Why Was The Diamond Jubilee So Special? What Did It Teach Us?

The Thames River Pageant said it all for me. I had to save it from Sky Anytime, so that I can watch it again, whenever I want. The effort made by those girls and guys, who belted out Land of Hope and Glory in the pelting rain, from a moving boat in the middle of a river, was nothing short of heroic. The poor girl, second from left, was visibly shivering, but gutsed it out.

I will confess that the rendition of Land of Hope and Glory made me cry my eyes out, and I've still got a tear in my eye, just writing about it. I'm not the greatest fan of what's happening in our economy at the moment, but I am patriotic. And that song had everything, everything that was British - stiff upper lip in the face of adversity, the Royal Family (who even did a little jig to the excellent sea shanty that followed), Tower Bridge over the river, the rain, the music, the people with their flags.

What did I learn from it?

Well, I'm 49 years old, 50 in August. It made me realise that money isn't all that important, after all. Just being a part of the great British journey with this monarch means much more. Now, I almost can't imagine Britain without her.

It also made me realise just how much The Queen has done, over the years. I watched the videos that were shown - she's done it all, representing Britain for 60 years, in every corner of the globe.

I also realised, just by seeing how happy everything made the Royal Family, that they are in truth, just like us, and want the same things that we want. Not too many years ago, there were some pretty dark days for the monarchy, but now they're on top of the world, and I want happiness for them, because they deserve it.