On the day of the Queen’s state funeral, Mancunian Matters journalists spoke to the general public in Manchester town centre and Piccadilly station, who had come to watch the live broadcast of the funeral.
Mike Pendlebury, 31, Former Paratrooper, Stockport
“We really wanted to come down to London but had family commitments and work commitments. It was nice to come and pay tribute. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable just sat there in my living room.
“We wanted to come down and pay respect to the Queen and her life. Me and my brother both served the Queen, and we’re very proud of that.
“In our work, everything is for the Queen, the orders come from the Queen, it’s who we do it all for in the grand scheme of things. It’s in every single soldier’s hearts, it’s a big loss for all of us.
“It would have been amazing to go down [to London] but this is the next best thing for me.”
David Richardson, 44, Air Force Reserve, Stockport
“This was a nice turnout, the sun came out, I was really glad about that. I think the weather this morning put a lot of the old and bold off. I think that’s unfortunate, as I’m sure there would have been a lot more people who would have turned out, but other than that I thought it was a really nice day.
“There’s no way I was sitting at home watching it”.
Isabella Krzciuk, 34, Scunthorpe
“To be honest, we’re not very interested. I understand it’s a big thing, a once-in-a-lifetime thing for most people, but I think I will just watch the highlights”.
“She was an amazing woman. I don’t know if I heard of her doing anything bad or treating anyone wrong. It’s sad that she died, but she was quite old.
“We’ve found this quite interesting to watch and see what’s happening, the history and everything is really amazing and I feel like she was a perfect example of how royal families should lead.”
Stephen Keefe, 64, former Royal Engineer
“She’s done a great service for the country, [I was] just happy to serve her. We couldn’t make London, but it’s nice here anyway. We just wanted to be part of something.
“We were sat at home this morning watching it on the telly, and my wife said: ‘let’s go down and spend a bit of time in Manchester.’
“There’s lots of things you do in the army people would disagree with, but when it comes to things like this, there’s no place in the world where you can get anything like this. I’m just happy to be here and be a part of what’s going on. We’re here and we’re enjoying it. Respect the Queen!”
