There are many ways you can spend your Christmas Day but queuing for hours to watch a bunch of strangers walk into a church must be one of the daftest.
Yet there they were lining the streets of Sandringham – some of them camped overnight – cheering and handing bouquets of flowers over to the Royals as they strolled in for a bit of light festive hymn singing.
Mind you, the worship going on inside the church was nowhere near as frenzied and manic as the worship King Charles and his brood were given outside.
For the life of me, I just don’t get it. Why this hysteria over a bunch of entitled toffs who only hold the positions they do by an accident of birth? A family whose very existence is an anathema to anyone who believes you get on in life through merit, hard work and talent.
Surely there must be other people more deserving of this adulation.
And there are … and Good King Chuck signposted them in his Christmas Day message.
His praise for health workers was richly deserved.
Because they are the real heroes of the piece, working tirelessly 24/7 to save lives and keep us all healthy and safe.
They work long hours, often doing things most of us can barely imagine and seeing people and their loved ones at the darkest times of their lives. And they do it with compassion and care.
If anyone should have crowds lining the streets to cheer them and give them flowers it’s the men and women who keep our National Health Service running, even when it is near breaking point due to chronic underfunding.
Actually, it wasn’t that long ago we were taking the streets in praise and thanks of our NHS workers. Do we have such short memories that we have already forgotten what health staff did during the pandemic? Can we not remember the heroism of our doctors, nurses and all the other staff who saved countless lives that would have been lost to Covid?
It seems so because here we are listening to a man who wears a gold hat having to remind us at Christmas of the skill and selfless sacrifice our health workers make every day of the year.
Perhaps we should look beyond the words – however well-intentioned – of a family who live in palaces and ask if our national priorities are right.
This is a rich nation – you just have to look at the untold wealth of the Royals to see that.
So why aren’t we spending our hard-earned tax money on the things that truly matter – starting with the National Health Service?
If the country can find the money for ermine and gilded carriages, surely it can find more cash for hospitals, nurses, and doctors to give us the care we need and deserve.
The NHS was once the jewel in the crown of our nation. We need to make it shine again.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired.
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