Arts and the Jubilee
SIR – Next time funding for the arts is threatened, I hope ministers recall the positive impact of the Jubilee Concert. Unifying a country, the music showed its ability to transcend domestic concerns and international strife.
The emphasis on Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) should not overshadow the arts’ vital role, not just for creative power and social cohesion but also in strengthening the economy, with billions generated each year in an industry where Britain leads the world. Andrew Copeman
London SW11
SIR – My 10-year-old grandson was chosen to sing in the children’s choir for the Jubilee Pageant on Sunday.
At the time that they were singing, the BBC chose to broadcast
Masterchef’s John Torode and the former Strictly judge Len Goodman talking fairly inanely about food. We could hear the sound of the children’s voices in the background. There must have been many grandparents like me feeling disappointed not to be able to see it – not to mention the parents and teachers in the various schools involved, who had helped the children achieve this particular goal.
Angela Orgil
Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire
SIR – At the last Jubilee, as the harbour master for the Humber Estuary, I was charged with transporting the Queen some three miles westwards of the estuary, to Victoria Pier in Hull.
Due to the tide and the landing facilities, we could only use a small 45-foot survey launch, with the cabin measuring eight feet by three feet.
As we waited to embark, Her Majesty’s personal protection officer handed me a small, brown, well-worn handbag with the words: “To lose this will incur indescribable retribution.”
The 25-minute voyage, in a tiny enclosed space, with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, was the most significant event in my life. The Queen’s conversation was designed to make me relax and the Duke’s was to test me on my nautical knowledge.
I can confirm that there were no marmalade sandwiches in the Queen’s handbag.
Captain Paul Hames
Hawkinge, Kent