8TH SEPTEMBER THE QUEEN'S DEATH
I was sitting in Wetherspoons in Leytonstone when The Queen died. I was probably on the train from Manchester when she passed. As soon as Huw Edwards was wearing his black suit I knew. I've got some work to do and thank God it's not football.
SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER
I walked from Tottenham Court Road Tube Station to The Mall. My sign in was in some tents in Saint James's Park.There were lots of other stewards. Hundreds. I'd never seen so many. I felt safe. I felt nervous though as I didn't know where I would be placed. I had to give my passport to sign in. Other people had forgotten to bring their photo I.D. but the people signing them in didn't seem to mind. They were just after stewards.
I was assigned to The Queen Victoria Flower Gardens of Buckingham Palace. I stood there for 13 hours for 4 days. I was paid £10 an hour. I was allowed two 20 minutes breaks in this time. It took me ten minutes to walk up to the portaloos and walk back again. I was so hungry but I had no time to eat my sandwich. My boyfriend had made me a sandwich and he is no Royalist. However... I am.
I loved The Queen and I'll never forget the letters she sent back to me when I wrote to her. Standing there and staring at her empty balcony... Well I felt great. These were my special thirteen hours, from sunrise until after sunset.
I thought about The Queen and how she stood on her feet for many hours and how she never complained about her predicament. I'll complain now but not to The Palace. Rather to my my agency A.P.S. Someone asked me what that stood for and even though I was wearing my Hi-Vis with it on the back, I hadn't a clue. I asked. It stands for All Purpose Security.
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