The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Dear Readers,

Day two of my Golden Jubilee Adventure and so far I've seen the Trooping the Colour Parade which is extremely awesome. Everyone is so perfectly groomed and looks great in their dashing uniforms. There are many female riders now, which I found pretty cool. Also, the horses have better haircuts than most of the people I see each day. It is amazing to see their manes cut and combed like human hair. Their coats are extremely shiny and they are all very muscular. There were a few horses that misbehaved jerking their heads up and down during the parade, but for the most part all were on their best behavior.

I was fortunate enough to meet some lovely people in the crowd; people from all over the United Kingdom including South Africa and Wales. There is much excitement everywhere for the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Vendors in the streets selling ?Official? Jubilee programs for �5.00 each, tents for the sale of beer and food and enough portable johns to keep a hundred people seated at once. There are people already camped out for the concert this evening. I may head back at about 4:00 GMT as I'll want to be sure I get a seat. I've not heard back from the person whom I wrote for the concert tickets so I'm not sure that will be an option for me. Fortunately, there are huge television screens in front of Buckingham Palace as well as all down the Mall for the other half to watch. There is stadium seating outside heading down the mall.

Today, I'm going to see if I can get to the Victoria and Albert Museum, as I believe the tiara display is still there. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Oh! I almost forgot about the rest of yesterday! I went to the Royal Mews and to the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. There is a separate entrance known as the Queen's Gallery. The paintings were magnificent
and the gold cups and gravy boats, candelabras, etc. were breathtaking.  In one alcove there was a giant chalice like cup with an extremely ornate cover and stem. I looked at the man standing next to me and said, "Original Wimbledon Cup." He laughed and then we discussed the next piece, which was a giant abalone shell with a nautilus motif throughout its intricate design. It was truly spectacular. Anyway, the pictures were the best.  They displayed a landscape that was so awesome! The colors made it look like the sun was actually rising in the painting - or perhaps I mean out of it! There were beautiful paintings of family life, portraits and marble busts. It was fantastic to be able to see some of them in person. 

Well, that's about all there is to report on this first day of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. Stay tuned for tomorrow!

All the best,

-- Eileen Sullivan --