Lovelee Jubblee Jubilee

Ay up cockers, how you going?...

Jubilee warm-up

Saturday bevvy

So, the Jubilee was a bit good wasn’t it?! Jen came down to London (after a last minute ‘mare with train tickets) and we fully embraced all things Queeny.

After my quick stop at the hairdressers to get my summer ‘do’ sorted, I met Jen in Stratford where we enjoyed a Corona (and quite a range of other beers) in sun-drenched(ish) deck chairs during the busy Saturday afternoon shopping rush. We spent the evening looking totally awesome in matching vest-tops, watching crap TV and planning the rest of the weekend.

Gloriana

Sunday was flotilla day. And what a flotilla day it was. Jen and I met Jen’s mum and friends at Embankment and wandered along the North Bank until we found a decent spot at Temple Pier. We saw the royal rowbarge Gloriana which was crewed by 18 oarsmen including Sir Steve Redgrave. We also saw hundreds of other rowboats with all the flags of the Commonwealth. And finally we saw Queeny and the whole royal family just as it began to drizzle a bit. The rain really came down on the way home but that was fine, because we were in the house for a few hours then heading back into town for a night out in Soho.

Greenwich
wandering

Or at least that was the plan...

Turns out we had ‘toasted the Queen’ a few too many times during the day and our 6.30pm pre-night out power-nap turned into a 5 hour sleep! I still don’t fully understand how neither of us was woken by our (several) alarms. Oh well, it was probably for the best, 100% Babe definitely wouldn’t have been able to cope with the shapes we were going to throw down. So we ordered pizza and watched Bridesmaids instead – so very Rock and Roll of us.

On Monday we woke up hangover-less… how novel! We journeyed down to Greenwich to have a gander at yet another boat – this time, the rather spectacularly renovated Cutty Sark. We also walked up through the park to the Royal Observatory where we got a stunning view over the equestrian stadium currently under construction in preparation for the Olympic Games. In the afternoon we dashed back to the house to collect Jen’s rather sizeable suitcase and made our way to our final destination – St. James’ Park. We rendezvoused with Jen’s mum again who was due to drive Jen home after the concert. But that didn’t happen. Nowhere near that.

The Mall - Casual

No, instead, during Paul-MASSIVELY-OVERRATED-McCartney’s closing set I dashed home, collected a tent and sleeping bag and got back to St. James’ Park just as the last of the spectators were leaving. We crossed the Mall, set up the tent outside Clarence House and got a few hours kip. Beer Jackets played a huge part in our survival – it was bloody freezing on Tuesday morning and with no phones (dead batteries) and no watches we had very little idea that we had got up before 5am – it was so light! Once a few people arrived on the first tubes of the day and we established our position right at the front and against the barrier Jen headed off in search of supplies. And didn’t she do well! A hot breakfast roll, a sandwich for lunch and snacks and chocolate to keep us going through the day. We saw all of the royal family leave for St. Pauls in the morning then LOADS of soldiers and military bands entertaining us until the royal procession back down the Mall in the afternoon. As the crowds flooded down the Mall ready for the balcony wave, we made our escape and walked up the Mall and through Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square tube station to make the short journey to Euston. That was when we really saw how lucky(?) we’d been to get the spot we did!! Thousands and thousands of people had spent the day in Traf Square watching everything on a big screen!

HazzerLAD
My fave!

All in all an outstanding weekend. It felt like people were more excited about the Jubilee than they are about the Games – but I think part of that was due to the Queeny giving us all a 4-day weekend.

Cheers love.

Now, bring on the Euros!

Until next time,

Bren.

Ps, Like fantasy football? Try this Euros fantasy game. Entered a sweepstake?...I’ve paid £10 and had balls all luck – Sweden and Ukraine.

Pps, Rebel Bingo returns to London on Saturday. Bingo pens at the ready people!!

Ppps, More photos from the weekend: