General Chat

Gins..... Winnie ===Sir Winston Churchill was he was and is refered to as that.

I just remember Sir Winston Churchill's funeral - I was twelve at the time. Not being of an age to appreciate the life of this great man, I simply remember hanging over the back of a chair in a friend's house and watching the proceedings.

The most moving part was the great flotilla down the Thames....the coffin on board a barge, and all the cranes at the quaysides being lowered in deference as the 'procession' passed by.

Whilst many people say they would like a funeral with as little fuss as possible, some can't always have what they want, because protocol, due to the position they held, demands differently.

I am not overly keen on the casual, 'just put me in a plastic bag and dump me' attitude towards death. Life is a gift. Life is precious. Death, therefore, should be treated with respect and thanksgiving.

Oh, right.....Churchill, thank you

My dad always said 'put me in a plastic bag and throw me in the 'Don'!

We didnt of course ;-)

Terry. I just knew someone would report your post. It is nearly word for word what a lovely old gentleman said to me yesterday. Was talking to him about something entirely different, when he looked at front page of Mirror and said he wanted to have his ashes dropped down a local mineshaft after being laid on a local pyre and lit by Rhondda coal.

He could not understand why a girl from poor stock who in his view became even poorer in life would want all this pomp and ceremony. All the world leaders, all the extra security. He was seriousy bemused by it all.

When you look at Winnie's grave in Bladon in Oxfordshire, you can see that he wanted to be dealt with simply and equally in death. Despite his birth in the aristocracy, he was prepared to shed this mortal coil the same as you and me - and his simple grave made a big impact on me when I saw it.

Not sure what Winnie would have thought of his funeral in 1965, but suspect that was our wishes - not his. He was loved by people from all stations in life. So were other Prime Ministers like Heath and Attlee who have done so much for this country, yet have shuffled away fairly modestly.

some one has invented the 11th commandment
thou shalt not disagree with me me me

One wonders if commemorative coins will be struck for the Iron Lady?
This was done in 1965 for Sir Winston Churchill.
It was commemorative crowns at that time,perhaps for Baroness Thatcher it will probably be £5 coins.
This could help alleviate the funeral costs to the nation and each person who buys one will feel they have given a little sign of respect to some one they admired in life.

Over-sensitive twitchy finger around this morning.

That person should try reading a few other much more widely read forums if they thought that was offensive.

Attlee will go down in history as greatest post-war Prime Minister so far (Winnie had made his reputation as a great war leader, not necessarily as a PM). Attlee was always referred to as an agnostic.

When asked, not long before his death in 1967, if he actually was an agnostic, he replied "I don't know" :-)

Churchill described Attlee as a modest little man with much to be modest about ;-)

Both great leaders fondly remembered across the spectrum :-)

Mrs T, I have always admired - the iron lady. I'm going to go and see the funeral procession in London.

All leaders have those against them that is life. The legacy of her life lives on.

She empowered a generation of women.

Edited: thanks for pointing out my spelling mistake - I never get offended about something like that

I do hope that they issue commemorative coins and stamps to mark this funeral. Very large stamps would sell very quickly and raise a huge amount of money for this hugely expensive funeral from all sectors of society for various different reasons.

Even the few people who did not totally admire the milk, coal, iron and steel lady would be happy to buy those stamps.

Edit. Just noticed your post, NanaSue. Hope you won't mind my pointing this out. I think there is a spelling mistake that changes the meaning you intended somewhat :-) Hope you have a good day next Wednesday. I have left my apologies with the Palace - can't get the day off work :-( :-(

I watched some of the scenes of these people celebrating her death and as others have said many taking part were quite young. Some were probably not even born when she came to power and many others at that time would still have been getting their nappy's changed.

Whether we agreed or disagreed with all or some of her policies, one thing she deserves is some dignity and respect over the course of this her final journey.

On the issue of not showing respect to funeral corteges, I have always shown respect and would never dream of overtaking one.

Off topic, I once overtook a ceremonial cortege, and as a result I was held by the police in a layby for about an hour - I had overtaken the Royal cortege on the approach road from the Forth Road Bridge when the Queen was visiting Fife :-|

On reflection about my mentioning of a commemorative coin for Baroness Thatcher, maybe that might be a bit of a nonstarter, as the Royal Mint is situated in Wales.
Need I say more. :-)

I have mixed feelings about Thatcher and not very strong ones at that. I really don't like the excessive and vicious public celebrations of her death and I hope her funeral passes without people causing too much added distress to her family. BUT my community and life weren't forever blighted by her government as some were so while I don't like it I don't feel I can judge people who still feel so strongly against her and let's face it, it was an age when people were still passionate in and about politics

Not really Sweetalker, but I expect a few Welsh people are less anti Thatcher than others :-)

The Royal Mint in Llantrisant are totally professional, SweeTALKER. If they get a commission, they will just carry it out very well. Won't make a scrap of difference if the commission comes from Italy to commemorate Berlusconi or North Korea (to commemorate Kim Jong-Il or Kim Jong-Un).

Fantastic place to visit - 5mins from M4 J34 :-D

but do they give free samples :-D

I agree with you there Gwynne. The trouble is I would think many of the rabble rousers who are likely to cause trouble would not have been able to tell you who Baroness Thatcher was until the recent riots after her death. They just enjoy a good 'fight'. And it is they who are going to be causing some of the money spent on her funeral by making it a requirement for extra security. They make me sick.

edit to say this is in response to Guinevere's post the previous page re respect.

I think Terryj that if you wish to post anything that remotely indicates you did not like Mrs T, you'll have to start a thread of your own

I was just reading, in the Mail....

One headline "Crawling out of the woodwork , the old lefties spewing bile aboout Thatcher"

Next to it excerpts from a biography giving details of the effect her progressive dementia had on her marriage....

and I thought, 'you know what , I would rather have my political decisions torn apart by the opposition two days after my death, than have my personal life described for all to see, friend or foe alike'.

But really I think both can wait.

Would have been my mum's birthday today, when she died there was nothing but respect. Nothing big and flashy, no long list of achievements, no apportioning of blame for what she had done, just love from friends and family. Good innit?

It is good Rose, the same with my Mum just over a year ago.

That is probably why I really don't like this conflict over Margaret Thatchers death.

She was a mother and grandmother for many years and her family and close friends need to grieve for that part of her life.

xx