Emily Mothersole and Noah Hargreaves
Noah and I had the absolute honour of getting invited to sign the book of condolence in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll on behalf of Bassaleg School. Accompanied by Miss Lambe and Miss Hortin, we set out to Newport Civic centre. When we arrived, I was amazed by the beauty of the building that I had passed so many times before, but never actually been able to visit. We were ushered into the room in which the book was displayed. I was fascinated by the large portraits depicting different points of history in bold colours. The four of us made our way over to the cloth-covered table where the book, four black pens and a framed photo of the queen awaited us. We each took it in turns to write: Miss Lambe first, then Noah, then myself. Each detailing our messages; what the queen represented to us and what her loss meant. It was an amazing afternoon, which we were fortunate enough to experience.
The next week, we also had the opportunity to go to the Queen’s remembrance service with Miss Lambe. It was a very special experience getting to go to the Cathedral with the dignitaries in their uniforms and medals, the members of the church, the choir and a range of different people in the congregation. The members of the church talked about the Queen’s life and her astounding reign, they recited poems and verses, and the choir sang the most amazing hymns. We finished the service off by singing the Welsh national anthem - Our favourite! We were very grateful to be able to pay our respects in these ways.