The last thing I want is for this to be a political protest but love the faces & sheer good humour of the smallish band of protesters at last weeks funeral of Margaret Thatcher.
My friend & I have watched on TV great historic & celebratory events in London over the years & every time have said ''we should be there'' so now we have the time we have started doing just that.
Just over 2 hours on the train straight into Euston & we are in London..
Dot always does a 'goody'' bag...water, orange juice, crisps, choc biscuit, plasters for blisters, wet wipes & a small bottle of wine & a plastic wine glass
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Haversacks on our backs we walk everywhere although this time we were brave enough to catch two tubes on the underground...very adventurous for us country bumpkins!!!
The atmosphere in London last Wednesday was very respectful with both sides of the streets six deep. Not as many protesters as I thought there would be, more 'the end is nigh'' ones than derogatory banners. There was a small group at the end of the Strand but all very good humoured as is the British way...I think many had come to see the pageantry & history as we had & the slow march of those military personnel was perfection.
Only one snag, my friend does get fed up of me taking photos & marches in front while I have to run to catch up!
Love the faces of these guys.
Three good things:
1. The fairness & respectfulness of the British public no matter their opinions.
2. George next door has had his long awaited heart pacemaker.
3. Escape to the Country while doing the ironing.
That was brave of you to get involved with something that could have turned nasty. Sounds like you had a good time though. Thankfully we were out of the country.
That's my choice of ironing watching (or similar - you can always get something of that ilk!!) It's nice to see good-natured protest - freedom of speech without nastiness. I've got myself quite confused with school terms as they don't really apply to us this year so we are away the week of 15th July - but if I remember rightly Lydia's best chance of getting away may be just after her exams finish - though she may prefer to relax!!
PS I think Dot's got it sorted with her goody bag!
@judithg Have checked with Cathy & Lydia finishes on the 23rd July same as you....she is only just coming to the end of her first A Level year so a good bit of time yet! Will see how her exam programme works out Judith.
Imagine - on the train for two hours! Great time to catch up with your friend though! I like her goodie bag idea! I love the way England celebrates - its a free concert!
I love the story attached to your photo and what I really identify with is the situation where your friend marches off when you are taking photos - it's happened to me and I find it very disconcerting! Great capture!
I like your philosophy about "we should be there" and DOING it!! I think I could face a lot of things with a friend with a goody bag like that. I also like how the street crossings in London are painted with "LOOK" by the curb/kerb. Very useful for us foreigners who look the wrong way!
@bpaquette@jgpittenger@sailingmusic@digitalrn@swilde
Thank you all so much for looking & commenting girls...we did have a great day & seeing the sights of London is always a thrill. I would love to go on my own one day & spend time doing some galleries & more obscure places!
@anazad511@wordpixman@maggiemae@jesperani@quietpurplehaze@khirsch@phil_howcroft
We never actually drank the wine, instead had a G&T & a panini in some little bistro place near The Royal Courts of Justice .
Two hours on the train is just long enough & the time soon goes, we do plenty of chatting!! Thank you all for your comments, much appreciated!!
What a great "outing" Pat - I saw it on tv. The publicity down here has shown some very disrespectful behaviour towards Margaret Thatcher - but I guess "bad news" sells. Glad to hear that it wasn't as bad as we feared. Love her or hate her, she deserved a respectful farewell. Glad that she got it. Glad too that you and Dot decided to make the journey to see this piece of history. Dot's goodie bag, sounds practical and delicious.
@jewelsandbinoculars Quite agree with you & no matter if you miss stuff, we didn't hardly see anything & it wasn't our main aim but just being in London that day was a perk!!
It looks like a completely good mannered protest. :) Glad you were had the chance to be a part of it all, Pat. It seems you made the very most of your day in London!
PS I think Dot's got it sorted with her goody bag!
Thank you all so much for looking & commenting girls...we did have a great day & seeing the sights of London is always a thrill. I would love to go on my own one day & spend time doing some galleries & more obscure places!
We never actually drank the wine, instead had a G&T & a panini in some little bistro place near The Royal Courts of Justice .
Two hours on the train is just long enough & the time soon goes, we do plenty of chatting!! Thank you all for your comments, much appreciated!!
I love the goody bag btw: plasters and wine?! You're ready for anything!