BBC pageant coverage was damp squib

From: Julian Hide, North Street, Sutton-in-Craven.

STEPHEN Fry summed up the BBC coverage of the river pageant in his usual erudite way, although he was being kind in calling it “mind-numbingly tedious”.

Why was it necessary to dig out almost every minor celebrity/presenter, some totally unknown (to me anyway), and have them babble on inanely at great length on any irrelevancy – I half expected to see David Attenborough interviewing the Downing Street cat!

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The best bits were when the sound broke down and we couldn’t hear them. I almost wished at the end that HMS Belfast’s guns had been loaded with live shells and had been aimed at the annoyingly chirpy Matt Baker, and I have a sneaky feeling that Sirs Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent were longing for Clare Balding to fall overboard.

As for the senior commentator referring to the Queen as “Her Royal Highness” – Richard Dimbleby must have been spinning in his grave.

From: Peter Hyde, Kendale View, Driffield.

I CANNOT help but think that the BBC’s coverage of the Thames pageant was nothing less than appalling. No doubt all the so called presenters were paid a fortune to give up their time and yet they failed miserably. Repetitive questions and flashes of Tess Daly, with her hair in a mess, did nothing to enhance the occasion. One missed chance of partial success was the raising of Tower Bridge, Where was the presenter when it took place?

The few times participants were interviewed lightened up an otherwise dreary performance. There was a missed opportunity in that there were so few of such interviews. Were all the presenters prone to sea sickness?

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The planning did not take into account the possibility of radio and TV interference. There were just a very few startling and memorable occasions that were outstanding, none of which could be credited to the BBC.

The fact that both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stood the whole of the time was an example of attention to duty. The singers on the final barge gave a wonderful performance, even though they were soaked. Whoever was in charge of the broadcasting debacle should be downright ashamed of their performance.

From: Mrs Jean Barrett, Huddersfield.

A VERY big thank you to all at the BBC for the coverage of this wonderful pageant. It must have been a nightmare to set up. Of course in a transmission of that length there were some “boring “ moments”.

These moments were for us the interviews with “celebrities” who minus a script were hopeless . The interviews with the “ordinary “people were most interesting . It is impossible to please all the watchers all the time. The day was for Her Majesty, and she delighted us all with the way she smiled and appeared interested during the whole time. The Duke of Edinburgh appeared to enjoy every moment too. How lovely to see so many of the Royal Family together at this event.

Well done BBC!

From: Janet Berry, Hambleton, Selby.

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IT has been so interesting to see footage of the Queen when she was 25 and later with her young family. I think sometimes we forget how beautiful and radiant she was, easily comparable with Diana and Catherine.

One could not help but admire her as she and Philip stood for hours on their royal barge waving to the crowds. Land of Hope and Glory always brings a lump to my throat and is so moving. One thing the British are good at is our ability for organisation and the diamond jubilee pageant was truly inspiring. I loved the appearance of the War Horse on top of the theatre building and the fireworks. It made you feel proud to be British.

From: John Gordon, Whitcliffe Lane, Ripon.

THE Diamond Jubilee celebration shows that most people like a strong and firm hand as the guiding principle in the land.

The monarchy has provided that for 60 years. From the succession of prime ministers that have been in charge, we know that a political head of state would spread discontent rather than strength and unity, so most of us feel that monarchy outweighs republicanism, even if it is more expensive! The Queen, however, is the head of our faith in her role as its defender. When the time comes for a change, no-one is immortal, will the many new inhabitants in the land want a titular head of their religion?

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This would not of course be possible with Islam and many of a secular persuasion would consider it inappropriate.

So even while we celebrate, we should keep at the back of our minds the problems that will come!

From: John G Davies, Alma Terrace, East Morton, Keighley.

WE might have more trust in Jim Pike’s monarchist arguments if he was not so cavalier with his history (Yorkshire Post, June 2). Any connection with Alfred the Great must be very tenuous firstly due to William the Conqueror, then Henry VII, William of Orange and George I disrupting the royal line. Monarchism always relied more on faith than fact.

From: BJ Cussons, Curly Hill, Ilkley.

SURELY the prime duty of a country’s leaders is to protect it from invasion. The modern way of adapting to invasion seems to be destroying our national culture bit by bit. Too many of the invaders want the benefits British culture provides without contributing to it. On the other side of the coin, how lucky we are to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond anniversary. Not for Britons the plight of so many people around the world who cower in fear from their leaders.

Long live the Queen!