Forgive the long break, but I’ve finally got my new home straight and the computer unpacked and plugged in. I’ve been spending my short Easter break sitting at my new desk in my new study – so many bookcases it’s practically a library – and indulging in some family history research. It’s proving to be more frustrating than anything else but that’s the nature of genealogy. Anyway, I digress.
Unless you’ve been in some kind of media black out zone over the last few weeks you’ll know that Leicester has been hitting the headlines. And although I’m obviously biased I have to say “didn’t we do well?” I could not be more proud of my city.
One of my favourite headlines from the flood of newspaper articles and suchlike appeared in, of all things, The New York Times:
Richard III, Previous Visit a Bust, Is Warmly Received 530 Years Later”
Much as I would have liked to have been in the city to see the procession and soak up the atmosphere I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the cortège pass my parents’ house. I wasn’t lucky enough to get a ticket to the only service taking place at a time when I didn’t have to be at work, so standing outside their house and watching as the hearse passed was a pretty special moment. I stood there watching as the police motorcyclists approached me and felt strangely anxious. I pointed my camera in the right direction and decided that video would be better than photos, pressed the button and hoped for the best. This was the result, all 23 seconds of it:
I went back inside the house and burst into tears. I don’t really know why. I just felt somewhat overwhelmed by the whole thing. I’d been listening intently to BBC Radio Leicester who were doing a sterling job of covering the day as the cortège travelled from Bosworth Field, to Dadlington, to Market Bosworth, and so on into the city. Thousands and thousands of people lined the route. Our village, Newbold Verdon, was teeming with people. From my point of view, my parents’ house was ideally placed as it’s not in the centre of the village which meant I didn’t have to fight for position. Afterwards, I went home and downloaded the film and a couple of photos onto the internet. Twenty minutes later I had an email from a news agency wanting to use my video. I filled out the form they sent and gave permission fully expecting nothing further to happen but, sure enough, my video made it to Yahoo! News. It was all very surreal.
My parents were actually at the Service of Compline that took place to welcome the mortal remains of Richard III into the cathedral. They were there as invited members of the congregation. I watched the service on television. Annoyingly, it wasn’t shown in its entirety because Channel 4 decided we’d rather watch Jon Snow discussing the finer points of whether or not Richard III was an evil child murderer and other such mindless and pointless tabloid TV – we wouldn’t. Luckily, during the sermon my parents appeared clearly on screen for quite some time and I got rather overexcited – frantic texts were exchanged with my brother.
Excited parent-spotting aside, I found what I saw of the service deeply moving and once again was moved to tears. My parents both said afterwards that they too found themselves unexpectedly emotional.
Fast-forward a few days during which I had a very hurried visit to the cathedral to see the coffin (not up close) and it was time for the reinterment. I was working, frustratingly. My dad was lucky enough to be at the service as a volunteer. I did suggest he might like to snaffle Mr Cumberbatch for me; however, he’s good, but he’s not that good!
I kept checking Twitter for photos and updates of the proceedings and when I got home I grabbed a cup of tea and sat down to watch the service. The cathedral had never looked so beautiful. The service was wonderful and moving, Cumberbatch’s reading of the poem by Carol Ann Duffy was perfect. Again, the whole thing was oddly surreal. Having spent much of my childhood Sunday mornings in the cathedral, to then see it in such a light with such people in attendance was bizarre, but in the best possible way.
What a privilege for Leicester and Leicestershire to get to honour Richard III in such a way. The people of the city and county showing the world how much he means to them – with dignity and honour.
But how do you bring to a close such an unprecedented week of events? I read up on all the events taking place and saw that on the Friday evening, after the Service of Reveal where the tomb would be revealed (I’ve still not seen it), there would be something called Leicester Glows. A fire garden was promised and fireworks from the cathedral roof. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but was determined to go. A friend had come to stay for the weekend as she was attending the Friday service so I rushed into the city after work to meet her and my parents and grab some dinner.
Darkness had fallen over the city as we made our way back to the Cathedral Gardens. There were again hundreds, if not thousands, of people gathering and across the medieval quarter of the city 8000 flames were lit.
The crowds could so easily have felt oppressive, but everyone was in high spirits, marvelling at the beautiful sight of so many candles burning, chatting and joking with strangers, smiling and waiting with bated breath for the main event. If the cathedral had never looked so beautiful on the Thursday then the city had never looked so beautiful on that Friday evening. Not ever.
The main event turned out to be thrilling and wonderful, even if slightly heart-stopping. Watching fireworks quite literally bouncing off the cathedral steeple is nothing if not nail-biting. But it was quite a spectacle and beautifully put together, resulting in a spontaneous round of applause. Here’s a video of the full display:
After the fireworks were over the crowds, and us, spent time milling around admiring the flames. They were quite mesmerising and the smell of candle wax will forever transport me back to that evening. It was magical.
Leicester Glows was the perfect end to the most remarkable week. I’ll never know how it got signed off by Health and Safety but I’m inordinately grateful and pleased that it did. 8000 naked flames sounds dangerous but my goodness they looked stunning.
So, Leicester did what it promised. It reinterred Richard III with dignity and honour. But more than that, it showed what our city can do and what its people can do. It showed that we have a great sense of community and that we are warm and welcoming and all-embracing.
A beautiful film for Leicester Glows by the Big Difference Company (who organised the event):
On this Easter Sunday they will have been rejoicing in our cathedral that “Christ is Risen”. Like the King we have reburied, Leicester is often much maligned but I truly believe that now all the pomp and ceremony of the reinterment has passed, we can honestly say that Leicester is risen.
Happy Easter to you all.
If you want to see more photos (click “Images”, don’t use the drop down menu) and read more about the week’s events then please take the time to visit the King Richard in Leicester website where there are blogs by The Revd Pete Hobson (Acting Canon Missioner) who led the Richard III Project for the cathedral, and lots and lots of photos. You can even order copies of the Orders of Service – please don’t be tempted by eBay.
Reblogged this on Me + Richard Armitage and commented:
Personal impressions from fellow Richard Armitage fan and Leicesterite, Kathrynruthd!
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Thanks for the reblog! 🙂
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I loved reading this and am grateful that you took the time to document it! Congratulations to Leicester!
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Thanks! It’s taken me a while to get around to it. I wish I could have been at the services but it wasn’t meant to be. I remember banging on about how I was going to be there come hell or high water a couple of years ago but I don’t think I appreciated just how big it was going to be. Writing about it has been a pleasure. Watching the videos again brings a lump to my throat. We’ll certainly never see the like again.
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Hey, there’s a reason they call it “real life,” i.e., it is a real thing and it makes real demands. Great day for Leicester, great day for England!
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Great post and pics! It was such a wonderful atmosphere in Leicester on the Friday and a very fitting and inclusive tribute…
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So glad you could share it!
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Beautifully done, thank you for doing that!
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Thank you. You’re very welcome.
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Wow, so beautiful especially the fire garden! Thank you so much for sharing this and happy Eastern to you too!
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Thanks for reading. It was a beautiful evening…a beautiful week really.
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Thank you for writing this. Since I was a young girl, I’ve been very interested in the Middle Ages, and my hobby is studying the lives of women during this era, particularly the Plantagenets/York.
Then Richard III was found, and I have followed the events closely since then. It has been wonderful and quite emotional, even for an “outsider”, to follow this history in the making.
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It’s good to know that people were moved wherever they were. The whole thing has been fascinating. Thanks for reading.
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So british , so sweet, great work as always
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Thanks!
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I enjoyed reading this lines. I actually spent the whole afternoon on 22nd at my laptop, listening to BBC Radio Leicester and reading the flood of posts on twitter (I’m sure I’ve seen your video there sometime later that day!) It was really interesting, very special, and even touching for me, being far away here in Southern Germany :D. Sadly the internet broadcast was rudely cut off at 18.00 (CET) due to….. rights? Channel 4? ..whatsoever…. which made me….very. very grumpy!! 😦
Thanks kathryn for that wonderful fireworks video. Magnificent, impressive and really powerful! ……almost feared a bit for the cathedral. LOL
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It was great to see so many people from all over the world getting involved, either by actually being there, or by following events by whatever means they could.
I assume the cathedral had plenty of fire extinguishers to hand 😉
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I watched the whole internment service live on television from here in Norfolk and you are so right that it was all done with dignity and honour as befits a king. Cumberbatch was definitely the right person for the reading of that beautiful poem. His voice just seemed to fill the cathedral resonating with a majestic quality that only he could do.
The whole procedure was intensely moving so congratulations to Leicester for getting it all just right.
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The reading of the poem was wonderful. It’s extremely difficult to read as it has no rhyme nor obvious rhythm to it but he gave it feeling and made the meaning so clear, it could not have been better. I’m so proud to know that people outside Leicester agree that my city did it right. Means so much. Thanks for reading.
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Beautifully written, Kathryn. It’s wonderful to read such a personal view of the proceedings. Here in Australia, the coverage was glancing sadly, so this has extra impact. Many thanks for it all. Sharing.
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Thank you! Sad that you saw little of it over there. It doesn’t help that it was Channel 4 that got the broadcasting rights rather than the BBC. There’s some stuff on YouTube I think but not the actual services. I live in hope that Channel 4 might release something on DVD. Glad I could add some colour to things for you though.
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Reblogged this on Prue Batten's Blog and commented:
A simple and beautifully written post on the funeral and interment of Richard III – a must read.
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Wonderful writing and photography, Kathryn! Proud to say that my ancestors on both sides hail from Leicester.
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Thank you.
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Prue’s right, the coverage in Aus’ was a bit sad so thanks Kathryn for sharing your excitement and terrific camera work with us, much appreciated xx.
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You’re very welcome. Glad to share. Thank you for reading.
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The three Ps.. Poignant. Personal. Perfect. 🙂
As for the Health and Safety and the candles, I imagine it went something like this;
H&S: Those candles look dangerous, will you be using them all at once?
LC: Candles? What candles? Oh.. have you seen the preparations we’ve been making in the vestry? *shove in the back, propelled opposite way at speed, innocent whistle*
😉
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Thank you J. I would actually be really interested to know how they got agreement for the naked flames. Some were along the footpath where everyone was walking. We nearly stepped in one! But it was just so magical it would have totally been worth the singed feet! 😉
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Being across the other side of the country, I could only watch it on TV. I was hoping to see Mr Cumberbatch being snaffled, but that would have been rather undignified – another day, perhaps. I loved the Leicester Glows event – a fitting finale. Well done Leicester.
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It was all very special. I rather think the Cumberbatch boat has sailed though 😉
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I too am very proud to be from leicester right now! I visited to tomb last weekend as I live away now but felt so good to be home and it felt like the entire city had come together with pride 🙂 fab blog. 🙂
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Thank you! It’s been a very special time.
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Hi, would it be ok if I reblogged this? I was born in Leicester and grew up locally. It’s great to see the city in this light.
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Absolutely…go ahead! Thanks for reading.
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Reblogged this on could do worse and commented:
This is the city where i was born – i grew up living in a village near by – it’s great to see leicester in this light. The short film clip is definitely worth a watch!
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A wonderful account Kathryn!
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Thank you!
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