Grey days

London, United Kingdom - September 9 2022: Crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, just ahead of the arrival of King Charles III to the Palace. Image: Howard Cheng / Shutterstock

A week has gone by since the world learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and there’s still a sombre mood in the UK and many areas worldwide, with the funeral approaching on Monday 19 September. News coverage this morning on the main British TV channels was of the many people from the two-mile queue outside Westminster Hall paying their respects to the late Queen lying in state.

I wouldn’t call myself a royalist, but I am fascinated by the history of royal families, and, watching the TV this morning, it was clear from the emotion on many visitors’ faces just how much Queen Elizabeth’s death has impacted people from far and wide, not just the British public. Indeed, many in the metal packaging industry have been issuing statements of condolence over the past week.

The UK will be making the day of the funeral a Bank Holiday so the public can pay their respects and watch the news coverage. On the other hand of it all, there are people questioning why so much money is being spent here when families and businesses will be struggling to pay their energy bills in the coming winter, but while I’m sympathetic to this view, I don’t think you can dismantle the history of tradition in so few days. In any case, the power to help sort that crisis lies with another Liz; the royal family having had to stay politically neutral for quite some time now… Still, it’s good to know that our new King has always been a keen environmentalist, and hopefully Charles’ meetings with new prime minister Liz Truss will help drive some more urgent progress towards tackling climate change and lowering energy costs in turn.

In more upbeat news, today the CanTech team is wrapping up the October issue, which promises a great Asia CanTech preview, with features also on Thailand’s can packaging and manufacturing sectors, Japan’s beverage can market, and Cazander and Veldkamp’s used and refurbished equipment expertise. It’s going to be a good one! Don’t forget there’s also still time to join us in Bangkok at the end of October – head to www.asia-can.com.

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