Happy Diamond Jubilee!

Chris and Sophie visited this weekend and we joined in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in central London.

Chris brought along a flag to join in the spirit of things!

Some people went a lot further:

Everywhere was packed with onlookers.

We struggled to get a good vantage spot, but eventually Char spotted a place peeking out between the trees opposite Battersea Power Station which gave a better view than most.

First up was a floating belfry, ringing out the pageant...

Followed by the specially made Gloriana row boat, leading the man-powered vessels:

Row boats of all shapes and sizes, including dragon boats:

Olympic rowers, canoes and kayaks:

And even a Maori waka, manned by very determined but scantily dressed Maoris for the weather conditions!

And also beautiful Venetian gondolas:

Although we watched one gondola give up and get a tow, not tough enough for the very British weather conditions:

Then a boat of heralds and yeoman came by, signalling the arrival of the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell.

The royal barge did make a fantastic sight, passing in front of the iconic power station:

But where was the Queen? Aha - she's escaping inside for some reason, closely followed by Prince Philip:

Meanwhile Kate, William, Harry and Charles were busy on top deck waving:

We've now have a very good run of Queen sightings in the last 12 months, especially with our Maundy Money post last year.

What a memorable day it was. And we even managed to get back into a tube station before the rain started to bucket down! But very impressed by the Queen's stamina for sticking it out despite the unpleasant conditions...