A boat for every month of Her Reign, and more

Move along, move along, no plants to be seen here I'm afraid. Last time a British Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, 15 hectares of land was transferred from the Lord Stewart's Department to Kew Gardens. The Queen was Victoria, the land a relatively wild area that was ceded on the condition that it remain in its natural state.

Today I don't expect Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew will make any property gains but on the nearby Thames there was plenty of action. To be fair it all happened far downstream, from Battersea Bridge to Tower Bridge.

This was where 1,000 boats paraded in front of many thousand (i.e. one million according to media reports) of the Queen's subjects. Your Queen (for those of you in the United Kingdom of Britain and Australia) stood, watched and waved for 90 minutes as they passed by.

Lynda and I took the 391 bus to Bagley Lane and fought our way to the back of an impenetrable layer of loyal subjects at Imperial Wharf. I held my camera aloft to take a few pictures of the boats assembling above Battersea Bridge before we walked downstream to watch Brits celebrating here, there and everywhere.

 

Kew did contribute ideas and plants to a display of Dominion plants on one of the Royal barges but no record of it in my chance encounters I'm afraid. After all that it was home to try and catch the action on Television (from where my close up of royalty was taken). We arrived in time to see the end of the fleet reach Tower Bridge in more of that English weather, and some fireworks from the top of the bridge - clearly a nod to Sydney Harbour on New Year's Eve.

Back in Battersea the parties continue I imagine.