What did you do?
In my case, Sunday was spent with friends. The original plan was to have a picnic in Wandsworth park (just up river from where the pagent started), watch the boats marshalling then watch the pagent proper on telly. We thought the BBC coverage would give us better views; not least of Pippa Middleton's bottom!
In the end, the weather wasn't playing nice so we went indoors for food as well. I was glad I saw some 'live'. I have grown up in, around and falling out of boats so it would have been a real shame to miss such a genuinely unique maratime spectacle.
What a spectacle it was too. People spent ages mouthing off about Canaletto but really, life was imitating art. The whole thing appeared to go off flawlessly. The only thing that disappointed me a bit was the BBC coverage. It was never really sure what it was doing. When it wasn't focussing on the Queen, it was showing pundits babbling banal crap or eliciting monosylabic responses from members of the public. All well and good but it would have been nice to see more of the boats. That was kind of the point after all. I don't think the coverage went behind the man-powered ones. It seems a shame to miss out on such a momentous event. Not only that, they missed out on the music boats. Why? They were all sounding fantastic as they warmed up. I am deeply disappointed not to have seen the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's boat play the Bond theme as it passed the MI6 building (and the Sunseeker from the pre-credits sequence of The World Is Not Enough come to that). And there was a woeful lack of Pippa's bottom!
On the subject of the orchestra boat; well done to the Choir at the end. They were beyond soaked. I think they would have been drier going head-first into the Thames yet they continued regardless. A uniquely British twist I think.
The Queen and Prince Phillip stood the entire way from what I could see. An achievement in itsself for many people their age and worthy of respect. However, is it just me or should some form of weather protection have been built into the boat? It is likely that this event contributed to the infection which is currently detaining Prince Phillip in hospital.
Yesterday was the concert. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. By all accounts it was quite a show. I did however manage to watch the fireworks from my girlfriend's balcony. They were rather good and had colours other than red, white and blue!
The final day of celebrations was today. It started with a service of commemoration. Yet again I didn't watch it although I have seen photos. All I'm going to say is that, by the looks of it, Rowan Williams could save the health service a fortune by acting as an anaesthetic. Half the congregation was asleep. To be fair to him, the younger royals looked like they had had a thoroughly good night the night before. Who can blame them?
One thing I did notice was that Catherine (Kate) was giving her sister a run for her money when walking up the steps to the cathedral! Am I allowed to compliment the Duchess' bottom or is that treason? Either way; after the service there was a procession back to the palace followed by a flypast by the RAF. Again, I didn't make it it into Central London. I did however see the flypast. The classic planes are beautiful. There's no other word for it. The engine sounds alone make my pulse go a few notches quicker. As for the Red Arrows; I defy anyone not to stand a few inches taller when they see them in action. One thing that amuses me is that they never break formation. One wonders if they even pee in a specific pattern!
The whole weekend was, undeniably, one hell of a show. I would argue that there's nowhere else in the world where one could see even a percentage of the spectacle that London saw this weekend. In a way, I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to see more of it in the flesh. The atmosphere would have been electric (if a bit damp). On the other hand, I woud have been crowded up amongst other randoms. Something that brings out the worst in me. A happy medium might have been to do it as a St. John duty however I could have been put somewhere miles away from the action. Not only that, I know I would concentrate on the duty rather than the event so it sort of negates the point.
Either way I watched history being made this weekend and I'm profoundly grateful I have done. Regardless of how you feel about the monarchy politically, this spectacle was incredible and one to be proud of.
Hope you enjoyed it too.
JR
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