Why the Queen’s Jubilee is special to us

Growing up, I was around a royalist family.

Some of my earliest memories are of Remembrance and Royal events, the events that have played a significant role in creating our country’s standing across the world.

Our Queen is the jewel at the top of that. 

And yet, there still remains a debate as to whether the royal family is still relevant today. Whether it’s become unfashionable. However, in my opinion, they’re as relevant now as they ever have been.

It wasn’t like this back when I was growing up. I feel for young people who consider themselves royalists today. They’re growing up with a lot of anti-sentiment and often get a lot of backlash for admitting as such, for being patriotic. 

Regardless of how you feel, though, our Queen celebrating her 70th Jubilee is a phenomenal achievement. The Queen took over at such a young age and to still be serving as she is truly astonishing. 

It’s a feat I anticipate will never be matched. 

Our history binds us together and this 70th Jubilee is something to celebrate and come together for. We saw patriotism in this country as we have never seen before. 

That, for me, is something that is absolutely worth celebrating. 

The royal family’s role in the development of Bradford

The birth of the Commonwealth had a massive impact on the development of Bradford. 

It’s been a great thing for countries around the world and has brought so much diversity and culture to cities like Bradford and regions like Yorkshire. 

Bradford as a socio-economic entity has gone through a lot of ups and downs during that time. I remember when it lost a lot of jobs in the ‘60s and ‘70s when the textiles industry collapsed. The mills we once had are now flats and offices or gone entirely. 

And sure, if you look at Bradford against the rest of the country, sure, it’s not a wealthy city but from where it was when the Queen first sat on the throne to where it is now, a lot of people would say they’re living lives beyond their wildest dreams. 

It sounds like a Yorkshire sketch but my grandma used to count herself lucky if she got an orange at Christmas. That may sound like a joke but’s absolutely not. 

When you look at Bradford now, it’s approximately 10 years behind, say, Leeds, as an example. Regardless, we have to look at how our city has developed over time and how people are living better, healthier, lives.

A lot of big businesses, I’m thinking about the likes of Marks & Spencer’s and Amazon, have set up bases in the local area in that time, benefitting a lot, logistically, from being located right in the middle of the UK. There’s been a lot more investment in recent years. 

Celebrating the good times… together!

Advanced Dynamics is a business that likes to celebrate the good things, the good times. That’s how we feel about the Queen’s Jubilee.

There’s a family feel around this business. That’s something I’ve always tried to create. For us to be able to celebrate this Jubilee, and for me to be able to share that with this group of people I share the business I started with on a daily basis, means the world to me.

We hosted a family fun day on Wednesday 1 June ahead of the Bank Holiday. We haven’t called it as such because our colleagues can bring their families along – they can – but more because I see them as my family. 

We have another exciting event in the pipeline beyond that.

We recently revealed that Advanced Dynamics has been named as a patron and will feature in the upcoming launch of the Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative album!

Speaking on a personal level, this is one of the biggest honours of my life.

It’s a reflection of how we handle the business and what our values are. This is something I’m looking forward to sharing with my mum. She’s turning 90-years-old and if I can show her this book and the pictures of the Queen, I know that will get her excited, and make her happy. 

On top of that, being able to show her pictures of the business I started, of me standing side-by-side with Tom Smith, our Managing Director, being included in this book, it will be quite an emotional moment.

Alongside that, we also attended a launch party for the book down in the Big Smoke.

It was surreal, to be honest. We’re an SME from Bradford. We’re not a business that is renowned nationally. To be involved in something like that, I think it’s something that myself and Tom enjoyed a great deal and filled us with enormous pride to be able to represent Advanced Dynamics. 

You can order your copy of the Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative album here.