When the Queen of Hearts conjured an image of an oppressive tyrant –
and not the smirking saintliness of Princess Diana –
then her solution to the slightest problem was “Off with their heads!”
The phrase came to mind last Saturday, 23 March 2019,
when a million folk shuffled with their daft hats and mad signs,
their buggies, their kids and their dogs
through the narrow streets of central London
to vent their frustration
and demand their right to stay European.
Once upon a time the people did finally take control – and do it.
They executed their King in 1649.
This earned them the right to shuffle along in protest ever afterwards
to object to the madness of their leaders.
These thoughts came to mind
as I stood in the calm of Charles I’s gorgeous Banqueting House
staring at the exotic glamour of Ruben’s painted ceiling –
just as Charles I must have done before stepping from this very window –
being passed now by the hordes of protesters –
onto the scaffold erected for his execution .
29 March 2019
(They’re still talking in the House of Commons…)
Riverview Songs 