I didn't realise the military dictated how you passed out! I was going to say, the best thing is to lie down and raise your feet above your head. Effective but not elegant
Just been in and paid my respects to our departed Monarch. Have to say I shed a tear as I bowed my head and thanked her for her long service to our country and the World. Its hard to put into words how you feel as you enter that magnificent building (was the 1st time I'd been in there), very sombre but also uplifting. I had been chatting to several people along the route over the hours and every single one had said to me that they felt they owed her a debt of gratitude and wanted to say so to her in their own way. I'm really glad I did it and would say to anyone else pondering over whether to or not, that you definitely should if you can. You'll feel almost as if a small weight has been lifted from you and a feeling of warmth will come over you. Just to add I didn't take 1 single picture on my phone the entire time, not even a quick selfie outside the Hall. It wasn't why I was there !
Well done for doing it, HB. That's a great effort, and I really admire you and all your fellow queuing citizens for seeing it through. Now go and get some kip!
I'm amazed at the pomp and circumstance. Since The Queen's death was announced, not one foot was put wrong. From Balmoral to London, everything since this announcement has been made has been done with military precision. Is there another country* ( Kingdom, UK ) that has this? I think it's unique and something to be proud of. I love the history of it all. The transfer of Her Majesty from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall I found deeply poignant. The music of the marching band and the gun salute touching and relevant . We are witnessing history.
france’s ‘most British airport’ to be named after the Queen Charles Bremner , Paris Thursday September 15 2022, 7.00pm BST, The Times Global politics please log in to view this image Le Touquet airport was built in the 1930s to serve British visitors ALAMY Share The Channel resort of Le Touquet, the favourite French playground of British kings and upper crust celebrities in the early 20th century, is to name its historic airport after the Queen. The local council has decided to honour what it called the “most British of French airports” in memory of the town’s deep connections with Britain and a visit by the young Princess Elizabeth to her uncle, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, there in the 1930s. “To pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and in memory of her visit to Le Touquet with her uncle Edward VIII, during which she practised both horse riding and sand yachting, the town of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage wishes to name its airport after her. For 70 years she served her country with commitment, respect and constancy at the same time as she was always attentive to good relations between our two nations, she who spoke French and appreciated our country,” the local authority said. please log in to view this image The seaside airport, which was opened in the 1930s to accommodate the flow of British visitors, was for a time in the 1950s the third busiest in France after Paris and Nice. Tens of thousands of Britons passed through it from 1956 to 1980, when it was the French air terminus of the Silver Arrow service that linked London and Paris by rail and air in four hours. Lydd and Manston, in Kent, and Gatwick were in turn the British landing fields where passengers would be brought by train from the capital. ADVERTISEMENT The “Touquet-Paris-Plage” airport no longer runs scheduled services but it remains the top continental destination for British private pilots, who flock across the Channel at weekends to lunch in the town that was developed by British entrepreneurs as a golfing, gambling and seaside resort in the Edwardian era. In the late 19th century Edward VII was a regular at the baccarat table in the casino when he was Prince of Wales. In the 1920s Noël Coward and the “smart set” spent weekends there. PG Wodehouse lived there in the 1930s and Ian Fleming, another regular, later used the setting for some of James Bond’s exploits. President Macron’s main holiday home is a house in Le Touquet owned by his wife, Brigitte. He has just cancelled meetings with other leaders at the UN in New York to attend the Queen’s funeral after days of hesitation over which fixture should take priority. After holding his first telephone conversation with King Charles III last night, the French president tweeted today: “I will be in London to attend the funeral.” SPONSORED Macron had planned to fly to New York on Sunday to hold bilateral sessions with other leaders in Manhattan before giving a speech on Tuesday, the first day of the annual UN general assembly. He had planned to be back in Paris to chair a Wednesday morning cabinet meeting. As it became clear that world leaders were heading for London, Macron appeared to have made up his mind. The Élysée Palace did not confirm his new schedule but it is assumed that he will fly from London to New York after the funeral to deliver his speech. Macron “offered his sincere condolences to the King and expressed his full support,” the palace said. He also “wished the King the greatest success, and expressed his full availability to continue the work they have carried out together in recent years in the face of common challenges, starting with the protection of the climate and the planet”, it added. Macron is hoping for a fresh start with Britain after a period of execrable relations with Boris Johnson. The president has sent conciliatory messages to Liz Truss and has paid glowing tributes to the Queen and to the British people since her death. In his tweet today, he said: “The bond between France and the United Kingdom is unbreakable. We will continue to build it, following the path traced by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
The queue has been closed but just a few miles away you can be first in line for the burger stall on South Africa Road.
Nice one mate. I was seriously considering going, but there's just too much going on here at home. Glad it was everything you hoped it would be.
I knew we liked a queue - I had no idea that we could report monotonously about people in a queue on all news outlets at the same time (and for so long). Great to hear we now have a queue set up to join the queue. HB - good to hear that you found the experience to be so good for the soul. It’s great to see so many people showing their respects to HM in such a respectful way - and you definitely seem to have been amongst those HB.
I think it was about 13 hours in all, I was a bit hazy when I got there and spent about 45 mins in the wrong place before I actually joined the official queue. I was still a bit jubilant from the Millwall game and had had a few drinks. There were quite alot of people that were in the wrong place and I joined them, stupidly. Once I got on the official queue it wasn't too bad, but it slowed down alot after about half way and I began to tire more. To tell the truth time sort of stood still and I didn't know what time it was when I eventually got into the Hall. Still feel shattered now and haven't had nearly enough sleep but yes it was definitely worth it and glad I did it. To see the queue now is unbelievable and over 5 miles long so don't think I'd go up and do it now. Good luck to anyone else going up there and hope you get in to pay your respects !
Just seen on the news now that Beckham joined the queue at 1.45am this morning and was chatting with other people in it and taking pics with them and the police there. Could've jumped the queue like some of the scummy MP's have done but didn't think it was right. He's just entered the Hall now, fair play to him !
When our game got cancelled last week, I decided to travel over and got the tube from Heathrow to Green Park on Saturday morning and went to the Palace out of curiosity to experience the atmosphere. It was amazing to see the world's media assembled there but the crowds were huge. I actually felt unsafe as there was zero crowd control directly in front of the Palace. I am not great in crowds so I left after a while as it felt unsafe. Hopefully, the huge crowds will be managed better on the day of the funeral. I went on a nostalgic walk around the West End. I went to see the old pub I worked in 36 years ago. As I sat in a pub to have a couple of pints, I got a text to say that Aer Lingus were having system problems and all their flights in and out of Dublin were cancelled. Couldn't find any information online about what was happening so made the dash out to Heathrow to find out. I ended up booking a one way flight home out of Stansted which cost me almost £300. Had to dash back across London to Liverpool Street to get the train to Stansted. I got home after midnight exhausted. What a rollercoaster of a day. Hoping for better luck tomorrow. At least the game is on lol.
