Day 6 June the Platinum Pageant

 

Bought the flag for £5.00

The Platinum Pageant was the final event of the four-day Platinum Jubilee.  It was a pageant-cum-parade that celebrated the 70 years of the Queen's reign, with military bands, James Bond Cars humor, British culture and history, and a lot of whimsy.

Again, Green Park was closed so it meant walking down to St. James's Street to the Mall. I had to use the ladies so I decided to try the Ritz.  With my woeful and desperate look, I was shown to the ladies.  Just before heading down the stairs, one woman dressed for tea at the Ritz says:  are you Marlene Koenig?   Okay, I am in desperate need of the ladies, but here I am at the Ritz and someone knows me?

Turns out it was one of my Twitter followers.     I was chuffed.

The crowds are growing on the Mall.  I am a little worried about getting a front-row spot.  I spot 4 young men, all very tall, so I went over to them and asked, did they have room for a short American woman.  They did.  Worked out very well.  Other people joined us and we all took turns for bathroom breaks and getting a Pimm's Cup.

When the pageant was over, we moved into the Mall and edged toward the Palace.  I got inside the courtyard, but the stage obscured the balcony.

The Golden Coach

The war of the Roses

As the crowds thinned out, I made my way back to the Green Park tube station and got on the Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale as I was meeting a friend, Lauren at the Ferry Boat Inn on Ferry Lane, on the Walthamstow Wetlands, north of where I was staying.   Lauren and I have not seen each in more than 20 years so it was great to connect and have a lovely meal together.   We both had the Sunday Roast. I had a lovely local Ale.  As it got cooler we went inside for dessert and hot chocolate.  It was raining when we left and walked back to the Tottenham Hale tube stop.    Lauren had a bit of a journey back to Hertfordshire where she lives and I had one stop to Blackhorse Lane.  

Thank you, Lauren, for a great evening ... and for dinner and dessert.  The pub was hosting a Royal Trivia Quiz that night and we considered joining it ... but thought better of it because we would likely win ...

I think it was rather appropriate that we were served Strathmore water

Yum -- mini Bailey's Profiteroles

A heron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL-JghjfomA&ab_channel=PoliticalTV