The civic service last night at St Pauls was wonderfully crafted. Varied readings from Winnie the Pooh to Revelations were interspersed with great hymns and Psalms. The Bishop of Reading spoke well, reflecting the essence of service and leadership above politics that the Queen personified. I am very grateful to all who organised it and participated.
All led up to the perfectly timed one minute silence at 8 pm, announced by a commanding and tuneful last post. As we bowed our heads together in grief at loss and with happy memories of the Queens’s great life our community was united with common feelings. It was good to have those moments of stillness in an otherwise busy and argumentative world.
All those of us who have the privilege of public service to others can learn much from how our late sovereign carried out her duties.
May she rest in peace.