At last the day dawned! Big question – was it going to rain? Armed with umbrellas, just in case, we set off
for the train, Martin resplendent in new morning suit and waistcoat, Eileen
with a new hat almost as wide as her shoulders.
The hat had a seat of its own on the train.
A group of us assembled at the RAF Club, kindly hosted by
Master Apothecary Aroop.
After a
splendid range of canapes and most attentive serving staff, Aroop led us on a
brief tour of this prestigious building, very popular even at a mid-week
lunchtime.
By the time we came to leave, the rain had just
begun. It wasn’t far to join the queue
for the Hyde Park Entrance to Buckingham Palace. Eileen soon found her small umbrella offered
little protection for The Hat, so swapped with Martin’s larger one.
Identity check, then we were in. What beautiful gardens: an appealing mixture
of formal and wild. Fragrant roses. Upright foxgloves (are they a weed or
entitled to be present in a more formal garden?). An enormous decorative urn. A little summerhouse. Neatly mown lawns. A cheerful tune from a distant military
band. What a haven from the urban bustle
outside.
We joined others in heading for the tea tent and found a
long queue. We helped ourselves to a delicious
offering of sandwiches and little cakes.
Plenty of chairs and tables, but sadly nowhere under cover. The volume in the teacups increased by the
minute. We soon lost sight of other
Livery friends but there were plenty of people, dressed very smartly in summery
dresses, suits, uniform, clerical garb (with several bishops) and national
costume.
After tea, a crowd formed in hopeful waiting to spot a
member of the Royal Family. It was quite
a long wait, with views initially only of umbrellas. The art is not to have the biggest umbrella
but the lowest! This ensures that the
water runs elsewhere else but not on you.
With only a view of a myriad of coloured umbrellas we
decided to move and found ourselves in conversation with Master Wheelwright
Neil and his Consort Barbara, discovering our sons had played rugby together at
the same school!
By now, the rain had really set in and the crowd began to
thin. Members of the Royal security
guard, cunningly disguised in top hat and morning suit with a carnation corsage,
were quite charming as they struck up conversation with members of the crowd. –
a ploy to discover who should be singled out to be introduced to a member of
the Royal Family. The band struck up the
National Anthem. Beefeaters began to materialise.
At last, some movement!
Was that Peter Phillips? Ah! - the
Duke of Gloucester, sheltering under an enormous umbrella. Then the Duchess of Gloucester, sensibly clad
in a warm coat. And then they were gone,
ushered down the line by a rear-guard of more Beefeaters.
Others from the Livery in a different area were close to
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and even the Prince of Wales.
We returned to the tea tent for further sustenance, to
avoid the great departure. The egg
sandwiches were still in great abundance but the beautifully decorated cakes
had gone. With steady rain outside, the
inside of the tea tent was reminding us of some less reputable pubs where the
carpet squelches as you walk across. We struck
up conversations including with the Bishop of Rochester and his wife. As well as knowing our wider family in
Rochester he knew our son in Huddersfield, where he was previously the
Bishop. You never know where you end up
making connections.
Eventually we found a few other die-hard Livery friends,
and joined another queue to leave. This
took a little while as the exit was quite waterlogged.
Eventually an Uber took us to the Victory Services Club
where Master Painter-Stainer Ivor helped us dry out and warm up.
Well, what a day!
An honour to be invited, a pleasure to be there, and the rain didn’t
dampen our spirits.
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