Google Does A Tasteful Search Page
This was the heading on Google’s Search Page today.
If you moved the mouse over it, it just said “Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022”
Nothing more was needed.
Battersea Power Station To London Bridge – 18th September 2022
I took a Thames Clipper from Battersea Power Station to London Bridge.
Note.
- The South Bank is generally to the left in the pictures.
- I took a Northern Line train to Battersea Power Station pier.
- As I finished at London Bridge pier, it was convenient for the Northern Line.
- I took these pictures from the back of the boat in the open as the windows were so dirty.
- In some pictures you can see the power of the boat, as it pulls away from the stops.
- The boat passed three of the super sewer sites.
- There were large numbers on the South Bank queuing to pay their respect to The Queen.
The fare was £7.70 on my Oyster card and the journey took under forty minutes.
London Bridge Station – 16th September 2022
I went to London Bridge station, to see how the queue was going.
At the time, it was reaching all the way to Southwark Park and it was taking about 15 hours to go through.
When I went through overnight on Wednesday night it took me about eight hours.
Bermondsey To London Bridge – 17th September 2022
I took these pictures as I travelled from Bermondsey To London Bridge on the lower deck of a 381 bus.
Note.
- It was busy in Bermondsey station.
- Dome of the bus information was poor.
- The queue for the lying-in state was going slowly.
It looks like the lying-in state may be called off. I’m not surprised.
Marble Arch To Lambeth Palace – 16th September 2022
I took these pictures as I travelled from Marble Arch to Lambeth Palace on the top deck of a 148 bus.
Note.
- This sequence starts at the London Hilton Park Lane Hotel, just to the North of Marble Arch.
- Constitution Hill was busy with visitors to Buckingham Palace
- The route goes past the long wall, that encircles the palace.
- The route meanders its way through Victoria to approach the river along Horseferry Road.
- The sequence ends after the bus has crossed Lambeth Bridge by Lambeth Palace.
To take these pictures, I had boarded the 148 bus at Lancaster Gate station and I got off at Lambeth North station.
Paying My Respect To The Queen
Last night, I paid my respect to Queen Elizabeth.
At around 23:15, I took a 141 bus from near my house and walked to the end of the queue near Southwark Cathedral.
It was a two-and-a-half mile walk, but I managed it reasonably well.
But I did have problems, as it was a bit dark.
- I did have a problem with my boot laces, which I had difficulty tying up again.
- I did trip a couple of times, but didn’t really hurt myself.
- It didn’t help, that some of the pavements on the South Bank aren’t the best.
When I arrived into Victoria Gardens, prior to entry into Westminster Hall, the queue was meandered about twenty times for control purposes.
- It was on a heavily-textured rubber matting and some of the turns played havoc with my feet.
- I now have a large blister on the bottom of my right foot.
- After I left the lying-in state, I was asked by a Red Cross lady about my visit and she said others had suffered how I did.
I would suggest that if you go to the lying-in state, you choose your footwear with care.
I’ve been to Westminster Hall before and I wrote about it, in To a Reception at the House of Lords, which includes this picture.
The hall did the Queen proud today.
If you get a chance to attend, do it! But be careful about your footwear!
Also note, that from the time I joined the queue until the time I left Westminster Hall was over eight hours.
The Queen Was Well-Briefed
Lord Lloyd-Webber has just said this on the BBC. But he has not been the first, in the last few days.
Some years ago, I had lunch with a Hewlett-Packard engineer, who had done some work in Buckingham Palace.
It was probably in the mid-1980s, as the lunch was just after the Queen and Prince Philip had visited San Francisco in 1983, which is reported in this article on NBC.
He told a fascinating tale about how the Queen was well-briefed.
In those days, there was a detailed card index of everybody she had ever met.
So say, she was going to meet the Mayor of Norwich, her staff might brief her with the knowledge that they had met in 1975, when his father had been the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.
The purpose, was so that the Queen could start a conversation, with an appropriate topic.
Will The Queen Enable One Last Important Result?
Would it be too much to hope, that the world leaders coming to the Queen’s funeral, might find that swapping their uplifting memories creates goodwill that helps to solve at least one of the pressing problems of the world?
Old Street Station – 9th September 2022
I took these pictures this morning, as my bus passed Old Street roundabout.
The Queen was also being shown on this bus-stop in Moorgate.
How many pictures like these are being displayed?
The Anonymous Widower 