Rollin' on the River

We’ve got this strange Karma thing going on with the Queen of England regarding our walks in Europe. Last year, while we were walking the Kerry Way in Ireland, the Queen paid a historic visit to the country, the first visit to Ireland by a sitting British monarch in over a century. This year, Marty and I turned out to be in London as the city celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a blowout on the Thames.

Here’s the recipe for this pageant. Take all the pomp and circumstance of a Royal Wedding, including all the same royal players. Add cannons, steam locomotives (!), 1000 oar powered boats ( kayaks, the royal row barge, a Fijiian war canoe, racing sculls, rowboats, and more), orchestras, choirs, bagpipes, 100 foot tall photos of the royal family, and theatrical productions. Form all of it into a 7.5 mile long parade. Move everything onto the water (umm, the River Thames should work!). Put the royal family on the royal barge. Line both sides of the Thames for 7.5 miles with 1.25 million adoring fans of  the Queen (almost any Briton will do). Give those in the crowd who have no chance of seeing the river 30 foot tall video screens on which to watch the action. Mix all of this with a little rain. Then call it a Ju-bi-lee!!! (Oh, and… don’t forget the security).

Marty and I waded through this crowd for around three miles, much of it upstream, facing thousands of adoring Britons staring over our heads at the 50 foot tall video screens. Marty and I concluded that it’s hard for Americans to understand the feelings  the British have toward their Queen. It’s a combination of respect for her personally, patriotism, security, and history. Kind of like maybe we would feel on Independence Day if Uncle Sam were real and really our Uncle. Multiplied by a bunch. Needless to say, it seemed a happy, happy, time. Even when the rain got heavy at the end of the day and the fireworks and RAF flyover had to be cancelled. But by then, there were two Americans already safely ensconced in a corner table at the Punch Tavern, with a couple of warm beers at hand, watching the rest of the festivities on TV.