A Royal Reception at Buckingham Palace - Shaking hands with the Queen and other Famous People December 8th 2011
I was laying tongue and groove floor one monday morning at home, coming to the end of a long project, whet Sal rang from the office,
"There's a letter here from Buckingham Palace, can I open it?"
OK I can't stop in the middle of this job, what does it say?
"It's an invitation to a reception at Buckingham Palace, next month, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen will be there, the Queen has commanded that you be invited, it says to wear a lounge suit"
In the exact words it says,
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| The Invitation to Buckingham Palace |
Excited, you bet I was, as soon as the floor was laid it was off to M&S for a new suit and tie, booked my brothers spare room and wondering who I would meet there. I confirmed my attendance with the master of the household and booked my train.
Off the tube at Victoria and a stroll along Bucking Palace Road took me to the Queen's gallery and the moving photographs from both Shackletons and Scott's last expeditions to the Antarctic, the pictures of Shackleton's ship the Endurance trapped in the ice then raised up and crushed to bits, the Dogloos on the ice, and the rather poor, and I am told inappropriate ponies of Scott's expedition along with the moving presentation of the ship being lifted up by the ice bring it all back to life.
A dry run to the Palace brought me to a police box where I asked wher to come in the the evening, "Not here sir, you get to go in the front gate round the corner". It's special looking at the front of Buckingham Palace with all the guards and the clicking tourists and knowing that you'll be inside later on.
That left me a couple of hours to kill, but a meal and finding somewhere to change at Victoria Station soon meant it was time to get to the Palace. On the way I met Justine Curvengen expedition sea kayaker and film maker, with a massive yellow Ortlieb dry bag swung over her shoulder, I felt a bit less self conscious with my wheeled carry on bag after that. A very smartly dressed queue it was. As we waited in line for security checks Rheinhold Messner pushed into the queue behind me, very European of him, but at the Palace!
Once inside we were give some info on the exhibits from the Royal Archive on show, along with the archivists, and of the ten members of the Royal Family in attendance, though i din't read that bit 'til I got home.
Whisked into the amazing State Rooms and plied with champagne I met an amazing selection of people, I will mention a few.
A glaciologist, some cave divers, the head of a new academy that uses outdoor pursuits and produces great results with third generation unemployed people. The first man to hang glide in the UK (1974) who now breaks helicopter flying records, Phil Blain Chairman of Canoe Wales, two round the world sailors. I spotted Chris Bonington and spoke brefly to Michael Palin, had a long chat to the lovely Helen Skelton of Blue Peter, she was off to the South Pole the week after.
It was soon time for the line up, grinning like an imbecile I was presented to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh then back round for more champagne and canapés and chatting to lots more people some famous and some more interesting, the head of the RGS who assured me they look after Gino Watkins kayak very carefully. Bear Grylls, who loves North Wales and has heard of ProAdventure and is still the the Chief Scout. I met a chap who did the flights over Iceland for all the research done during the recent volcano eruption. After a quick word with Alan Hinkes in the queue for the cloak room it was over all too soon.
A very special evening in amazing company in an opulent beautiful building, a very proud day for me but I still don't know why I was invited. Speaking to the Palace staff it is a very lengthy process, when they have decide upon a theme they approach organisations related to the them for recommendations, then research some more and decide who to invite. I feel very honoured and proud to have been to the Palace and even had a conversation with the Duke of Edinburgh.
