Changing of the Guard

Olivia, Cecily and Scott set out early yesterday to catch the changing of the Horse Guards at Whitehall. Olivia was excited about the chance to get up close to a horse--at least until she saw the sign that said "Horses may kick or bite." We arrived early to get a ringside seat, which gave us plenty of time to chat with a very nice London policeman who told us, "This is boring. You need to go up the road and see the one at the palace. It's more elaborate. You have plenty of time." That's how we ended up at Buckingham Palace to see the the changing of the guard--with 1000 other people--and no horses. We crammed onto the fence line to wait an hour to watch two bands play and men in grey coats and bearskin hats march. Mostly we defended our positions against the shoving crowds. I yielded to the pleadings of a mother to let her little boy onto the line next to us only to have his entire tribe of siblings use their little brother as a wedge to force the line and mostly block our view. The camera quit working. It began to rain. The umbrella broke in the stinging wind. Cecily said she had to go potty. Buckingham Palace is far too dignified to have something as common as a public toilet, so we had to go in search of a department store to fill the bill. When we were through, the ceremony was still going on. All they have to do is swap one set of guards for another. How could this possibilty take this long? I can't imagine what this event is like when the summer crowds are here. All in all, it is cool to say we saw the guard changed at Buckingham Palace, but I'm not sure what we gained from it. And since we saw no horses, we'll be returning to the horse guards changing, which while it may be "boring," at least is calm and peaceful and has horses.