Alas and alack, I missed the Queen's Jubilee but I did catch some of the pomp and circumstance along with the activities and show on TV. Perhaps in retrospect, I should have made a concerted effort given that my invitation to the recent royal nuptials went astray and/or was lost in the mail. It had to be one of those two reasons. Still haven't decided what to do with my tasteful white gloves and hat purchased for the occasion. But I digress.
Came accross some interesting statistics accumulated by The Guardian Datablog ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog+uk/queen-diamond-jubilee) focusing on the overall participation of the people:
- 1,2 million people lined the roya pageant route along the river Thames to watch the flotilla float by. This would have been the perfect opportunity for me to do the royal hand wave that I had practiced for the royal nuptials
- 9,500 street parties were estimated to have taken place throughout England. No invitation extended to moi, once again
- 700 boats made up the flotilla
- 4,200 beacons were lit accross the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Commonwealth and overseas
- 10,000 ballot winners were treated to a picnic in Buckingham Palace's garden. This leads one - me- to wonder if the Debrett's rules of conduct extends to picnic situations. In any case, the menu was certainly celebratory according to reports, consisting of wicker baskets containing tea-smoked Scottish salmon (I simply adore smoked salmon), a modern take on coronation chicken and Sandringham strawberry crumble crunch, two cupcakes and a small cheeseboard with biscuits and chutney, among other items.
It would have been nice to have attended the closing concert given all the s*t*a*r*s present including my favorites, Paul McCartney, and a host of other well-known singers. Sir Paul and I go back to the early Beatle years if only in spirit. My presence was there in spirit and the fireworks display at the end was impressive. There's always next time and at least I'm prepared for future royal occasions. Hint-hint.
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