2023-05-05 23:04:14
From our special correspondent in Axminster,
He approaches, a smile on his lips. “So, do you like it? he asks us, watching for our reaction to a bright red chair enthroned in the middle of this small church in the south of England. “It’s a real one, one from 1969, there are only 10! “, he adds. The object of Mervyn Symes’ pride is this seat, which served when young Charles was made Prince of Wales in 1969. But what is he doing in this charming church in a small town of 8,000 inhabitants in the south of England? “I bought it with my wife,” replies the former mayor of the city.
A little further on, a man is busy vacuuming. Photos of Charles and Camilla are displayed all over the spruce church, alongside floral creations made for the occasion by retirees, giving more of the opportunity to be in a comfortable living room than in a place of worship. Another royal relic, a piece of the tapestry unfurled in Westminster Abbey at the coronation of Charles’ grandfather, is displayed alongside a pillar. Everything is set for Sunday, when the town’s mayor, Jill Farrow, and other dignitaries will officiate at a ceremony to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.
It is also in front of the church – weather permitting – that a Sunday party is to be held to which all the inhabitants are invited to commemorate the coronation. The event is organized by the local Rotary, with the support of merchants, who have made banners for the occasion that adorn the city center. THE council local, solicited, did not release funds for the party, as reported it in February the Axminster nub news site.
And it’s a rare decision in this corner of the kingdom, where the inhabitants of Buckingham Palace and their turbulent family are traditionally supported. Despite the economic crisis in the UK, many local authorities have allocated budgets to allow residents to organize block parties. But not in Axminster, where the only public support will be a £100 donation from Mayor Jill Farrow, who has a small fund in her office to support causes.
“Our budget is 250,000 pounds a year and with that we have to take care of the two municipal buildings, including a historic one, the cemetery, a park and allotment gardens”, explains Jill Farrow to 20 Minutes. Faced with the inflation that is eating away at the United Kingdom, the municipality, which has less extensive powers than a municipality in France, has had to make choices. It’s not just the party planned for this weekend that paid the price. The local swimming pool, managed by an association, did not receive a subsidy either.
However, there is no question of seeing this refusal of public funds as an act of defiance of the monarchy. It was the tight purse strings that came into play. “Last year, for the platinum jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, we financed a lot of things: we planted trees in Jubilee Park, we financed several events, recalls the local elected official. But we had the impression that we did not get our money’s worth, because it was the same structures that were asking for subsidies. We funded a big tea party, about 400 people came, but it didn’t necessarily feel like we were feeding the right people. »
In Axminster, where the median age is 56 and where there are many retirees, the vulnerability of the population has increased with the economic crisis. The local food bank has launched an appeal on social networks, because their donations have decreased and the needs have increased, recalls the mayor. “We also have young families who need it, because there’s not a lot of work around here and it’s poorly paid. »
So this Friday, on the eve of the coronation, Jill Farrow, re-elected the day before in local elections, came to lend a hand to Nourish, a small structure providing food aid to people in need and carried at arm’s length by two volunteers, Karen Taylor and Mary Darlow. Helped by Hailey, a police officer in charge of the link with the population, as well as Shirley and Pat, the women transformed the Guidhall, the municipal building which serves as a village hall and performance hall. I’Union Jack is everywhere: on the napkins, on the flags arranged along the tables. The lunch theme, you guessed it: the coronation of King Charles. On the buffet are arranged British specialties prepared by the volunteers: slices of roast beef, Scotch eggs or even trifles, a dessert made with strawberries, jelly, custard and fresh cream.
In exchange for a donation, around sixty people met to share the meal. Including Anne Philipps, a former nurse who was twelve at the time of the Queen’s coronation in 1953. “My parents had bought a television for the occasion. It was raining heavily that day, the screen was scrambled, but you could still see the queen. As children, we were happy. Happy, Anne is also happy when she gets up, her plastic bowler hat in the colors of the British flag on her head, to collect her prize won in the lottery organized at the end of the meal.
“If my Scottish friends knew I was hosting a coronation dinner, they would laugh at me,” jokes Karen Taylor, Nourish’s founder. It is thanks to these events and with other donations that the volunteers of the structure prepare between 40 and 100 meals per week. Although indifferent to the monarchy, and a witness on the front line of the precariousness of part of the population, Karen Taylor is not indignant at the great means deployed across the country to celebrate the coronation. “What bothers me the most are the politicians who vote their increases. They are the ones who have an impact in our lives. A feeling shared by many Britons.
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