Pussy Cat Pussy Cat where have you been?

I've been up to London to look at the Queen.

Tuesday 15th July

Tuesday morning dawned sunny and warm with some patchy clouds. So after a gut busting full English hotel breakfast we decided to walk along the Edgeware Road to Marble Arch, we then headed along Oxford Street to Totenham Court Road and back to the hotel by the underground train.

The shops in Oxford Street are nothing special now days, the same as any city high street really. The buildings are a mixture of elegant Regency, fussy Victorian, Edwardian tasteful Art Deco and awful 60's square concrete block buildings. It's also very noisy, busy and smelly with traffic fumes.

A Bit of a Do

Back at the hotel we tarted ourselves up in our best posh clothes, asked the concierge to hail a cab and headed to to Buckingham Palace to join the crowds of other similarly suited and booted couples waiting to gain entrance to the fabled invitation only Garden Parties hosted by the Queen.
When we were first married my Mother in Law use to attempt to make me drink tea from a china cup with my little pinky stuck out. A habit just for the nobs and snobs was my reaction! A mug of tea was good enough for me! 'You'll never be asked to tea with the Queen' she use to say. Well, I wonder what she would have thought to this invitation!!!

In the Hotel reception, we're suitably dressed, Dave with a new suit. I went for a fascinator instead of a hat!

Several thousand couples line up to wait for the police to inspect your credentials before you are admitted into the Palace. Men must be suitably suited, uniformed or wear national costume. The Ladies usually have summer dress with a hat. On the whole the men were impeccable, but, the ladies fashion what can I say, went from understated elegance to downright bizarre.No cameras were allowed and phones had to be switched off. I left my camera in the hotel but whoops............. my phone has a good camera!! so along with a good many other people a few sneaky pictures were taken. The Tower of London has been decommissioned as a prison these days thank goodness.

Getting a glimpse of the Royal party though is a work of art. You need to be extremely fast and pushy to get anyway near, unless your forewarned that you will be spoken to. The Royal party this time consisted of the Queen and Prince Philip, Princess Ann, Prince Edward, and Prince and Prince Michael of Kent.

Two bands at opposite ends of the gardens play alternately and the Tower Beefeater's line the path the Royal party will take. Beefeater's are traditionally the Monarchs bodyguards although today they are just for ceremony

A green striped tea marque lines one side of the gardens and serves thousands of dainty sandwiches, bridge rolls and the most delicious cakes, Tea or juices are served and another army of waiters clear away any used china plated and cups. On the other side of the garden is the Royal tea marque and the Diplomatic Tea Marque. Hundreds of garden tables and chairs are available to sit and eat.

The weather was just glorious. Clear blue skies, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. We had a lovely tea, wandered around the lake, sat and talked and laughed with other couples drank glasses of lovely lemon barley and ate ice cream.

It was almost eight o'clock before we got back to the hotel as we sat in the sunshine on the edge of the fountain outside Buckingham Palace 'people watching' while the guest without cars waited in a queue outside the Palace gates, for the taxis to arrive.