The pips went off this morning, followed by the seven o’clock news.
We listened blearily in bed, as the level voice of Corrie Corfield listed the events of the evening before. We all know what happened, don’t get me wrong. We all watched puppets dance on Buckingham Palace as Suggs sang on the roof. We rated every act, and every royal facial expression. We all feel as if we just live in a very large village indeed.
But we like to hear the newsreader tell us all over again, from the beginning to this end, like a nice story. This is what happened first, this is what happened next, and they all lived happily every after by lighting a great big beacon.
I toyed with going to out nearest beacon lighting.I didn’t: but I read the daunting instruction manual.
What a British publication. Terse, to the point, written in the tone which built an empire: covering construction of a beacon, health and safety, history, event organisation, the whole caboodle. If you did the whole beacon thing properly, your bonfire beacon would be 30 feet away from buildings, the emergency services would all know about it, the landowner would know all about it and the site would be left behind, re-turfed and tidy, ship-shape and Bristol fashion.
There was a strict hierarchy for lighting them, of course. This is Britain, after all and our feudal past has a habit of tapping us on the shoulder at the oddest of times.
At 10pm the first to light were the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Beacons.
Hot on their heels, at an impressive 10:01, were the The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution along with farms, Stately Homes and Private Estates, English Heritage and the National Trust.
The capitals are the organisers’, not mine.
At 10:10, the forces pitched in: the Marine Society and Sea Cadets, Air Training Corps, Army Cadets and Combined Cadet Forces, along with the Scout Association, Girl Guiding UK and Boys Brigade.
At 10:12 all the beacons on Hadrian’s Wall were lit. Once, it was done with Roman soldiers: these days it’s the remit of Hadrians Wall Heritage Ltd.
Then we got down to the humble municipal beacons. The fires lit by the clerks, the committees, the town mayors and suchlike.
Religion came next, at 10:20. It was when the church tower beacons were lit.
At 10:24 the charities, organisations and individuals finally got their moment. That included the Rotary Club and Lions, but also wild cards like the Caravan Club. And of course, the Freemasons.
10:29 saw the beacons on our four great peaks: Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon and Slieve Donard. Each linked to a national charity. And finally, at 10:30pm, the Queen herself.
It was too late for me though: I didn’t fancy traipsing out to a nearby village to watch a church tower beacon lit. Churches and battlements had a different beacon: these lacked the romance of the bonfire, being fuelled by two gas cylinders and started with a spanner. They cost £299 plus tax. The kids were asleep, and Phil was tired. We gave it a miss.
This morning as we lay in bed listening to the news of the lighting of the beacons, the BBC called it a relay.
“It wasn’t a relay,” I said. “It wasn’t fires lit as soon as you see the last beacon, like a message, or anything.”
A short silence ensued as we thought about that.
“I lit a beacon,” said Phil sleepily.
“Oh?” I enquired.
“Well, ” Phil qualified, “I lit the grill. But it was my contribution to the whole thing.”
I envisaged Phil saluting.
“I’m sure,” I said,after reflection, “That the Queen would be gratified by your public-spirited contribution.”
Kate Shrewsday 
I’m impressed by the grill. Certainly as impressed as I’ve been by any of it:)
Aw, come one Roger: Buck House with Suggs on top? Mad puppets capering irreverently on that pompous fascia? If you haven’t seen it, you must. 21st Century pageantry, that was.
Phil is really into this, I think. I’m loving him lighting the grill- I do hope he saluted at the same time 🙂
He would be a very different type of beacon had he tried that, I fear, Fiona. All the best to Spurs Fan for today. You all excited? I know I am 😀
Good old Phil! It’s the taking part that counts, right?
Quite, Tilly. The proper spirit, and all that.
ha ha.. lighting a grill.. good one 😀
Patriotic, isn’t it, Jas? 😀
very much 😀
I never realised it was so co-ordinated, Kate, but I suppose it would have had to have been!
Let us hope that the Olympics are run with the same zeal, Jas 🙂
Would I count as contributing by lighting a cigarette at the appropriate time?
Oh, definitely, Col 😀
We actually did go, just blogged about it. Ours was lit at 10.26 along with that at Public Houses and various other meeting places of the Hoi Polloi! If nothing else, I know my place.
Great research, Kate.
Well, now I’m irrevocably impressed, Myfanwy. Hope it was a spectacular sight- the pictures look lovely at http://wp.me/p16BGj-T0!
Wikipedia says that bonfire is not to be confused with campfire . . . Rightly so! Something the size of that which you’ve diagrammed would surely require monumental supplies of marshmallows! It is very impressive, however, that every organization and community, from the greatest to the least, has participated in this Jubilee with such gusto! Thanks for sharing it all with us.
You’re right, Karen: this would require monster marshmallows. It has been a mammoth manoeuvre, that’s for certain!
Well done to Phil for lighting a beacon! Did he get the right time slot?
He was bang-on with the hoi-polloi, Tandy 🙂
Phil, lightening the grill – love it and smiling a mile long smile at the thought. Well done, Phil!
There, you go, Penny: a simple way to celebrate the jubilee! Stick the grill on…
I’m surprised Phil didn’t make pudding for the occasion, as he could’ve nursed his fire for quite a while. 🙂
When I was in England with my Rotary group in 2010, we visited Beacon Hill Park in Leicestershire. I always wondered how they kept those flames lit, especially in such an inhospitable spot.
Indeed. And with the torrential rain we have been having, it’s harder than usual. Phil opted to stay dry 😀 English rain is really grim.
Where’s the creativity!? This is where Phil could have put his much maligned woodpile to good use.
Ah, but you forget the rain, PT! British rain: what depressed Romans throughout their stay, what makes us the curmudgeons we are, what has us planning emigration to Florida and Australia: it’s miserable stuff, and fire building in it is invariably a very dicey business.
Better stick with the grill.
That seems a little extensive to create a fire. You mean I can’t just throw a bunch of flammable items in a circle and light it?
With our British health and safety regulations? In your dreams, TT 😀
An old man can’t have a rooster, but beacon fires ‘is okay’. An odd bunch does truly inhabit your island.
Your memory is excellent, Hudson 🙂 Yes: our councils are contrary things, when all is said and done!
Giggle.
Puts me in mind of the whole beacon lighting sequence in Return of the King. Now that was a relay! I note there was no mention of what time to start the grill as part of the festivities…
I know: I feel that is an omission in the official beacon guidelines, Cameron. I shall alert them forthwith 🙂
Ha ha! Good for Phil. I flicked my Bic . . . at or close to the time in question . . . and poured a glass of wine to toast the Queen.
Good for Phil! He memorialized the occasion in his own way! I think it is the sense of order and pageantry that some of us “over here” really enjoy! Absolute precision in each movement with hundreds of years practice…I’ve been so impressed! Debra
Did Phil register and confirm his participation, Kate? 😀 I would love to see something like this in Australia, but it will never happen, given the fire laws – on most summer days, we are permitted to light gas BBQs only, but us African immigrants prefer the real thing.