Friendships are forged among funeral crowds
PEOPLE from the Westcountry were among many thousands who gathered along procession routes and struck up friendships ahead of the Queen’s state funeral yesterday.
James Kitto, from Porthleven in Cornwall, made the last-minute decision to travel to London at the weekend. The former primary school teacher, armed with nothing but a coat and a rucksack, set up camp in one of the roads adjacent to Westminster Abbey on Sunday afternoon.
“It was very last-minute,” James said yesterday. “Literally, the night before last, at about midnight, I thought to myself: ‘Yes, I’ll make the pilgrimage up.’
“I like all of the Royal Family, I’ve seen Charles and Camilla a couple of times in Cornwall, but this was a very special occasion and I wanted to come up and say thank you to the Queen.”
He added: “I think I wanted to come and represent my family because there have been five generations that have lived in the Queen’s reign and I wanted to pay my respects for all of us.”
His patch on Great George Street was small, with no comforts to help him through his wait. James explained: “My set-up is... I’ve got a coat and a hoodie, and some very nice friends that I’ve made today.”
His new-found companions came from all over the country – and one person closer to home was Sarah Drury, who made the journey from North Devon. The 34-year-old, who like James also travelled solo, said her motivation was “to celebrate the Queen and her life”.
“It’s a part of history, really,” said Sarah. “I love travelling anyway so I thought this would be a great opportunity to experience everything that’s going on – the whole world is watching, so I’m pleased to be a part of it.
“A lot of my friends are tied down with family or commitments but I’m free as a bird, so I thought why not come up?”
Undeterred at the prospect of sitting out on the street for almost 24 hours, Sarah explained how she quickly made friends with a family from Yorkshire.
They then invited Cornishman
James Kitto into the fold and they bonded over their respective pilgrimages from the Westcountry – and of course, scones. “We’ve already had the jam and cream debate,” said James. “Obviously I’m on ‘Team Jam First’ and Sarah’s on the wrong side, but we’re not going to fall out about it.”
Despite such differences of opinion, the pair were united in their passion for the late monarch and were determined to give her a good send-off. The new-found friends did not sleep ahead of the momentous occasion, in part because they had only one camping chair between them, but also because, as Sarah explained, they were “too giddy from the atmosphere”.
“We’ve got warm clothes, and snacks. I didn’t come with a blanket but I have found a towel from one of the Harry Potter shops nearby,” added Sarah.
“I’ve got layers,” said James. “This is spontaneity at its finest.”
“We’ve made some lovely new friends because of this experience – even the police officers have gone out of their way to check on us,” said Sarah.