By Pepper Parr
June 2nd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
At precisely 2:00 pm Thursday afternoon while citizens across the province were casting ballots Town Criers across the Commonwealth read the Royal Proclamation celebrating the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth’s anniversary of her seventy years on the throne was celebrated in Burlington.
David Vollick – Burlington’s Town Crier
The Town Crier, Dave Vollock, read his Proclamation in Civic Square to a “throng” of people assembled there.
Ladies were each given a “fascinator” they could wear
Festivities continued at the Central Library where a display of the Queen’s hats was set up. Now these were not the actual hats worn by Queen Elizabeth – but a collection of millinery very similar to what our head of state wears on her head.
Visitors who had RSVP’d ahead were treated to a tea – in a REAL porcelain teacup, along with tasty cake.
Ladies were each given a “fascinator” they could wear in their hair for the occasion. And a QEII 7O pin.
The Queen had her Silver Jubilee back in 1977 after just 25 years on the throne, and at that time, Burlington recognized the occasion with a brass marker on the King Edward VII Fountain at Veteran Square at City Hall.
That fountain (just restored last year) was festooned with Union Jacks for the day.
Some people are not excited about such an event, but our sovereign is a remarkable woman, and congratulations to her for her life’s work, after these long seven decades.
The Queen is indeed a remarkable sovereign, and represents an element of continuity, grace and tradition in a world increasingly struggling for meaning and identity. Few world leaders can ever hope to match her in terms of both tenure and dedication to their country and the global community.
It would have been nice to see more of a celebration to commemorate the solemnity and importance of this day from our local Council, but I guess if current leadership is fixated on removing the monarch’s picture from Council chambers and erasing school names in the interests of catering (pandering) to the latest WOKE missives, then I suppose it is not entirely unexpected. In the meantime, I think I’ll just leave my Union Jack flying on my front porch for another week just to rub it in.
Sadly many of us missed these celebrations as we heard nothing from Council Proclamations in May, 2022 for this early June celebration when we were in the Council chambers. Further, nothing was mentioned by the Mayor on her June 1, 2022 CHCH interview. She did wear her Pride T-Shirt and described in a very elated manner celebrations for Pride Month. Pride Month is every year. There has never been a Canadian Head of State or UK monarch who has served in this capacity for 70 years. The Queen is the only surviving monarch in the world who served her country in World War II. Her very first address as a Princess to the Commonwealth and indeed the world on her 21st birthday showed a deep compassion for the elderly communities of the world and invited us all to assist her in taking some of the load from them given the effect of the War that was so recent in their memories. Whatever our Mayor`s opinion is of the monarchy or the Queen herself, who she has sworn an oath of allegiance to, the citizens of Burlington have a right to expect better in terms of notice of celebration of an act of service that has never been achieved before by our Head of State and may never be seen again. We thought another plaque would be added to the Lions Club one on the King Edward fountain (that one celebrates her 25th jubilee). Indeed that is why we worked as hard as we did to stop the rusting out of the fountain that the Heritage Advisory Committee and individual members of Council who knew its condition ignored for so long. Now it has been restored to its former glory by City Staff there should be another plaque to record this monumental event.
Removing the Queen`s picture from the Council chamber where it had been for many decades was bad enough but for our Head of Council to place any annual celebration ahead of communicating to the Burlington residents how they could celebrate together this 70th Jubilee should leave the community shaking their heads in despair at the lack of respect for such an achievement.