How strange it will be without our Queen

I WAS 10 when the King died. I remember my teacher saying: “Now children, I have some very sad news, the King is dead.”

I recall that I laughed, not out of disrespect, but because I had never seen my teacher looking so solemn. I was made to stand outside in the corridor for the rest of the day.

I’m not laughing now, I think it’s very sad, and it will be very strange without the Queen.

We had a hired 12-inch black and white TV set from Radio Rentals, and our small living room was crowded with neighbours on Coronation

Day to watch the proceedings. Not everybody had a television set in those days, and there was only the one BBC programme to watch.

I seem to remember a cardboard model of the Gold Coach being given to every schoolchild to assemble ourselves.

How different that was to the big colour sets that everyone has now and the wonderful coverage on all channels.

Patrick Collins By email