We went with Sue,Peter and Maggie to Battersea Park on Sunday to see the Jubilee Pageant . No chance to get anywhere near the river which was 12 deep with people armed with periscopes but we placed our picnic chairs very close to one of the big screens. Unfortunately the sound wasn't working but the crowd made up for it with cheers , flag waving and a moving impromptu singing of the National Anthem. A fantastic atmosphere.
Once the main boats had passed and the rain started in earnest, the crowds thinned out a bit and we were able to wriggle to the front to see the last sections of the flotilla passing under Albert Bridge.
One of the music boats (above) and the beginning of the barges, where I tried to spot the boat of one of my work colleagues.
Train travel was rather challenging! We'd chosen to go by train as its only (normally!) a 20 minutes ride from Brentford to Clapham Junction. They hadn't laid on any more trains so there was only one an hour! We were lucky enough to be able to squeeze on (I've never seen so many people at Brentford Station) but at all the subsequent stops there were many disappointed people and an increasingly harassed train driver.
On the way back we just managed to get to the station for the 17.00 train but there was no way we could get on. For an hour we tried and failed to squeeze on every train heading to Richmond ( a more frequent service) - Maggie managed to get onto one but had to be extracted when Ian and I failed. In the end we gave up, went for a nice roast at a local restaurant ( Knights of St John) and warmed up and fortified after a glass of wine, came back at 20.00 and caught a practically empty train. Good plan!
After such a big adventure we've been pottering around at home, taking it easy , with a tranquil visit to Kew on Monday
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