4 Daily Express Monday, April 6, 2020
CORONAVIRUS:
Queen: Family and
Spirit
Emotional
FROM PAGE ONEBy News ReporterEXCLUSIVE
By Steph SpyroI am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. A
time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief
to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily
lives of us all.I want to thank everyone on the NHS front line, as well as care workers and
those carrying out essential roles, who selflessly continue their day-to-day
duties outside the home in support of us all. I am sure the nation will join me
in assuring you that what you do is appreciated and every hour of your hard
work brings us closer to a return to more normal times.I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to
protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those
who have lost loved ones. Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to
reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it.I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they
responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons
of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline,
of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this
country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our pre-
sent and our future.The moments when the United Kingdom has come together to applaud its
care and essential workers will be remembered as an expression of our na-
tional spirit; and its symbol will be the rainbows drawn by children.Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warm-
ing stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering
food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting busi-
nesses to help the relief effort.And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and
of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause
and reflect, in prayer or meditation.It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister.
We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacu-
ated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again,
many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as
then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we
join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great
advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed- and that success will belong to every one of us.
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better
days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families
again; we will meet again.But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.address amid the gravest crisis of her
68-year reign, the monarch, who will be 94
this month, drew on a lifetime of experience
to preach a message of unity and hope to
the UK and Commonwealth.
Echoing Forces’ sweetheart Dame Vera
Lynn’s wartime anthem We’ll Meet Again,
the Queen pledged: “We will succeed – and
that success will belong to every one of us.
“We should take comfort that while we
may have more still to endure, better days
will return: we will be with our friends
again; we will be with our families again; we
will meet again.”
The Queen heaped praise on those on the
front line of the battle to combat Covid-19,
which claimed 621 more lives in Britain
yesterday, and thanked people staying at
home to protect the vulnerable.
The broadcast, believed to have been
watched by more than 30 million Britons,
came as Health Secretary Matt Hancock
warned of further lockdown restrictions and
stressed it was “mission critical” to follow
rules on social distancing.
The Queen recorded her address in the
White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle,
filmed by just one cameraman wearing
protective equipment.
She said: “Together we are tackling this
disease and I want to reassure you that if we
remain united and resolute, then we will
overcome it.”Looking back to her first wartime broad-
cast when Britons were separated from their
loved ones but knew it was the “right thing
to do”, the Queen held out the promise of
similar immortality in the national memory
for this generation.
Insisting the attributes of self-discipline,
quiet good-humoured resolve and fellow-
feeling still characterised Britain, she said:
“The pride in who we are is not a part of
our past, it defines our present and future.”
She celebrated the community response
amid pictures of NHS workers, volunteers,
the Army building London’s Nightingale
Hospital, neighbourhoods clapping for car-
ers and children’s pictures of rainbows.
The Queen said those moments would be
remembered as “an expression of our
national spirit; and its symbol will be the
rainbows drawn by children”.
She spoke of “heart-warming stories of
people coming together to help others” and
said though self-isolating may be hard,
“many people of all faiths, and of none, are
discovering that it presents an opportunity
to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer
or meditation”.
Observing the Government’s advice for
the over-70s, the Queen and Prince Philip
have been staying at Windsor, along with a
tiny group of key domestic staff since March- In her message the Queen recalled her
first public speech at 14, helped by her sister
Princess Margaret, 10, to the children of
Britain and the Empire in 1940.
She said: “We, as children, spoke from
here at Windsor to children who had beenevacuated from their homes and sent away
for their own safety.
“Today, once again, many will feel a pain-
ful sense of separation from their loved
ones. But now, as then, we know, deepPHDOVD
GD\WRKHOS
YXOQHUDEOH
A MUM of four is cooking 80 meals a day
from her family kitchen to help elderly
and vulnerable people.
Kind-hearted Sophie Mears spends up
to 10 hours a day batch-cooking for free
food parcels to be delivered to those who
cannot leave their homes.
Yet the 33-year-old’s generous effort
almost fell at the first hurdle when council
officials said she needed a food hygiene
certificate – but that they could not visit
to carry out an inspection because of
coronavirus.
After some tears and pleading, plus
a lot of hard work, she was able to pass
a “virtual inspection”.
Sophie, who works in admin at a
school, volunteered in Bridport, Dorset,
after someone in her Facebook
community group said a family was in
need of a meal.Her crusade has now grown into a
massive “meals on wheels” mission with
a whole team behind her.
Someone goes through the messages on
social media, her partner Gary bags
meals and eight volunteers deliver the
food.
Locals have donated food and money
to help cover her costs making the soups,
stews, chilli, lamb hotpot and cottage pie.
She uses several slow cookers and finishes
off the meals on the hob and in the oven.
Children Charlie and Connor, both
nine, Jacob, eight, and Evelyn, four, get
on with schoolwork or play quietly.
Sophie said: “My kitchen is just a
normal family kitchen. My garage has
turned into a storage area with a couple
of fridges and a chest freezer. People
have been amazing, donating all sorts.
“I’ve worked in catering in pubs and
restaurants and I always enjoyed cooking.
“I registered with the council but they
couldn’t come out to inspect my kitchen.
“I got really emotional and was crying
on the phone. But they were amazing.
“I spent a day filling out paperwork,
doing my hygiene certificate and taking
pictures of my kitchen. Now I have a food
hygiene rating of 5.”
And Sophie added: “The support has
just been unbelievable.”Sophie and partner Gary with the childrenSurvivor: All I wanted was
Tara while in intensive careA FIT-and-healthy mother who
filmed herself in hospital
struggling to breathe as she
warned of the dangers of
coronavirus yesterday laid bare
her struggle with the disease.
Tara Jane Langston, 39, said
catching the deadly virus hadbeen “the most traumatic
experiences” of her life.
The mother-of-two, from
Middlesex, said: “I spent nine
days in hospital, three of whichwere in an intensive care unit
fighting for my life and where I
was sure I was going to die.
“Battling the virus, without any
underlying health issues, has been
the most traumatic experiences of
my life.
“All I wanted more of was timeTHE UPLIFTING BROADCAST IN FULL