anyone queuing to see the coffin in London atm?

[DickDarstedly]

I am wondering how long the queue is and how the organisation is working out. Are there enough toilets? Is it true that the wristband allows you to leave and come back?

EDITED BY MNHQ Please find the link to the new thread www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4635946-anyone-queuing-to-see-the-coffin-in-london-atm-pt-2

@vera99 : please send pics/updates … I am now v curious to know

If I had made the trip down to London I think I would be joining the queue for the queue/waiting in the area too: sad for those that have

Oh! So you can be in the queue for an hour not moving at all! Wow! Respect to the queuers

It will be a couple of hours before we will get off at London Bridge station I will try to update. Thank god I don't want to queue as it will no doubt be a bit fraught if you are going there in the hope of getting in the official queue If there is some free for all 'unofficial queue'.

Ah so on the live feed when I started watching it it was one line past the coffin but now it looks like when you get to the stairs there are two lines each side? And the accessible like is amalgamated into one of these and then the other side has two lines and the MP/VIPs get snuck into one of those quietly.

Anyone standing still is likely to have a queue forming behind them!

2 things it would appear the Britsh love - the late Queen and a queue.

I’m finding myself fascinated by the queue tracker. From a personal perspective I would have liked to have seen just how long it would have got if they hadn’t closed it. I know it’s not possible as it’s not set up that way but it would be interesting. That being said, it is better to close it now so people know where they stand.

i do think most people wanting to join will be hanging around in the vicinity so they’re first to join when it reopens. Inevitably I think there will be a sort of queue for the queue, a mass of people on stand by. Lurking around where they can see the current end point. I feel sorry for the less fit or able bodied who won’t be able to dash over when it does reopen. They’ll get shunted to the back probably.

Many years ago, friends and I would sometimes wait outside gig venues from early afternoon (so usually around 6 hrs) before the gig started to ensure our place at the front. But we could sit down, take turns to go off and use the loo or get food etc. I can’t imagine doubling that and having to keep moving for most of it. I quite admire all the people who are doing this.

@nachoavocado : yes, even on 1st night there were quite a lot of points where the queue was static

• at the start (close to the Tate Modern for me)
• at the London Eye when people were being given wristbands
• At the Thames path before the London eye (the bit with the live hearts on the wall - which I think is a vivid memorial ❤️ - I had not seen it before)
• waiting to get onto Lambeth Bridge
• the dreaded zig zags

Its hard to know whether to sit down or not but honestly when the queue stops, sit (no one is going to push ahead in the time it takes you ti get to your feet)

5 miles would be only 2-2.5 hours walk at a slow amble so the queue is much more standing than walking

Still shattered after a sleepless night on Wednesday and brain can’t compute much more than pondering queue dynamics 😂

@nachoavocado : ah now I understand, moving from 2 single rows to 2 double rows to file past in the Hall: that happened at about 3am on Wednesday (my friend was watching the live feed waiting for me to go in & told me this)

It shows how well designed the queue/arrangement is (though those waiting now might not feel the same)

I think many people who were planning to go on Friday/Saturday will now change their mind & demand will drop, but time will tell

Yes I thought it was good that they had obviously thought we need to do something. It also must make it less noticeable when they sneak an MP in.

At the Thames path before the London eye (the bit with the live hearts on the wall - which I think is a vivid memorial ❤️ - I had not seen it before I mean to take a trip to see this when I myself am well enough to make the journey.

It’s like Queue 2 for QEII

How does the wristbands thing work? You get given a wristband (with a number? Or a certain colour?) and you can go of for a break. How do you know where to rejoin the queue?

The year is 2023. The Queue is still growing.

Paddington Bear is now our Overlord. Marmalade sandwiches are compulsory with every meal. If you don't, you are imprisoned in Center Parcs.

The UK has rejoined the EU to allow frictionless movement after The Queue reached France.

twitter is so funny if you want a laugh look for #thequeue

they cant let it go on forever theres no facilities or enough marshalls to keep everyone safe

Hi - each person is given a wristband to put on, and this is checked at 5-6 points afterwards

One colour in regular queue, one for accessible

When I was there a young couple were turned away at the scanners because they did not have wristbands ie must have come into the area from outside (probably working somewhere in the Whitehall complex). They said they ‘had not been given’ wristbands but security said this was impossible and (rightly IMO) turned them away

The wristbands are checked at several points on the closed route - getting on & off Lambeth Bridge, entering Victoria gardens (the snakes), at a gate there etc - so it would be hard not to realise! Stops people eg jumping over a wall to sneak into the queue

😂😂😂😂

But actually one of my friends did ask why HMQ did not lie in state for a full 2 weeks so everyone could come … a bit hard on the family/disruptive I think

2 weeks of disruption I think not it's bad enough as it is. They could have easily had a queue ballot planned but I'm sure they preferred this as a symbolic representation of "the peole's love".

BBC news website reporting: Back in east London, no barriers have been put down yet in Southwark Park, and stewards continue to advise people to join the queue, but the sign has changed to say the waiting time is 14 hours and the queue will be temporarily paused.

Ah I see they have got a third "lane" on the left of the TV picture now for the MP/VIP's to go in behind everyone in the main queues.

Thank you @Blueberrycreampie. I had misunderstood the purpose of the wristbands!

I am heading down from York later on today as one of the volunteer groups looking after The Queue. Wish me luck!

I have done it. I have lived to tell the tale of 'the queue'. I joined last night at Southwark Park. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. So many people crammed into zig zag I think I joined at one of the worst times to join, but due to train travel times I had to join the when I did. Unfortunately a lot of people must have been in the same situation (not able to get a train in any later but the evening before they stopped running).

From stat to finish the whole thing took 12hr. Keep in Mind I joined when the estimated wait times were 9hrs.

It seems like the best time to join is about 6am. This morning at 6am the end of the queue was at London bride

There's something very nice about watching the live feed - watched it with DD for about 15 minutes after she'd woken from her nap. It's perfect viewing for a tired mind.

If there'd been tickets you can be sure it would have been abused - people selling them on for £££.

I'm in a bad place health wise right now and you're right it is strangely addictive viewing. I personally like that the queue is full of so many different people, they all have their own story. They are wearing different clothes etc. It makes me feel part of the country to be able to watch even though I cannot be there