There were a lot less police present than I had thought as they had drafted in lots of stewards for crowd control. This meant it felt a lot less threatening. In fact the police seemed to be in a good mood and the ones we encountered were helpful and smiley. Towards the end of the service we decided it would be good to see if we could get down to Buckingham Palace end of the Mall, so we could see people arriving and be present for the flypast. Unfortunately we weren’t the only ones who thought of this! We walked up towards Green Park but discovered everywhere was closed off. Green Park itself was full and the stewards were telling everyone to go to the screens in Hyde Park, so in the end we decided to do that too. By the time we got to the Park, everyone had arrived at the Palace, so we found somewhere to sit where we could see the screens and had lunch. They had a tribute band on, singing pop songs, to try and entertain everyone. Eventually the BBC coverage went back on the screens, Kate and Wills came out on the balcony and everyone waved their flags like mad when they kissed! Then the planes came over, we heard them first, then saw them on the screens and then they were over us! The Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster bomber came right overhead where we were so we got a great view and Chris even got some pictures! Then it was all over and we started the journey home. Our 6 year old daughter was disappointed not to get to see Kate for real but they both enjoyed the day, especially the flypast and hopefully they will have some memory of it when they are older. Richard Walker describes our successful indoor street party Much discussion, planning and preparation culminated in a very successful and popular event in the Memorial Hall to celebrate and communally watch the televised royal wedding service and festivities for William and Catherine. The afternoon before was spent decorating the hall with bunting, and preparing the TVs, James Sale had thankfully organised for our entertainment via his BBC connections. The wedding morning saw an early start to prepare the hall ready for a house full from early doors; but even we helpers managed to get our own wedding breakfast; bacon baps that Lesley somehow managed to create as well as everything else.
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