As anticipation builds for the many events celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, Chris Bishop believes next month's celebrations will arrive at just the right time
Roll on two weeks' time, that's all I can say - because we could all do with a Jubilee at the moment.
After coming through the depths of Covid, we've found ourselves in an even grimmer new normal.
War in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and the fall-out from the pandemic - what's not to worry about?
Yet amid all the dark clouds, it's easy to forget we've still got something to celebrate. And it's more important than ever before that we join together and do just that.
For when the beacons blaze into life on Thursday, June 2, they'll ignite fresh sparks of pride and patriotism as the flames shoot up into the summer sky.
The four-day bank holiday weekend will be as much a celebration of what it really means to be British as commemorating our much-loved monarch's 70 years on the throne.
When we raise a glass to Elizabeth II, we should take a sip and pause. For our country will be at a turning point, a pivotal moment as the Red Arrows roar over Buckingham Palace and hundreds of thousands, maybe a million or more line The Mall below.
Our Queen has been a constant through good years and bad. She is the only ruler most of us can remember.
She has been our rock through wars and crises at home and abroad, through boom and bust, through seven decades which have seen unprecedented change.
It might not feel too much like it at the moment as fuel and food bills rocket, but standards of living have risen immeasurably over the three generations from 1950s post-war austerity to today.
But it's not just about the advent of the colour TV, the fridge, the mobile phone, the computer or the Internet.
And it runs deeper than how much we earn, what our house is worth or how many more years' life expectancy we might cross our fingers and hope to attain.
For the second Elizabethan age saw a country which had led the fight for freedom and democracy in Europe continue to extol the virtues which defeated the Nazis through the remainder of the 20th century, through the dawn and early years of the 21st.
These are the beliefs that make us British. They run through us all like the letters on a stick of seaside rock.
And they are something we should all take time out to celebrate by joining with our neighbours, family and friends to take part in the Platinum Jubilee Weekend, whether it's a street party, a village fete or inviting next door round and slinging a few bangers on the barbecue.
Perhaps it's even a good time to start feeling good about being British again as we tuck into our slightly-overcooked burgers beneath the flapping bunting, swig our beers and vow to do the washing up in the morning.
The Jubilee will clearly be a unique occasion, the like of which most of us will almost certainly never see again.
Elizabeth II was 25 when she became Queen after the untimely death of her father. Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, is 73. Prince William, the next in line to the throne, turns 40 in a few weeks' time.
She once remarked growing old is easy, paraphrasing the great American comedian Groucho Marx - all you have to do is live long enough.
But as she waves from the palace balcony and the crowds sing the National Anthem, our 96-year-old monarch will be unable to hide the frailty that lies behind the smile, the inevitable consequence of her advancing years.
Sunday, June 6 may be one of the final times the Queen appears at a major public occasion. It could even be the last.
So as well as a time to celebrate our recent past, the Platinum Jubilee is also a time to look ahead and ponder the future.
Perhaps the most crucial role of the monarchy moving forwards will be to keep us on the path of freedom, goodwill, tolerance and compassion set out in her speeches and Christmas addresses.
Even when all has seemingly been going wrong around her, she has never strayed off-message. She has been the defender of the faith. And while most of us seldom set foot in church, we live our lives along the tenets she stands for.
The world will almost certainly be a far more dangerous place when King Charles III accedes to the throne than the one King George VI left in his sleep at Sandringham on February 6, 1952, making his eldest daughter Queen.
That is why it is so important that we celebrate all Queen Elizabeth II has stood for as we mark her Platinum Jubilee. For her values will remain our shining star to steer by through the rough seas that lie ahead.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here