events, both sad and joyful.
In recent years it has tolled for the Platinum Jubilee, royal funerals and weddings, the London 2012 Olympics, the Queen’s 90th birthday, the 70th anniversary of VE Day and the University’s Charter Day.
One Bristolian has already been rubbing shoulders with royalty this week.
Gary Nott, the University of Bristol charity champion, said it was “really special” to attend the King’s Coronation Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
Alongside his regular job at the university, Gary Nott has been leading tours of the Wills Memorial Building every Saturday for 22 years, with all profits going to The Grand Appeal, the dedicated charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital.
With the help of other staff members – and his daughter Paris – he has raised £42,000 for The Grand Appeal, an achievement that earned him an invite to the special garden party at Buckingham Palace.
Gary, who attended the garden party with Paris, said: “Being escorted into Buckingham Palace with all the police and limos, we felt like royalty ourselves.
“It was really special. We got to shake Camilla’s hand and saw Lionel Richie. There were loads of people in top hats and military uniform and we spoke to lots of people who were invited there because they’d done good stuff.”
But not everyone will be welcoming the coronation of a new king.
Anti-monarchy protesters plan to gather on College Green noon on Saturday to voice their disapproval of the king and the royal family. The demo will take place only metres away from where royal fans hope to watch the live event.
It is unclear which group has organised the protest or how many people will attend.
Meanwhile, an independent cinema and arts venue is inviting critics of the British Empire to join them in a discussion.
The Cube Microplex describes the 3pm event as “counter programming for the coronation” and invites “critics of the British Empire” to eat cake and discuss “what it really is that is being celebrated.”
The discussion will be followed by a party in honour of Princess Diana who was seen by some as a gay icon. Although she never publicly advocated for gay rights, she was reported to have been a member of a Soho gym which catered to gay men and when she shook hands with an Aids patient in the 1980s it was seen as ‘momentous’ for the gay community . Yesterday, a phallic picture was spotted mowed into grass outside Bath’s exclusive Royal Crescent. The rude drawing arrived overnight although it was unclear if it was a protest against this weekend’s royal event.
» For full details of what’s going on in the city for the coronation see your Weekend magazine