Bodhi Bum

So what is a typical sunny, spring Saturday spent like in London? Well, of course since it was the Queen's 80th b-day I had to stop by with a few of her closest friends at Buckingham Palace and give my congratulations. It was a very intimate affair, with only family and close friends. Then off to Leicester Square to see catch a few Broadway shows. And finish off the day with a quick sidetrip over to Sri Lanka for an hour.

Ok, so it didn't happen exactly quite like that. But close.

It was the Queen Mum's 80th and I did stop by the palace to give my congrats. Along with about half a million other people from pretty much everywhere in the world. It was the annual Trooping of the Guards, which has been done on the Queen's b-day for centuries I take it. It used to be done so that all the different battalions would be able to identify their unit by their colour and uniform, so in the heat of battle they would stay in formation and not get disorganized. It was also a great show, and an impressive way to show the power of the British empire. The Queen used to ride around horseback and inspect the troops, but nowadays she's a little old for riding around on horses. So she takes the carriage around instead.

It was a really cool thing to see, and I was totally blown away how close we all were to her. Literally she was riding in her carriage down the Mall (the long street that leads to the Palace) with people a stone's throw away on either side of the street. She was just sitting there in her purple dress, with the Duke of Edinborough at her side, waving away to everyone. God forbid any crazy person decides to take a potshot at her to make some political statement. You didn't even need a gun, maybe just a fairly long stick or something. That's one brave old lady, and it made for a really impressive show, being that up close.

Later at the castle I forced my way to the front of the crowd, and had a great spot for when pretty much the whole royal family (extended family) came out on the balcony to watch the cannons go off, and the rifle battalions do their salutes, and the amazing jet formations that flew over. I could see the Queen, the Duke of Edinborough beside her, Prince Harry, Prince Charles, and a whole lot of other adults and little kids I didn't recognize. The jets coming over were amazing, and there were some huge ones.

When the Queen went back inside and it was all over, I took a walk over to Leicester Square to catch the free Broadway shows they were putting on in the park. Not every day you can catch Mama Mia, Lion King, the Producers, Stomp and Blue Man Group for free. Only parts of the shows of course, but usually the best parts.

Then to finish the day off I stopped by Trafalgar Square to see what was up, as there's some kind of party going on there every weekend. Turns out this time was Sri Lanka day in London. So I hung around for the shows, and ended up with a couple free t-shirts in the deal. But it was already dinner time and I caught the Tube home.

Typical London Saturday.

Bodhi