Human Phenomenon: A Royal Wedding

So I woke up early this morning to a news broadcast about Osama Bin Laden and the ensuing mob celebrations that took place in DC and NYC. My first thought, of course, was has it really been a decade since the 9/11 attack? My immediate second thought was whether there would be any travel delays in the coming days due to heightened security as a result of this. And my third thought was how similar those celebrations looked like those I experienced just a few days ago during the Royal wedding.

On the morning of the 29th, I had a rather late start due to a rough night with my travel companions, Mr. Stuffy Nose and Ms. Itchy Eyes. So out the window went the plan to leave early enough to secure a great place somewhere to catch photos of the wedding procession. But I didn’t have a terribly late start either since people (many in wedding attire!) were also still just beginning to burst out of the seams of the city. Vendors of all kinds of souvenirs surrounded us.

But I was really only after those official programs seen in the first photo; one for my sister and one for myself. Now about those crowds–they seem to pop up in every corner, alley, tube station you can imagine. One minute it looked like a manageable crowd,and five minutes later I’d find myself in the middle of a sardine can.

Squirming myself out of one crowd only lead to another, blindly following the mobs, so finally I just gave up and wandered aimlessly with all the other people from one spot to the next. It’s not often that the taxi-crowded streets of London are ever closed off for pedestrians to stroll through its wide lanes, so we all took advantage of the space and I was even able to capture a pic whilst leaping!

I pitied the few poor souls who dared to drive the random taxis or buses allowed that day.

All the while walking, I was half wishing I’d stayed in the comfort of my plush room and watched it on TV instead, mainly because I was dying to know if the bride did wear McQueen. So finally, as I got closer to my eventual destination for the viewing party, I snuck a peek inside the Hard Rock Cafe’s window and saw the back of her dress on a tiny TV.

So where did I end up after all?

Hyde Park. Simply because all the other parks were closed off due to oversized crowds. I got to the Jumbotrons just as Wills and Kate began their procession out of the church as man and wife. Flags and cheers went up as confetti flew all around us…

So about these mob celebrations. Sometimes we’re not sure what we’re celebrating exactly, but most likely, we just want to be a part of this human phenomenon.

May 2, 2011