Red Arrows Photograph

Yesterday Dr. P and I decided to go to downtown London and join in the celebrations for the Olympic handover from Beijing to London. We had read that there would be large screens showing the closing ceremony in Beijing, concerts to celebrate the handover to London, even Michael Phelps (who won 8 gold medals in Beijing) was to be there. However, one of the main attractions for me was the Red Arrows. The Red Arrows are the aerobatic display team of the Royal Airforce. When there is something big to celebrate, they are sure to be there.

I had read on the website about the handover celebrations that you should not bring valuables. I guess the risk of theft is increased on these kind of days. So I actually pondered on whether I should bring my camera. I asked Dr. P what she thought and since she has heard too many times the sentence "oh, I wished I had brought my camera" , she pointed out that of course I should bring my camera.

So off we set, camera in the bag. We headed for Trafalgar Square, as we had read that you needed tickets to get to the action outside Buckingham Palace. We watched the closing ceremony sitting on a step beside other people cheering and waving flags. After the closing ceremony Dr. P suggested that we head for some Japanese food in Soho. She had to be joking, the red arrows were coming in two hours, I was taking no chances.......

We headed up towards Buckingham Palace and soon found out that you don't actually need tickets so before too long we really were part of the celebrations. Camera in hand I was keeping a personal countdown to the red arrows and suddenly they appeared in the distance. I kept on shooting as they raced overhead and over the top of Buckingham Palace. Dr. P was cheerleading, shouting "turn round" and pulling me out of the way of a particularly tall man who blocked the view.

I had been waiting all day and it was all over in about 10 seconds.

Dr. P had always suggested I send pictures to the BBC. When we got home, as Dr. P was making sushi (she really had been serious about the Japanese food), I uploaded a few photos to the BBC website. Before too long I got an email, asking for a phone number so they could call me. We gave them the wrong number, but eventually we got in touch. I talked to a lady who asked me what the day was like and if I had taken the photo myself. I was so excited. They were going to publish my picture! So while Dr. P headed for bed, my adrenalin was punping. Eventually the email came with the link. They had written underneath "Aileen King had been waiting all day for the red arrows". I was a bit concerned that made me sound a little pathetic. But then again, I HAD been waiting all day.......

Check out photo 9 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7580152.stm