Big Doings in London

We happen to be in London on quite a big day, as it turns out. As mentioned earlier, it's the final day of National Commemoration Week -- the commemoration, that is, of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Not long ago there was a procession from Buckingham Palace (just two blocks from our hotel) to a spot down the Mall where a big ceremony is taking place as we speak. I was taking a break back at the hotel -- and changing into cooler, less sweaty clothes, as the temperature here is in the upper 80s -- so I got to see some of the procession live on the BBC. The Queen and Prince Phillip were in one horse-drawn carriage, and Charles and Camilla were in another -- all heading down the same mall I had walked down just a few hours earlier.

Some of the travelers in our group were lucky to get a glimpse of, and in some cases a photo of, the Queen as she passed by in an earlier procession to Westminster Abbey.

At 5:00 this afternoon, vintage WW II planes will fly over Buckingham Palace and drop something like five million poppies from the sky -- another commemoration of the anniversary of the end of the war. Everyone in our group is organizing their afternoon plans to be able to see that.

Meanwhile, this is my first-ever visit to London, whereas many of the travelers in our group have been here a half-dozen times or more. So everyone has advice for me on what I should do -- and my goal is to do it all in one day! So far I'm making pretty good progress on the to-do list: today already I have ridden on a double-decker sightseeing bus, eaten fish and chips, visited the Tower of London, seen the crown jewels (not too shabby, those), eaten strawberries and cream, and photographed Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the British Airways London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, and the various waterfowl (ducks, swans, and even pelicans) at St. James' Place. Not bad for a day's work, huh?

While all of the World War II celebrations and royal processions are taking place, the city meanwhile is still coping with the aftermath of Thursday's terrorist bombings. When you watch the British edition of CNN, there is a poignant series of messages crawling along the bottom of the screen, reminding you that many people are still missing: "Adam Keogh from Dublin please contact your family in Ireland ... Jamie Gordon please call friends and family ... Tristan Northin please call home ... Jo Fowler is safe ... George Willis please call Mum ... Kismet Hossein please call your brother Shapon ..." and so on. It definitely reminds you of the aftermath of Sept. 11 in the area around the World Trade Center.

More news as it happens....