Nobody does a queue better than the British! Queue for coffin is five miles long

[Fivemoreminutes1]

So the question is, would you join it? I’m just not very patient and don’t think I could do it!

news.sky.com/story/route-revealed-for-queue-to-see-the-queen-lying-in-state-and-where-you-can-take-a-break-12696584

The right hand - side has people wearing all kinds of clothes, from full mourning to t shirts and national costumes of various kinds. The other side was at first exclusively people in black smart clothes

It's back. Seems to be moving briskly on both sides.

I can see this is going to be one of those oddly compelling things, like April the giraffe.

I can't imagine anything worse than queuing to see a coffin.

I don't think they're stupid , but they are nuts . Queen was just a lady, with huge privilege. She did her job well and with class, but the institution itself is not something I respect at all. Everyone is born the same. Plenty of people are worthy of respect, but it doesn't come through birth. So the idea of queuing just because she was a Queen is nuts to me i can't understand it all, but I mean the people in the queue no ill!

Takes all sorts, I suppose.

Queue to look at a box? Nah.

Human beings wanting to be a part of a group ceremony which has symbolic meaning for their group/tribe/society is hardly a new thing.

They aren't queuing to look at a box.

There's no doubt the guard changes, though interesting to watch, will significantly slow the progress of the queue.

The thing I find interesting is that you'd assume the length of the queue would be what limits demand. But then it's the demand that's causing the queue. Imagine how long the queue would be if everyone with a passing interest in seeing the Queen lying in State was in it?

My reasoning for length limiting demand is because it is how it works with builders or (in our recent experience) a Behavioural Optometrist.
You want some work done or to see a specialist, you contact them, they say what they can do and what their waiting lists are.
You trade the benefit with the delay. Do you wait 18months for the best, or go with someone OK and a 6 month wait? At some point people stop joining the 'queue' for the best.
I think it will maybe be like this for the lying in state. Once the queue is deemed to be over say 8hrs some people will decide not to go, so lessening demand.

@stillherenow

Yes of course the queen is just a lady , that's why they have elaborate rituals in order to build mystique

Loving the live stream, I think someone has squeaky shoes. It's a bit like watching Abbey Road Crossing but without the funny walks. Will they do a head nod or a curtsey?
Interestingly 15,000 people are watching people file past a coffin.

Fascinating.

I'm trying to work out how short the queue would have to be, for me to want to go.

It really is fascinating. But I wonder if people know they are being livestreamed? I mean if they's rung in sick to work and there they are!

I love the bareness of Westminster Hall.

As my friend likes to say 'I'd rather shit in my hands and clap' than spend 20+ hours in a queue to walk around a coffin.

RIP Lizzie, but this is bonkers

Ha ha , people phoning into work sick ' I'm really ill '
' wasn't that you in Westminster Hall I saw you online .. ' ?
Err ..
Your fired!!

We should have a discreet signal that any Mumsnetters who are there can give.

I can't believe the shots are so close up. People will be wishing they'd worn a different top or done their hair a bit better.

If only the MN scarf was still a thing.

Those economists are not accounting for the nuts behaviour of the British Public.

The prospect of things being closed for a day combined with an extra bank holiday weekend is bound to result in some people panic buying. Just so they definitely have things in to celebrate the Queen. The wise will avoid the shops this weekend! (hint: they are open again on Tuesday and you can still order things online...)

A lot of the pubs around here are either staying open or are opening after the funeral has finished.

A Mumsnet sign ! Love this idea
A tweak of a scarf. Raise of an eyebrow.
(Brandishing a loo brush discretely or a beaker , much harder to do without looking stupid or getting arrested)
I hope they all get something for this as it is a vigil for them and shows a resilience I haven't got myself.

I don't think you'd get a loo brush past security. If this is going to go on until Sunday I would be amazed if somebody doesn't do something they shouldn't though at some point.

No, loo brush is a bad idea indeed ! lol
I hope it stays respectful though
It needs to be.