ABOUT CORONATIONS
To date – May 8, 2023 – I have seen two Royal Coronations; in 1953 Queen Elizabeth11 and 2023 her son Charles 111. Charles the 1st was a victim of English civil war (not very civil) and he lost his head – literally, he was beheaded for treason by the axeman.
Charles 1 was King of England from 1625 – 1649. Like his father, he believed in the Divine Right of Kings, chosen by God and above the law.
One week after the execution the monarchy was abolished.
Some Comparisons
In 1953 I was 7 years old, To-day – I leave it to you the reader to calculate. In 1953, we had no television although some people did but they had small screens and were in black and white. To-day I still have no TV but we watched the coronation ‘live’ on the Great Britain news channel by internet.
We had no refrigerator in 1953; just an ice box. This reminds me of a story on the popular CBC program “The Vinyl Café”. It seems one very hot, stifling day a lady decided to have a cooling bath and so drew the water. As she was about to take a dip she remembered that the ice man was soon to deliver the block of ice for her ice box. So – she quickly unlocked the front door. BUT, before she could head back for her refreshing bath the door knob started to turn. So, she ducked into the hall closet to hide. Imagine her surprise – read shock – when the hall closet door opened and there stood the meter man ready to read the electric meter which, of course, was in the hall closet. To which she replied: “I was expecting the ice man!”
Each house had a basic dial phone – usually black. In 2023 most have a ‘smart’ phone although my emergency flip-phone apparently is making a comeback.
My dad drove a 1937, semi-automatic DeSoto. One could have any colour of car as long as it was black. In 2023, although black, grey and white are most popular there are some other colours available.
In 1953 Canadian society was very pro-monarchy. In 2023 not so much for a multitude of reasons. The 22nd Parliament of Canada featured the Liberal majority of Louis St. Laurent. In 2023 the Liberal minority of Trudeau is bolstered to act like a majority with support from the NDP. Some refer to the P.M. as Mr. Teflon, as ‘nothing he does that is wrong actually sticks’ and in some ways he is like former U.S. President Donald Trump – not the least of which is the similarity in the first three letters of their surnames. According to some.
As for grocery stores, I recall Dominion stores were a large retailer while corner stores were very important. I used to be sent regularly to the corner store for essentials and each had its own butcher. In 2023 ‘corner stores’ mainly sell lottery tickets and non-essential food items.
In 1953 most homes had a clothes line for drying washing,
opposed to energy consuming driers in 2023. Washing machines were tub-like affairs with ringers for squeezing excess water from the laundry before being hung out to dry. By the way, Mondays were always ‘washing day’.
I bet the reader can recall other comparisons.
