So the royal wedding was awhile ago, but I'm going to tell you about it anyways! We were planning a get together where we would have snacks and watch the ceremony on TV. But I got to thinking, I could do the same thing back in the states. Since I'm in England, why not try to see the actual thing?? So I decided, kind of last minute, to camp out in front of Westminster the night before. Carolyn was kind enough to accompany me, so we set out with our comforters in hand to find a place to camp.
When we got to Westminster it was packed full of people. Tents and sleeping bags were crammed against police barriers and there was hardly space to move. We walked along the sidewalk near the camping area that was directly in front of the church doors. Right behind the barrier, in front of all the tents that were set up, was a small area just big enough for two people to fit. Perfect for us! We climbed over the barrier, set our stuff down, and that was when the shouting started. "Oy, you need to get out of here!" A voice behind us called. I turned around to see the speaker, a middle aged woman in a pink tweed skirt and blazer, a cheap looking hat on her head. I guess she was dressed up for the occasion, it was kind of sad really. She was poking her head out of a nearby tent, and she did not look friendly. Other shouts started coming from different directions,
"We don't want you here!"
"We've been waiting here four days!"
"You girls better get out!" People all around us began harassing us, even though we weren't anywhere near their campsites. I put my hands on my hips,
"Well why should we go? We're going to stay right here!" I was met with a roar of protest.
"Listen girls, you need to get out," a man with a beer can advised us. "We've been waiting here for days, and there is not space for you here." I was unconvinced.
"I'm not going anywhere," I replied. The woman in the ugly, pink tweed was leaning further out of her tent and continuing to shout insults, she looked as though she would attempt violence if she got any closer. Snappy responses did not seem to be helping my case, so I tried another tactic. I pouted my lips, and batted my eyes a little at the woman in pink. "Do we reeeally have to go?" I pleaded.
"Don't you play sweet with me! Get out of here!" She yelled. Darn, That usually works! A woman in a police hat came over and tried to convince to go. If the police were going to get involved, I figured I should surrender. I didn't realize until later that she wasn't actually a police officer. We defeatedly climbed back to the other side of the barrier and began looking for another spot. As we left, everyone cheered and clapped. I have never felt so hated in my entire life! This was human nature at its worst. These people were animals, reduced to their most crude and primitive forms. None of these people were young either, so they had no excuse for their behavior. It is shameful to see adults behaving so badly.
We found another spot with an ok view. We were next to a drunk old man and an older couple. Camera crews with bright lights and smiling hosts were interspersed throughout the crowd. The old man began a conversation with us. His speech was slurred and his eyes were red and watering, but he seemed harmless enough. The woman from the couple next to us was at least in her forties and completely smashed. Whenever a camera approached our area, she would pull these four, ratty teddy bears from a dirty, plastic bag and thrust them in front of the camera. "My doogles!" She'd shout. A group of people singing and dancing were being filmed. The woman jumped in front of them with her four "doogles". "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner!" She sang, waving the bears in front of the camera.
Carolyn wanted to go back to the house for a little bit to charge her camera. So I was left with the company of the old man. He was kind enough to offer me his blanket, since he wasn't staying the whole night. When he left, I tried to get some sleep. I woke up when Carolyn returned. We heard that the police were going to move the barriers, so we might have to find a new spot. We tried to sleep, but I ended up staying awake, in case the barriers were moved sooner than expected. Around 4 in the morning, people around us started stirring. We got up and moved to the street corner to see what was going on. The police had begun to move people around. The street corner was quite crowed, but we decided to stay and hopefully we wouldn't get moved. An officer stood nearby, trying to keep a foot path clear. "Officer! These girls just got here! They can't stay!" A woman was pointing at us.
"Here we go again," I thought to myself.
"Sorry ma'am, that's not my problem," The officer replied. Victory! But not for long. The police ended up moving us since we were actually on a traffic island, not a street corner. We found a new spot across the street, where we could only see a little, but at least we wouldn't be moved again. Finally settled, we fell asleep against the barrier.
I was awakened from some confused dream by a hand on my knee. I groggily opened my eyes to see a giant, black camera in my face. "Good morning sunshine!" A newscaster chirped sweetly.
"Oh dear. This is awkward," I thought. After spending the night outdoors and getting only a half hour of sleep or so, this was not my best moment to be on camera.
"Did you dream about Prince William?" The newscaster asked in a sugary voice. No, I had not. I dreamed something, but it definitely was not about Prince William. As much of a romantic as I am, I could not bring myself to tell her yes, which is was what she obviously wanted to hear.
"Uhh..." I said, stalling.
"I did," Carolyn jumped in, saving me. "I dreamed that he married me instead!" The newscaster was delighted to get the response she was looking for and I was delighted to be off the hook. When they finished filming, she introduced herself.
"Hello, I'm Sylvia. Sorry I couldn't explain before, we were filming for live Swiss National News." So lucky Switzerland was graced with my tired visage on their televisions. Wonderful.
After hours of waiting, things finally started to happen. Fancy cars with tinted windows began pulling up to the church. Guests in their in their suits, dresses, and hats began to make their way inside. "I wonder if Elton John is here yet," Carolyn sighed. People began to buzz that Prince William was going to arrive soon. A silver minivan drove by us, and there was Prince William in the back seat! It was so cool! As he arrived people cheered and the church bells began to ring. They didn't stop until Kate arrived. We couldn't see her, unfortunately, but we knew when she arrived by the cheer the crowd let out. Once she was in the church people hushed and we listened to the ceremony over the loud speakers.
When it was over, we made our way back home. It was amazing to be part of such an important event and at least informative, if not pleasant, to see the way group thinking can turn people into monsters. Now I will stop writing, because this is long, and I want to go eat dinner. See ya!
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