• This weekend, Britons are invited to celebrate the coronation by organizing meals with their neighbours. Small festivals supported locally by local authorities.
  • In Axminster, a small town in the south of the country, a place traditionally favorable to the monarchy, the municipality will not give a subsidy. A decision motivated by the economic crisis that the country is going through.
  • But this does not prevent the inhabitants from celebrating the coronation, as with this charity lunch organized this Friday.

From our special envoy in Axminster,

He approaches, a smile on his face. "So, do you like it?" he asks, watching for our reaction to a bright red chair enthroned in the middle of this small church in the south of England. "It's a real one, one from 1969, there are only 10!" he adds. The object of Mervyn Symes' pride is this seat, which was used when the young Charles was made Prince of Wales, in 1969. But what is he doing in this charming church in a small town of 8,000 inhabitants in the south of England? "I bought it with my wife," replies the former mayor of the city.

A little further, a man is busy vacuuming. Photos of Charles and Camilla are displayed throughout the dapper church, next to floral creations made for the occasion by retirees, giving more opportunity to be in a comfortable living room than in a place of worship. Another royal relic, a piece of the tapestry displayed in Westminster Abbey at the coronation of Charles' grandfather, is displayed along a pillar. Everything is ready for Sunday, when the city's mayor, Jill Farrow, and other dignitaries will officiate at a ceremony to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.



It is also in front of the church - weather permitting - that a Sunday party is to be held to which all the inhabitants are invited to commemorate the coronation. The event is organized by the local Rotary, with the support of merchants, who made banners that adorn the city center. The local council, solicited, did not release funds for the party, as reported in February the site Axminster nub news.

And it's a rare move in this part of the kingdom, where the people of Buckingham Palace and their turbulent family are traditionally supported. Despite the economic crisis in the UK, many local authorities have allocated budgets to enable residents to organise block parties. But not in Axminster, where the only public support will be a £100 donation from Mayor Jill Farrow, who has a small fund to support causes.

"Our budget is £250,000 a year and with that we have to look after the two council buildings, including a historic one, the cemetery, a park and allotments," Farrow told 20 Minutes. Faced with inflation eating away at the United Kingdom, the municipality, which has less extensive powers than a municipality in France, has had to make choices. It is not only the party planned this weekend that has paid the price. The local pool, managed by an association, also did not receive a subsidy.




However, there is no question of seeing in this refusal of public funds an act of defiance towards the monarchy. It was the tight purse strings that played a role. "Last year, for the platinum jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, we funded a lot of things: we planted trees in the Jubilee Park, we funded several events. But we felt that we had not gotten our money's worth, because it was the same structures that were asking for subsidies. We funded a big snack, about 400 people came, but it didn't necessarily feel like we were feeding the right people. »

In Axminster, where the median age is 56 and there are many pensioners, the vulnerability of the population has increased with the economic crisis. The local food bank has launched an appeal on social media, as their donations have decreased and the needs have increased, recalls the mayor. "We also have young families who need because there is not much work around here and it is poorly paid."



So this Friday, on the eve of the coronation, Jill Farrow, re-elected the day before in local elections, came to lend a hand to Nourish, a small structure providing food aid to people in need and carried at arm's length by two volunteers, Karen Taylor and Mary Darlow. With the help of Hailey, a police officer in charge of the link with the population, as well as Shirley and Pat, the women transformed the Guidhall, the municipal building that serves as a party hall and performance hall. The Union Jack is everywhere: on the napkins, on the flags arranged along the tables. The theme of lunch, you guessed it: the coronation of King Charles. On the buffet are British specialties prepared by the volunteers: slices of roastbeef, Scotch eggs or trifles, a dessert based on strawberries, jelly, custard and crème fraîche.

In exchange for a donation, about sixty people met to share the meal. Including Anne Philipps, a former nurse who was twelve years old at the time of the Queen's coronation in 1953. "My parents bought a television for the occasion. It was raining ropes that day, the screen was blurred, but you could still see the queen. As children, we were happy. Anne is also happy when she gets up, her plastic bowler hat in the colors of the British flag on her head, to collect her prize won in the lottery organized at the end of the meal.



"If my Scottish friends knew I was hosting a dinner for the king's coronation, they would laugh at me," jokes Karen Taylor, the founder of Nourish. It is thanks to these events and other donations that the volunteers of the structure prepare between 40 and 100 meals per week. Although indifferent to the monarchy, and witness on the front line of the precariousness of part of the population, Karen Taylor is not indignant at the great means deployed across the country to celebrate the coronation. "What bothers me the most are the politicians who vote for their increases. They are the ones who make an impact in our lives. A sentiment shared by many Britons.


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