Queen’s Jubilee Pageant

Our adventure started in February 2022 when Sue and I formally applied to an open invitation to participate in a unique historical moment.

After various (and numerous) form filling, by mid-March, the ‘casting team’ confirmed we’d been selected; then in mid-April we received confirmation of our official registration and approval.

In mid-May, we participated in two key online sessions introducing the various front line organisers; we were also advised of various acts in the procession and told that scooters were in Act Two, entitled The Time of Our Lives.

There were to be seven vintage open top buses representing different decades of the Queen’s reign from 1950-2010 with different acts following each bus carrying numerous celebrities and wrapped with imagery depicting icons and news of the times. Route details and dress code, etc, were divulged; it was to be 3km long and involved about 10,000 people (watched in the end on TV by 8.7 million people).

We found appropriate outfits; Sue borrowed a long coat full of Union flags; we purchased Union flag hats and I ordered Union flag and Jubilee stickers for our crash helmets. Sue found a gold paper crown (applied to her helmet with double-sided tape). We also found two pairs of red/white leather gauntlets we’d purchased a while ago from Chris Wainwright. They were too shiny and slippery to use on Vespa controls, so I roughed them up a bit with glass paper. I prepared (as best you can) to ensure the 1960 Vespa GS VS5 behaved itself and it was duly washed and polished.

Additional second stage registration papers about the scooter and other identification papers followed as the organisers were keen to boost promotion via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

MORE PREPARATIONS

The Friday prior to the event, we were allocated specific times to take our scooters to London for security searches by numerous police officers and then we were given a specific time to leave the car park and ride to Horse Guards Parade via Westminster Bridge with a limited arrival time! The organisers supplied explicit directions; unfortunately I ignored these and went over Waterloo Bridge with a colleague instead of Westminster Bridge and down The Strand. I was half-expecting to be stopped by a burly policeman asking why we were ‘off piste’ and having to get another security search.

On the actual day, we met up early at

St. James’s Underground Station to collect accreditation passes with more passport security checks. Earlier that morning we’d dressed up for the occasion; Sue wore her Union flag jacket and a purple scarf (Jubilee colours) combined with red boots; I wore my bright red Kicker boots and my Harrington jacket. I wasn’t a 1960s Mod, but recently took part in a three-day filming event in Margate for Sam Mendes’s film Empire of Light and had to dress as a Mod (full parka, etc). Some extras wore Harrington jackets, so I thought I’d get one for the pageant (never too late to be a Mod).

The train journey to London was filled with anticipation and pride to be taking part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’d checked the weather forecast (gloom, thunderstorm and lightning suggestions), but being hardened scooterists we just packed our rain jackets, etc. I understand that some entrants dropped off because of the weather forecasts.

After finding a local coffee shop and meeting up with Warren and Hayley Jopson plus others, we walked to Horse Guards Parade to unwrap our scooters and polish them fit for the Queen. I think our adrenaline kicked in at this moment and nervous energy showed. Not too sure if it was coffee or nerves, but everyone took an opportunity to visit the toilets.

THE DAY DAWNS

At 11am all riders walked the complete route to be shown which side of the road we should be on and to point out danger spots caused by sand and grit on the road (bear in mind that horses were involved in the procession; we came across evidence of their attendance later that day)…

Walking these empty roads was an amazing experience. How often could you do this? The crowds were fairly thin, but many had slept there overnight to gain the best positions; the atmosphere was electric and fun, giving everyone a sense of what was to follow.

Walking through Parliament Square, the newly refurbished Big Ben looked superb; Whitehall was magic, especially past The Cenotaph where we walked by quietly in due reverence to the monument and what it represented. Our walk continued by Downing Street, up to Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and eventually to The Mall; the whole width was mind-boggling, but looked resplendent with enormous Union flags the whole length on either side – a magical moment. Passing Queen Victoria’s Memorial, we checked out the empty Royal Box and various performance stages where sound checks were taking place. Buckingham Palace looked amazing and we wondered whether the Queen would be able to attend later that day.

Returning to Horse Guards Parade, we ate and drank (the organisers supplied lunch boxes). We had a bottle of bubbly and additional eats, some supplied by Steve Turner (he always seems to have a picnic basket in his van)!

We took advantage of meeting and photographing famous celebrities, especially those on the 1960s bus. These included Sir Cliff Richard, Hayley Mills (I had a ‘serious’ crush on her in the 60s/70s), Sir Mo Farah, Kate Moss, Sally Gunnell, Dame Kelly Holmes, Gok Wan, Bonnie Langford, Juliet Mills, Katherine Jenkins, Kate Garraway, Tony Blackburn, Anthea Turner, Pudsey Bear and others. Many scooterists had ‘one-to-one’ photos with celebrities and chatted to a few (not often you get so close up to such a diverse array of people).

We had a close look around some beautiful old cars in the procession, including Jaguars, Land Rovers, Aston Martins, Morris Minors and Minis. Daleks were also moving around the site.

THE PROCESSION BEGINS

At the allotted time engines were fired up (lots of fingers crossed at this moment) and twostroke smoke completed the atmosphere (I wonder if Horse Guards Parade ever had such a plume before?).

I put my Veteran Vespa Club banner on the front of the scooter. There was an overwhelming feeling of joy and a brilliant carnival atmosphere combined with a spirit of a street party. The scooters grouped behind the 1960s bus; many photographs were taken and I captured the whole route on my helmet camera (later loaded on to the VVC Facebook page for all to enjoy).

There was a slight delay after leaving Horse Guards Parade; the procession took time to complete final timings as other parts of the procession arrived from side roads. We were following the Land Rovers and just before the Mini cars – a slow ride, but we all managed it; I was hoping my clutch wouldn’t burn out!

It all started at Parliament Square, on to Whitehall and Trafalgar Square; we stopped for a while before turning left to Admiralty Arch, looking out for loose sand and grit covering the metal manholes (laid to assist the horses a few minutes in front of us). Having gone (carefully) through Admiralty Arch (there are three separate entrances), we arrived in The Mall. The crowds were stunning and deep; TV cameras were there so we gave them something to view with more waving and cheering. One pillion in our group did an excellent job of persuading the crowds to compete with each other from either side of the Mall with everyone shouting: “We are the Mods; we are the Mods.”

We reached the end of The Mall with the Royal Box to our right (very moving and particularly memorable). I hope Louis was waving and enjoyed the experience (I saw later on TV, that he moved his hands in wrist throttle motion, perhaps imitating the scooterists)? A colleague told me he felt like Ben Hur parading his chariot in front of a Roman emperor…

Around Queen Victoria Memorial and on to Buckingham Palace, where a Lambretta rider offered a lift to a Rocker whose motorbike had broken down. This kind act raised much laughter in the crowd, who gave a round of applause and cheered as the fully dressed-up Rocker mounted the scooter.

Then one scooterist’s clutch cable snapped; rather than abandon his pride and joy, he pushed it to the finish line. From there we rode along Birdcage Walk, then finally, back into Horse Guards Road and Horse Guards Parade. There was a great atmosphere with mutual back slapping and appreciation at Horse Guards Parade. We finally switched off our engines, looking at each other saying: “What a brilliant, memorable, fantastic experience we’ve just completed.”

We were all shattered mentally and physically, but proud of ourselves having taken part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Dismounting our scooters, we walked down The Mall to make the most of our experience and met up with Brian and Barbara Berry; other VVC members attending included Steve Turner and Warren and Hayley Jopson (there may have been others).

The event was so well organised and a big thanks go out to the volunteers that helped in the days and months building up to this extraordinary day.