My day at the Jubilee

Someone's arse at the Jubilee Pageant

Yesterday I had a vision. I was going to go down to the Thames nice and early and get a good spot to take some pictures of the Old Girl sailing past as part of her Jubilee celebrations.

At midday – nearly four hours before she was due to finish her voyage – I set off to Embankment with long lens in hand. I even bought some patriotic newspapers to keep me occupied while I waited.

But when I got down to Embankment my vision soon got clouded. I couldn’t get out of the main exit towards the Thames and was directed towards Charing Cross. With every road towards the river seemingly closed, I ended up near Blackfriars Bridge. After about ten minutes walking up and down praying for a miracle, I settled on a very slight hill about ten metres from the riverbank. I couldn’t see a thing.  

You have to give it to the British people though, they love their Queen. The weather was nothing short of miserable. Yet crowds lined the Thames for hours, with at very least a flag, waiting to get a glimpse (and a glimpse is all that it would have been) of a family they have never met and, in reality, know very little about.

We patriotic crowd members kept warm by huddling together and not talking to each other with an impeccable politeness that can only be described as “British”.

We had a big screen in front of us, first showing historic footage of the Queen, and then cutting to live pictures of the Royal family getting on the boat up in Battersea.

First out of a Rolls-Royce were Charles and Camilla to light applause and some flag waving. The next car carried William and Kate along with a cheeky grinning Harry. This time loud applause and a warm fuzzy feeling as our minds were cast back to the Royal Wedding just over a year ago.

Then finally came the Queen, looking radiant in white, and joined by everyone’s favourite, but slightly racist Granddad, the Duke of Edinburgh. The crowd burst in to loud applause and what can only be described as vigorous flag waving. A young man with a trumpet belted out the national anthem and the crowd merrily sang along. People love Will and Kate, but on a day like today you can’t beat the top girl.

It took about an hour for the boats to reach my segment of the river. I didn’t have a clue when the smaller boats passed. Seeing those was too much even for my best tip-toeing view. But I could make out the Queen’s barge through the crowd as it erupted once again. And what’s more, through the flags and waving arms I could see a figure dressed in white waving to her loyal subjects (like me) on our side of the river.

My dream of an award winning picture was a stretch too far though. It was a 'hold your camera in the air and hope' situation. This was the result (these are the best)…

A boat big enough for me to see

"Can you see them? Can you see them?"

So were the hours in the horrendous weather for a restricted, momentary glimpse of a boat with an old lady on it, worth it?

Yes absolutely. Of course.

In the pub with my mate John afterwards I felt great – all warm inside. And there and then we agreed that if there was a tick-box in our employment contracts that said: “Do you want to make a contribution to help pay for the Royal family in the form of your tax return?” our answer would be unanimously, “Yes”.

I can’t think of another situation in our country that would bring out so many people with so much good feeling in the most awful of British weather. An election certainly wouldn’t. I’m proud to be British and I’m proud of the traditional dysfunctional family that represents us on a global stage. God save those royal blighters! Here Here.