The Time I Saw the Queen… Twice

Let’s take it from the beginning, sound good?

Antonina Puchkovskaia, head of the DH-lab at ITMO, and I collaborated together with students to create a book called Generation Z on Digital Culture. You’ll learn more about this project in a whole separate post, but the main idea is "we made a book." We also received the opportunity to present the book at Loughborough University (pronounced LUFF-burra, for all those people like me who were initially confused about the pronunciation) where they were hosting a National Study Day Conference entitled Book in the Digital Age.

To get there though, we had to fly Saint Petersburg to London, which is surprisingly simple thanks to Aeroflot.

Now while in London, you need to make like "The Doctor" (who?) and run around like a crazy mad man with a box trying to see all the cool things and whatnots the capital of Great Britain has to offer. Considering we finally arrived at Victoria Station around 19:30, this meant finding a pub for either good ole' fish and chips or a steak ale pie. An evening stroll along London strolls brought to a close a pleasant first day.

That’s when things got crazy on the second day, Tuesday October 23rd. Antonina and I had agreed to meet up in the center of London at Trafalgar Square to spend a good chunk of the afternoon exploring London before we finished our presentation requirements. Being the amazingly cheap person I am, I decided to save the five pounds a metro ride costs and simply walk the eight kilometers between the hotel and Trafalgar.
Best… Decision… Ever…
Well, on this trip, at least. I hope I’ve made some other #BestDecisionEver's before now… I hope…

Anyways, the trip took me by Hyde Park to the Wellington Arch, which is when I ran into a procession of horse-mounted artillery personnel. To be honest, I thought I had simply encountered the Changing of the Guard, albeit a special version of it. I waited for them, taking as many photos and shooting as much video like a good Digital Humanist of the 21st Century, and to improve my chances, I actually ran next to the column to ensure I had some other really good camera shots.

I continued this pattern even as I neared Buckingham Palace, when the soldiers march into a field and set up cannons. Understanding they’re going to fire cannons, I wait patiently for them to fire when suddenly, a beautiful, orchestral sound comes to my ears. I quickly follow that sound and discover a Royal Marching Band (it might be more of a Royal Orchestra but I’m unsure as to the name) perform hit classes like This is Me from The Greatest Showman and a Michael Jackson medly of tunes.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I hear a sharp siren behind me, the kind that blips when clearing the road. I turn and see an oncoming motorcade and I run to get a better view. Watching closely, the motorcade made its way to Buckingham Palace and turned in, but I swear I caught my first glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II. Even the people around me believed they saw her as well.

Excited, I race to the end of the street, to the actual palace, and wait to see what happens. It’s not long before I learn of the next event.
Boom! Boom!
The cannons!
I had completely forgotten about them! They were firing every ten seconds, and with no clue how long they would be firing, I still raced back to the field where the cannons were set up to record that.
Eventually, the cannons stopped, I think after 42 shots but I’m not entirely sure, but it made sense. I returned back to the Palace, walked up the road a bit, and waited a little longer.
And that’s when it happened.
A royal procession… full state honors…

There was at least Queen Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles, potentially a couple other family members but I couldn’t get a good view. I later discovered that this was a special state visit of the Dutch King and Queen, so I saw them as well in this parade. Once the procession ended, I checked the time and saw I was 30 minutes late in meeting Antonina. Racing down the street from Buckingham to Trafalgar, with backpack strapped on, I finally made it, and our conversation went something like this.

Antonina: What took you so long?
Me: I have a very good reason for being late.
Antonina: Which is???
Me: …well, I ran into the Queen…

That moment alone made the trip memorable enough, but there’s more to England, let alone London, than a royal procession, such as Regent’s Park, King’s Cross Station, and the Spire. As a Whovian (a fan of Doctor Who), I love to imagine being the Doctor, just running around the streets or zooming between the buildings in my TARDIS.

Sandwiched in between the experiences in London was the trip to Loughborough University, where the conference was being held. The overall day was quite enjoyable, and credit to the university and Leah Hendrickson, the conference organizer, for putting on a spectacular afternoon in the pleasant town of Loughborough.

Not only were Antonina and I able to deliver our presentation, to be discussed in a future post, but we also co-chaired a panel of other speakers. The entire atmosphere was cozy and engaging, as the range of speakers we watched, heard, and chatted with were all fascinating with excellent presentations. One professor from Oxford, Giles Bergel, gave a cool presentation on computer vision and training computers to see and compare differences between art and printed materials. Simon Rowberry, meanwhile, delivered an interesting history on the development of e-book readers, which, considering my role as an e-book publisher with my company ArcInset, was intriguing. It also called out to my inner geek with the references to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In all, this trip to London, my third overall, left me with several valuable impressions, memories, and connections that I hope will stay with me, and I greatly look forward to the next time I get to meet those whom I connected with at the conference.