Jam Sandwiches and Queueing

This morning started early.  There appeared to be some sort of kerfuffle down on the street and all the words were flying about.  I think someone looked at someone else funny.  I was able to go back to sleep after that and was later told it was about 2 am that happened.

This morning's outing was to King's College Chapel for Nine Lessons and Carols.

This is THE service which the Beeb broadcasts live.  The service is at 3 pm so we made sure we were in the line for a ticket with plenty of time.  7am we arrived to queue.  And we weren't the first.  How it works is you queue outside the gates to be given a ticket for entry.  When I say ticket I mean an information sheet.  They then open the gates and let you in at about 7.30.  Once in, you queue until the service begins.  They have a set number of sheets they give out and then they close the doors and no one else comes in.

The queue outside

So we queued.  It was quite a multicultural queue.  There were people from Virginia, Colorado, Cambridge and, of course, New Zealand.  There was even an Aussie guy with his Wallabies scarf. We were all happy and having a jolly nice time until about 11.30 when the heavens opened.  There was hardly any shelter to be had but we did manage to find a space under an archway but too late, I did get a bit wet.  Luckily it dried up and we rejoined the queue.

We were let in at about 1.30 pm after the sniffer dogs had been through.  Service started at 3 pm and had all the usual carols Once in Royal David's City, God rest you, merry gentlemen, O come all ye faithful and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.  The choir sang a mix of carols I  knew quite well and some commissioned specifically for King's choir over the years.

The queue inside

The choristers arrive

So that was today.  Most of it spent in a queue.  Started off in the dark and concluded in the dark though with a gorgeous full moon once we cam out of the service at 4.45 pm.  Jam sandwiches were had for lunch made with the jam I had souvenired off the plane.

It rained

Artistic shot from inside the chapel

Jam