Free For All Friday No 723 by Laurie

Last weekend the coffin of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was transported from her beloved Balmoral estate through Royal Deeside to Aberdeen, where she then turned south and journeyed to Edinburgh before she was later flown to London. I am very lucky that I live along the route, and I was able to see her coffin being driven right past my house. 

We watched her progress live on television, seeing the motorcade driving through all the nearby villages we go through all the time, and our home town. It was very special to see her final journey through this beautiful area that is our home. 

When we saw on the live television coverage that the motorcade was getting close to our house, we went out to the roadside to watch it go past. While my son and I were out at the side of the road watching the vehicles go by, helicopter footage following the Queen's progress through Scotland showed us live on television. Friends of ours sent me screenshots from their television of the moment the hearse was right in front of us. My husband, who was on the other side of the world at that moment on a business trip, saw us live on television, standing there next to our house, with the Queen's hearse driving along our road. 

To see in person the Queen's final journey through this place she loved so much really made me feel like I was experiencing history firsthand. It is such a significant moment in this country where I live, and to experience the collective grief and loss gives me a feeling of solidarity. I feel truly privileged to have had such an experience.

Of course I wrote everything in my Filofax. I have written some very important things in my Filofax over the years: significant events in our family, trips and holidays, and news items of the day. But rarely have I experienced firsthand something so globally historic and been able to write about it in my Filofax.

As always, feel free to ask and/ or discuss anything Filofax related.