Farewell Simon Emmerson

Broadwindsor’s Comrades Hall was full to capacity on Thursday afternoon as family and friends gathered to celebrate the life of Simon Emmerson who died peacefully on 13th March 2023.

The ceremony at Yeovil crematorium had been full to capacity also. Led by Celebrant Philip Carr-Gomm, the Order of Ceremony was full of beautiful words and music:

  • Entry Music
    Peace, Love and Harmonium from Synaethesia,
    Lush Fresh Handmade Sound
  • Words Of Welcome
    Valerie Etienne singing Release.
  • Eulogy
    Paul Emmerson
    Ted Emmerson
  • Jackie Oates singing Lark in the Morning
  • Eulogy
    Adrian Matthews
    Johnny Kalsi
  • N’faly Kouyate plays the kora
  • Eulogy
    Mark Constantine
  • Child Among the Weeds by Lal & Mike Waterson
  • Closing Words & Farewell
    Time for Man to go Home sung by Forest School Camps.

After an exceptional and moving ceremony, family and friends gathered at the Comrades Hall.  Simon’s brother Paul invited those present to share their stories of their encounters with Simon… Without any hesitation, Simon’s mother, Marcia Last – now in her 90’s – was the first to speak and we thank Marcia and the family for their permission to share this amateur recording…


Paul
also gave credit and thanks to Simon’s Obituary, published in The Guardian newspaper – Click HERE.

Throughout the afternoon celebrations continued and a video montage played on the big screen with much memorabilia, predominately shared by Karen, on tables around the Hall.  This included an exclusive book of photographs taken by local resident and photographer, Jamie Dawson which he had published in time to gift Simon shortly before he died.
(Please note: all images below are copyrighted to James Dawson.)

Again with kind permission from Karen and the rest of Simon’s family, please enjoy this amateur recording by Peter Roe of the Imagined Village‘s encore! performance, joined by Billy Bragg, at the Electric Palace, Bridport last summer

 

Yesterday, the Afro Celt Sound System stated on social media, “Thank you Simon for leaving us with the immense magic and wisdom of your music. The New Album OVA (short for Ovate) and the Afro Celt Symbol) will be a continuation of the gift you have left us. We will tour and gig with you and Jo guiding us all the way. We love you and we miss you dearly.

Weldmar Hospicecare

Donations in Simon’s name for Weldmar Hospicecare may be given HERE.

❤ Our thoughts and prayers go out to Karen, Josie, Ted and all the family at this very sad time ❤

We all thank you Simon! Journey on…

❤ Simon Daniel Emmerson, 12.03.1956 – 13.03.2023 ❤


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Simon Emmerson Tribute On Radio 6

Aired yesterday, Gilles Peterson broadcast his tribute to Simon Emmerson on his Radio 6 programme: ‘Joining The Musical Dots: Simon Emmerson In Memory‘.

Available for the rest of April, starting at 1 hour, 36 minutes in – you can listen to it on BBC Sounds HERE.

Details of Simon‘s funeral may be found HERE.

 

❤ Simon Daniel Emmerson, 12.03.1956 – 13.03.2023 ❤


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Simon Emmerson Tribute on Radio 4

Starting at 21 minutes in, today’s broadcast of the Last Word on BBC Radio 4 featured a tribute to Simon Emmerson, whose funeral will take  place on Thursday, 6th April.

To listen, please Click HERE.

❤ Simon Daniel Emmerson, 12.03.1956 – 13.03.2023 ❤


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Farewell To Our Late Queen Elizabeth II

Today, the UK, Commonwealth and the world bid their last farewell to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as she has now officially been laid to rest.  Thousands lined the streets to view her coffin as it travelled through London to Windsor.

Vice Chair of Broadwindsor Parish Council, Jacqui Sewell

The procession and funeral was live streamed at the Comrades Hall where the village’s book of condolences was also available which Vice Chair of Broadwindsor Parish Council, Jacqui Sewell can be seen signing in the photograph. Refreshments were served. Those that attended were very appreciative and the young children present behaved extremely well, particularly during the funeral 🙂

As The Queen’s Committal Service came to a close, Her Majesty’s Piper Pipe Major Paul Burns of the Royal Regiment of Scotland played the lament ‘Sleep, dearie, sleep’.

The 11th former monarch to be buried in St. George’s chapel in Windsor Castle, the Queen is now buried alongside her father King George VI, the Queen Mother, her sister Margaret and next to her beloved Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh who died in April 2021.
Learn more of royal burials in St. George’s chapel – Click HERE.

Thank You Your Majesty!
Rest In Peace – God Save the King!

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The State Funeral Of Our Queen Elizabeth II – Monday, 19th September 2022

Our Queen is now Lying-in-State in Westminster Hall, London allowing the public to pay their respects.

On the morning of Monday 19th September, the Lying-in-State will end and the Coffin will be taken in Procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey, where the State Funeral Service will take place at 11.00 hrs. BST.

Her Majesty’s State funeral will be streamed to the big screen at the Comrades Hall on Monday, 19th September 2022.

Doors will open at 10am. All are welcome.

Following the State Funeral, the Coffin will travel in Procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. From Wellington Arch, the Coffin will travel to Windsor and once there, the State Hearse will travel in Procession to St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle via the Long Walk.
A Committal Service will then take place in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The streaming will continue until 12.30pm.

Non-alcoholic refreshments will be available. You are also welcome to bring your own refreshments along.

The Book of Condolences which is currently in our church, will be available for those who would like the opportunity to contribute.


King Charles III
and his siblings took part in the Vigil of the Princes on Monday, 12th September at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland after being driven down from Balmoral in Aberdeenshire accompanied by Princess Anne.
First occurring with King George V in 1936, this was only the third Vigil of Princes in recorded history. The Princess Royal became the first woman ever to stand guard at a Vigil of the Princes. They all stood vigil for a second time at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, 14th.

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Vice Chairman Jacqui Sewell Reads The Proclamation

This afternoon at 3.30pm, Vice Chairman of Broadwindsor Parish Group Council, Jacqui Sewell, read out the Proclamation of King Charles III.

The fact that the signs on the photograph state ‘Monarchs Way‘ appears to have an additional significance!

FORM OF PROCLAMATION FOR PROCLAIMING THE
NEW SOVEREIGN
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose Decease the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is solely and rightfully come to The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George: We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm and Members of the House of Commons, together with other members of Her late Majesty’s Privy Council and representatives of the Realms and Territories, Aldermen and Citizens of London, and others, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and Obedience with humble Affection; beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign to bless His Majesty with long and happy Years to reign over us.
Given at St. James’s Palace this tenth day of September in the year of Our
Lord two thousand and twenty-two.

GOD SAVE THE KING

Thank you to Peter Roe for the photographs 🙂

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The National Accession Proclamation For King Charles III

The National Accession Proclamation for King Charles III took place earlier today at St. James’s Palace in London.
Following this, a local proclamation ceremony conducted by the High Sheriff of Dorset, Sibyl King in the presence of the Lord-Lieutenant, Angus Campbell, will take place at 1.00pm on Sunday, 11th September on the front steps outside County Hall, Dorchester. Members of the public are welcome to attend. You can arrive from 12:45pm to gather in front of the steps. Councillor Jacqui Sewell will be attending to represent the Grouped Parish.

In Broadwindsor,
the Union Jack flag was raised for the proclamation and once the proclamations have been declared in the four regions of the UK, which is due to be completed at noon tomorrow, flags will be lowered again to half mast until after the state funeral on Monday, 19th September.
A book of condolences is available to sign in our church and opportunities to be in church to pray and light candles.
An official Proclamation for the Grouped Parish will be read out on Sunday, 11th September at 3.30pm in Bernards’ Place, Broadwindsor (Comrades Hall if raining).
Please do come along, everyone is welcome.

FORM OF PROCLAMATION FOR PROCLAIMING THE
NEW SOVEREIGN
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign
Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose
Decease the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is
solely and rightfully come to The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George: We,
therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm and Members of the House
of Commons, together with other members of Her late Majesty’s Privy Council and
representatives of the Realms and Territories, Aldermen and Citizens of London, and
others, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and
proclaim that The Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is now, by the Death of our
late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord
Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the
Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and
Obedience with humble Affection; beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do
reign to bless His Majesty with long and happy Years to reign over us.
Given at St. James’s Palace this tenth day of September in the year of Our
Lord twenty thousand and twenty-two.

GOD SAVE THE KING

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Our Queen Elizabeth II Has Died

Tributes are pouring in from around the world for our Queen, Elizabeth II who died earlier this afternoon at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, surrounded by her family.

At the age of 96 years old and reigning for over 70 years, many will have known no other monarch in their lives. The 2nd Elizabethan era has ended.

At the age of 73 years old, her son King Charles III spoke of the death of his beloved mother “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother.”

Buckingham Palace stated that the King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will return to London tomorrow, Friday 9th.


Our country’s longest ever reigning monarch, our Queen remained alert, engaged and working until the very end. The new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, was appointed by the Queen just two days ago.  Liz Truss said the Queen was” the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had provided us with the stability and strength that we needed“.

Queen Elizabeth II is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

The UK will remain in a period of national mourning until the Queen’s state funeral after Buckingham Palace set in motion a detailed accession plan that has been honed over decades.

Operation London Bridge, as the Queen’s funeral plans are codenamed, will be combined with Operation Unicorn, the plan for a monarch dying at Balmoral, which is named after the national animal of Scotland.

The Queen Is Dead – Long Live The King!

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The Funeral Of Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh

Today at 3pm, taking place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, is the funeral of H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who died peacefully at his home in Windsor Castle last Friday, 9th April.  His death is being mourned across the world.

The photograph shown is one which our Queen shared last night, of the royal couple relaxing on the grass at the Coyles of Muick near the Aberdeenshire town of Ballater, close to the Queen’s private estate of Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, taken by the Countess of Wessex in 2003.

Prince Philip was born on 10th June 1921, in Mon Repos, Corfu, Greece. His mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg and through his maternal lineage, Philip was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.  His father was Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark.
In 1922, Philip’s uncle, King Constantine I of Greece, was forced to abdicate after the debacle of the Greco-Turkish War. Philip’s father, who was working in the army, was accused of treason. The family was forced into exile and left the Greek island on board HMS Calypso, a Royal Navy gunboat. Legend tells how then 18-month-old prince was carried in a makeshift cot fashioned out of an orange crate.  

Philip attended the MacJannet American School before he was sent to the UK to study at the Cheam School. During the 1930s, he relocated to a school in Germany and then moved again to Scotland’s Gordonstoun School, founded by Jewish headmaster Kurt Hahn following the rise of the Nazi party. Philip then spent most of his youth in the UK.

Philip and Elizabeth were third cousins through different lines of their family trees. He first met our Queen when Philip was 13yrs old and the Princess Elizabeth was 8yrs.  They both attended the 1934 wedding of Philip’s cousin Princess Marina, later Duchess of Kent, and Elizabeth’s uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent. They were also both present at the coronation of George VI in 1937.  It would be in the year of 1939 when his romance with Princess Elizabeth blossomed from a summer encounter at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.  During World War II, he served in the British Navy. After extensive courting, Philip was invited to spend the Christmas of 1943 with the Royal Family at Windsor.  

In the summer of 1946, Philip asked King George for his daughter’s hand in marriage after allegedly proposing to Princess Elizabeth first. To prepare for the announcement, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles, took on the surname Mountbatten from his mother’s family, adopted Anglicanism as a religion and in February 1947, Philip became a naturalised British subject, thus he became known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
The style of His Royal Highness was authorised shortly before his marriage on 20th November, 1947 at Westminster Abbey and he was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, and made a Knight of the Garter. He married our Queen on 20th November 1947.

Coronation 1953At the Queen’s coronation in 1953, they were joined on the balcony by a young Prince Charles and a younger Princess Anne.

 

 

Philip launched the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 1956, with a focus on youth achievement. He modelled his programme on Kurt Hahn’s four solutions to his “Six Declines of Modern Youth“. He played polo until 1971 and competed in carriage and boat racing, with piloting airplanes, oil painting and art collecting also among his hobbies. The DofE award now extends across 144 nations.

He was accorded by the Queen the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom in February 1957Prince Philip was also the first member of the Royal Family to be interviewed on television: in May 1961 by Richard Dimbleby.

Many quotes and anecdotes have been published this week as Prince Philip was well known for his outspoken nature and controversial remarks. In honor of his 97th birthday, in 2019, the Daily Mirror published a list of “90 classic gaffes” that were attributed to Philip over the years.

  • To the President of Nigeria, who was in national dress, 2003: “You look like you’re ready for bed!
  • When offered wine in Rome in 2000, he snapped: “I don’t care what kind it is, just get me a beer!
  • When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.
  • At a project to protect turtle doves in Anguilla in 1965, he said: “Cats kill far more birds than men. Why don’t you have a slogan: ‘Kill a cat and save a bird?
  • To a Scottish driving instructor, 1995: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?
  • To Aboriginal leader William Brin, Queensland, 2002: “Do you still throw spears at each other?
  • On Princess Anne, 1970: If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.
  • To the General Dental Council in 1960: “Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, which I’ve practised for many years.
  • To nursing-home resident in a wheelchair, 2002: “Do people trip over you?
Last Public emgagement
Prince Philip’s last public engagement in August 2018, attending the Captain General’s Parade at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Philip was the longest-serving British consort in history. Made Prince Consort after he married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947, he became Britain’s longest-serving consort in 2009.

The Earl Peel had overseen arrangements for the Duke’s funeral – known as Operation Forth Bridge. The Lord Chamberlain’s Office, led by the Queen’s Comptroller Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon, is tasked with the practical side of the day. In overall charge is Baron Parker who took up his new role on 1st April, following the Earl Peel’s retirement after more than 14 years in the post.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrived in the UK  earlier this week from the USA.  His wife, the Duchess of Sussex had been advised by her doctor to not travel because she is heavily pregnant.

The Prince worked on creating the bespoke Landrover Defender TD5 130 hearse for 16 years, starting in 2003. He designed the open top rear section where his coffin will rest, made to his exact specifications, including the rubber grips on silver metal pins known as the”stoppers” which prevent the coffin from moving.  The Landrover also has matching green wheel hubs, a black front grille, a single cab and no registration plates.

Only 30 mourners are allowed to attend the service because of coronavirus restrictions. The procession route will be lined by personnel from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force. Prince Charles, along with other members of the royal family, which will include three of Prince Philip’s German relatives, are set to walk in the procession. The Queen will join the procession to the chapel in the state Bentley, following behind the walking members of the Royal Family and staff.

Live coverage of Prince Philip’s ceremonial funeral service will be shown on most TV Channels from 12.30pm as well as being streamed and viewed on the internet and various apps. Prior to the service, at around 2.45 pm, there will be a ceremonial procession inside the grounds of Windsor Castle, also set to be televised.

The Royal Family is observing two weeks of mourning.  R.I.P. Prince Philip.

Our prayers, thoughts and hearts go out to our Queen, Elizabeth II.

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