The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Published on June 13, 2012 at 12:02 am by Kelly O'Brien

The Queen on her Jubilee celebrations

“What are we doing here?”, Com gasped as we stood on the banks of the Thames amongst over a million screaming Britons (including our friends Ciaran and Andrew) as their monarch her Majesty Elizabeth the Second waved from the royal barge. We were out of place, out of touch and certainly overdressed as we had made the rookie tourist mistake of donning the local garb, which consisted of a plastic union jack bowler hat, a jubilee scarf and flags with the Queen’s visage emblazoned upon them. We had awoken early in the hopes of nabbing a front row seat in order for Ciaran to view his beloved Queen. Far from being scorned for our over-enthusiasm to blend in with British custom; we were in fact applauded, many people commenting on the maturity we demonstrated by letting by-gones be by-gones.

 

The Flotilla on the Thames was the first facet of the Jubilee celebrations in of which we had actively participated. The previous days were filled with general tourist activities such as the London Zoo, which was, as far as zoos go, absolutely amazing.  The animals contained within seemed to be far less depressive than animals I have encountered in other zoos and the staff was friendly and professional. I would, however, criticize the prohibitively expensive admission. The following day was spent traipsing around the science museum which was awe inspiring. The price is just right considering it is free although if you want to view a show or ride a simulator prices can be considered a bit exorbitant. That being said, I would thoroughly recommend the flight simulator though it is not for those with a weak stomach or an aversion to fairground style hurdy-gurdiness.

We would have been very foolish to miss the Jubilee concert, and not being one of the lucky few thousands who won a ticket to enjoy it from the parade, we watched it on the big screen in Hyde Park. Now I hear many readers baulk at the idea of just watching the concert on a big-screen, but think of the amount of time you have looked at the big-screen at a paid concert. Now think about the fact that this was a free concert filled with some of the biggest names in Pop music over the past 60 years and you will perhaps change your tune. The atmosphere within Hyde Park was electric and I found myself unknowingly joining in with chants of the Nation’s national anthem.

I know it is redundant to recommend the Diamond Jubilee to readers seeing as it an event that only occurs once. Perhaps in ten years if the Platinum Jubilee can contain some of the magic I felt during the weekend I will once again be drawn to London.

 

Hugh O’Donoghue

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