Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Decorations for the street party on our road

Queen Elizabeth II has been queen of England for 60 years. That's something worth celebrating and the English are doing it up "proper". Everyone is very pleased to be getting Monday and Tuesday off for the Diamond Jubilee. Our street had a traditional English "Street Party" on Sunday to celebrate. I wanted to go but I also wanted to be in London for the River Pageant "flotilla". One thousand boats of all kinds sailed down 7 miles of the Thames River and we were there! It was history, a once in a lifetime event.

We found a spot alongside the river where we were only 3 people deep away from the front. We were also positioned near a big screen where we could watch the action live until the parade of boats floated right in front of us. We joked that we could have been home in the comfort of our homes watching it on TV but being right there in the crowd made it more special. The spectators were friendly and happy and actually chatting to each other, quite unusual in London!

Watching on the big screen while we wait

We waited about 2 hours in our position and it started getting more and more crowded. By the time the boats were passing by I was wedged in tight in the crowd. If I stood on tiptoes and looked between people I could catch glimpses. My friend's camera battery died just as the Queen's boat came along. I passed her my camera and she held it up high over people's heads and snapped away. So thanks to Pam I have some shots of the Queen on my camera.

Here is the beautiful golden front of the royal barge coming into view. For some reason everyone wanted to wave at the Queen as she passed by, hence the hand in the picture:

Here is the royal barge. The white spec in the center under the golden canopy is the Queen:

Another cool boat

Some royalty was spotted in the crowds, oh wait that's just our group having fun with masks:

Queen Elizabeth, Charles, Harry, William, Kate, Prince Phillip

Luckily, the rain held off until we were heading back. Here is Big Ben as we crossed Westminster Bridge:

What a day it was. We had ventured out in the morning, not sure what to expect, setting our expectations low. We braved the crowds, got soggy in the rain, but it was a fun day and we are able to say "We were there!".

Back on our street