Cllr Steve Dorsett represents Pyrford Ward on Woking Borough Council.
That was one of the most tiring, exhausting, emotional, draining, joyous, uplifting, and surprising days of my life. Something I will remember for a lifetime. Cllr Josh Brown and I had spoken during the week about heading up to London and joining “The Queue” overnight on Friday/Saturday. However, when we saw that the queue had closed Friday morning at around 10am, this threw our plans into chaos. At around 5pm the queue had re-opened, but the queue tracker was showing a time of 24 hours to complete it. We patiently watched the tracker over the next few hours. At 9pm it was showing a queue time of 19.5 hours. A phone call and some soul-searching later, we decided to get the 10.19pm train out of Woking and, joining Josh’s partner, Jess, taking our chances. We arrived in Waterloo just before 11pm and got the Jubilee Line over to Southwark Park. After some speed walking through a long and snakey queue-line for about a mile, we reached the back of the queue at around 11.30pm.
After holding us in a non-moving pen for about 20 minutes, we were finally released into a queue-line which was moving. For the next two and a half hours we walked back and forth along the zig-zag queue line in Southwark Park. And this was the first time we started to appreciate the “Spirit of The Queue” (trademark pending). We started chatting with those around us in the Queue, sharing stories and thoughts about the Royal Family, the government, the world at large, and our lives. A lady in the queue behind me it turned out, ran a rock choir, which was all the encouragement I needed to kick off a bit of a sing-song. This was a pleasant way to kill a couple of hours, but after a time I felt I’d seen quite enough of Southwark Park. Finally, at around 2am, we left the park, collected our wristbands and entered the promised land – the South Bank!
The next few hours were a mix of highs and lows. Seeing some of the areas around Tower Bridge, City Hall, London Bridge, the Clink & Southwark Cathedral, for example, were stunning. Getting stuck in a courtyard for over an hour by the Thames, just past the Golden Hinde at 5am in the pitch black as we learned the queue had stopped due to a rehearsal for Monday’s funeral was tough, cold, and pretty miserable. There was nowhere to sit down and there were tears from some younger queuers, and some people were really suffering in the cold – a couple of people fainted. Blasting past the Tate Modern and the Globe as the sun came up was exhilarating. Even better – learning that you could use the loos at the Globe after several hours of portaloos was heaven.
Getting stuck around Waterloo Bridge at about 7am when my legs were on fire and we didn’t move for about 45 mins was really tough. I considered going home at that point; knowing I was next to Waterloo station and could probably be back in bed within the hour was a strong draw. I was getting tired, I was in pain, and was starting to feel very low. All of sudden The Beatles’ “Let it Be” blasted out of the speakers of the Southbank Centre, everyone started singing along, the sun came out and the queue started moving again. It was like a bolt of electricity ran through us and we ploughed on.
At 9.30am we were finally on the South Bank between Westminster and Lambeth Bridges, the Palace of Westminster looking magnificent in the sunlight. By 10.15 we were into Victoria Gardens. Then the famous Snakes talked about throughout the queue in hushed tones, as if they were the stuff of legends, were before us. Two hours of snaking back and forth through the zig-zags in Victoria Gardens with nowhere to sit down! Whoever thought of finishing the queue in this manner must be a touch sadistic. The last major hurdle to pass after an extremely challenging night. I had been awake around 27 hours by this point. Then….. all of a sudden…. we were at the END of the queue. We had to pass through security and we were there – Westminster Hall.
I can’t have been in the hall itself for more than a few minutes. We climbed the stairs and made our way down towards where her Majesty was lying-in-state. It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. I couldn’t look at my friends, we three who had been marching together for 13 or 14 hours by this point. If I looked at them, I was so tired and emotional, I thought the tears would start. I kept my eyes on the crown and the standard laid atop the coffin. I made my way down and bowed to my Queen, someone who had given her life for this country and her people. It was a sensation I don’t think I can describe with any justice. But it is a moment I will never forget. As we left the hall, the three of us hugged, found the nearest bar, had a well-deserved sit-down and a beer, then jumped on the train home.
That was an experience that is difficult to accurately put into words (although I’ve certainly given it a go). I think you have to experience it to understand it. The friendships you make in the queue, the pain and agony everyone is going through – my back, shoulders, legs, feet, were all screaming at me at the end. The pure emotion of going through that and knowing everyone around you is feeling the same. It truly is a pilgrimage, one that heightened the emotions all night long. Then when you step into the hall, the weight of it, the history of it hits hard. I am so proud I was able to take part in this journey.
There is no denying I am a larger chap, so there was quite a bit of weight to drag around for 14 hours, and I was in a lot of pain by the end, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
I’ll finish with a quote from French President, Emmanuel Macron, of all people, as I just read this and I got a little teary. I’m clearly still too tired and emotional…..
“To you, she was your Queen
To us, she was THE Queen”
Yes, yes she was…
Cllr Steve Dorsett represents Pyrford Ward on Woking Borough Council.
That was one of the most tiring, exhausting, emotional, draining, joyous, uplifting, and surprising days of my life. Something I will remember for a lifetime. Cllr Josh Brown and I had spoken during the week about heading up to London and joining “The Queue” overnight on Friday/Saturday. However, when we saw that the queue had closed Friday morning at around 10am, this threw our plans into chaos. At around 5pm the queue had re-opened, but the queue tracker was showing a time of 24 hours to complete it. We patiently watched the tracker over the next few hours. At 9pm it was showing a queue time of 19.5 hours. A phone call and some soul-searching later, we decided to get the 10.19pm train out of Woking and, joining Josh’s partner, Jess, taking our chances. We arrived in Waterloo just before 11pm and got the Jubilee Line over to Southwark Park. After some speed walking through a long and snakey queue-line for about a mile, we reached the back of the queue at around 11.30pm.
After holding us in a non-moving pen for about 20 minutes, we were finally released into a queue-line which was moving. For the next two and a half hours we walked back and forth along the zig-zag queue line in Southwark Park. And this was the first time we started to appreciate the “Spirit of The Queue” (trademark pending). We started chatting with those around us in the Queue, sharing stories and thoughts about the Royal Family, the government, the world at large, and our lives. A lady in the queue behind me it turned out, ran a rock choir, which was all the encouragement I needed to kick off a bit of a sing-song. This was a pleasant way to kill a couple of hours, but after a time I felt I’d seen quite enough of Southwark Park. Finally, at around 2am, we left the park, collected our wristbands and entered the promised land – the South Bank!
The next few hours were a mix of highs and lows. Seeing some of the areas around Tower Bridge, City Hall, London Bridge, the Clink & Southwark Cathedral, for example, were stunning. Getting stuck in a courtyard for over an hour by the Thames, just past the Golden Hinde at 5am in the pitch black as we learned the queue had stopped due to a rehearsal for Monday’s funeral was tough, cold, and pretty miserable. There was nowhere to sit down and there were tears from some younger queuers, and some people were really suffering in the cold – a couple of people fainted. Blasting past the Tate Modern and the Globe as the sun came up was exhilarating. Even better – learning that you could use the loos at the Globe after several hours of portaloos was heaven.
Getting stuck around Waterloo Bridge at about 7am when my legs were on fire and we didn’t move for about 45 mins was really tough. I considered going home at that point; knowing I was next to Waterloo station and could probably be back in bed within the hour was a strong draw. I was getting tired, I was in pain, and was starting to feel very low. All of sudden The Beatles’ “Let it Be” blasted out of the speakers of the Southbank Centre, everyone started singing along, the sun came out and the queue started moving again. It was like a bolt of electricity ran through us and we ploughed on.
At 9.30am we were finally on the South Bank between Westminster and Lambeth Bridges, the Palace of Westminster looking magnificent in the sunlight. By 10.15 we were into Victoria Gardens. Then the famous Snakes talked about throughout the queue in hushed tones, as if they were the stuff of legends, were before us. Two hours of snaking back and forth through the zig-zags in Victoria Gardens with nowhere to sit down! Whoever thought of finishing the queue in this manner must be a touch sadistic. The last major hurdle to pass after an extremely challenging night. I had been awake around 27 hours by this point. Then….. all of a sudden…. we were at the END of the queue. We had to pass through security and we were there – Westminster Hall.
I can’t have been in the hall itself for more than a few minutes. We climbed the stairs and made our way down towards where her Majesty was lying-in-state. It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. I couldn’t look at my friends, we three who had been marching together for 13 or 14 hours by this point. If I looked at them, I was so tired and emotional, I thought the tears would start. I kept my eyes on the crown and the standard laid atop the coffin. I made my way down and bowed to my Queen, someone who had given her life for this country and her people. It was a sensation I don’t think I can describe with any justice. But it is a moment I will never forget. As we left the hall, the three of us hugged, found the nearest bar, had a well-deserved sit-down and a beer, then jumped on the train home.
That was an experience that is difficult to accurately put into words (although I’ve certainly given it a go). I think you have to experience it to understand it. The friendships you make in the queue, the pain and agony everyone is going through – my back, shoulders, legs, feet, were all screaming at me at the end. The pure emotion of going through that and knowing everyone around you is feeling the same. It truly is a pilgrimage, one that heightened the emotions all night long. Then when you step into the hall, the weight of it, the history of it hits hard. I am so proud I was able to take part in this journey.
There is no denying I am a larger chap, so there was quite a bit of weight to drag around for 14 hours, and I was in a lot of pain by the end, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
I’ll finish with a quote from French President, Emmanuel Macron, of all people, as I just read this and I got a little teary. I’m clearly still too tired and emotional…..
“To you, she was your Queen
To us, she was THE Queen”
Yes, yes she was…