Her Majesty the Queen has always had a huge influence in my life; and we’ve always had photos of her up at home. My dad was in the army and in 1987 when we were living in Berlin, the Queen visited - my sister presented her with a shield from the Brownies. When my mum asked her how she felt when she gave it to the queen she replied “I was quite nervous because I’d never met a queen before”! In 1991 the Queen took the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and after it was over, my Riding for the Disabled group lined up on our ponies for the Queen’s walkabout. We had a very long wait and I remember feeling sad afterwards that she had talked to Angel my pony but not to me, but it was still an incredible experience to see her that close! I was also a Brownie and a Guide and part of the promise to serve the Queen was very important.
In September this year, we were captivated by the coverage of the Queen. Watching the crowds going to her Lying-in-State the first evening in London, my mum and I felt we just had to go! (We went to the Queen Mother’s in 2002 and had a wonderful day).
We have help on the farm on Fridays so at teatime on Thursday we went into action, packing rucksacks and checking trains. I downloaded the Passenger Assistance app and it was very easy to book help at the stations via a quick form. We set off at 8.15am the next morning and Chichester Station were brilliant with ramps for my wheelchair on the train. It was 3 years since we’d been to London so the fields and Arundel Castle looked extra beautiful in the morning sun.
When the train stopped at East Croydon, we noticed another wheelchair user waiting to get on the train and when they joined us, it turned out to be Rhea with her mum Purabi; this was a great surprise as I follow Rhea’s art Facebook page – Perfectly Imperfect Prints. They had already been up to London earlier in the week so were able to give us a few tips about where to get the taxi and locations of Changing Places toilets!
It was easy to get a ramped black taxi ride from Victoria to the Tate Britain where we found the “Accessible Queue”. Rather dauntingly, it went right back around the whole block, including a loop round the gallery car park and back through the garden.
Once we had got through the main queue, we headed for the gallery Changing Places toilet which we were so relieved to find after the long wait. Frustratingly, we couldn’t work out how the hoist was supposed to move as the buttons had been taped over! After nearly 5 hours and trying to get past the fact they wanted us to come back the next day at 10am, we were able to cross the road to the Palace of Westminster where the queue completely disappeared! Just outside the gates we bumped into the Archbishop of Canterbury! He was very friendly and pleased to hear we had come and said “Well Done!” We then continued through to the security tent which was very calm and the policemen were kind and helpful, allowing us to keep everything in our bags. Next we were directed through a smooth, ramped route to Westminster Hall and in through a side door.
It was incredible to actually be there after seeing it on television and such a long wait! We arrived just as the guards were marching out and we heard the banging of the stick to mark the changeover. The Hall was silent apart from their footsteps. I noticed the guard at the top of the steps was standing as still as a statue. The crown, orb and sceptre on top of the coffin were so sparkly and as we waited in line it was wonderful to see how much brighter everything looked for real, especially the uniforms; it was as if they had been coloured in with brand new felt tip pens! We had an unhurried walk past the catafalque and once we had passed it, I kept wanting to turn around to look again but I was aware that I must not run anyone over in my wheelchair! I had one final look before we went back out into the sunshine. I couldn’t believe we had done it and been part of history.
Big Ben shone brightly and as we were looking up at it, a kind volunteer asked if we would like her to take a photo of us. We then walked along the edge of St James’s Park with all the Commonwealth flags flying, and looked across at Horse Guard’s Parade. We were very surprised to see some pelicans sunning themselves by the lake! When we went on to The Mall, the giant Union Jacks looked stunning with the autumn trees. We were swept along with the crowds of people – at times it was a bit scary as my mum kept going ahead of me and I couldn’t see her. At one point my wheelchair got stuck on a cable cover across the road and I had to call for a policeman to help me! Suddenly there was a buzz in the atmosphere with everyone stopping to see the King’s helicopter flying over us. We met a lovely family who had seen us in the queue and were so pleased to hear we had managed to get into the Hall. We were directed past the courtyard of St James’s Palace (where the Proclamation of King Charles III had taken place) on our way to try to find the flowers. Unfortunately when we arrived at Green Park there were steps and two more wheelchairs unable to get in. At this point we decided we should get a taxi to the station before we got too exhausted. Back at Victoria we found that the Changing Places toilet was out of order so that was very annoying! While we waited for our train we recognised John Berkow and had a very interesting conversation – he was very encouraging about all my work and was pleased to hear about Gillian Keegan MP’s visit to Wheely Wonders last year.
We arrived home almost 12 hours after setting off and felt so proud that we had achieved something we will always remember.
Lizzie Baily 2022
In September this year, we were captivated by the coverage of the Queen. Watching the crowds going to her Lying-in-State the first evening in London, my mum and I felt we just had to go! (We went to the Queen Mother’s in 2002 and had a wonderful day).
We have help on the farm on Fridays so at teatime on Thursday we went into action, packing rucksacks and checking trains. I downloaded the Passenger Assistance app and it was very easy to book help at the stations via a quick form. We set off at 8.15am the next morning and Chichester Station were brilliant with ramps for my wheelchair on the train. It was 3 years since we’d been to London so the fields and Arundel Castle looked extra beautiful in the morning sun.
When the train stopped at East Croydon, we noticed another wheelchair user waiting to get on the train and when they joined us, it turned out to be Rhea with her mum Purabi; this was a great surprise as I follow Rhea’s art Facebook page – Perfectly Imperfect Prints. They had already been up to London earlier in the week so were able to give us a few tips about where to get the taxi and locations of Changing Places toilets!
It was easy to get a ramped black taxi ride from Victoria to the Tate Britain where we found the “Accessible Queue”. Rather dauntingly, it went right back around the whole block, including a loop round the gallery car park and back through the garden.
Once we had got through the main queue, we headed for the gallery Changing Places toilet which we were so relieved to find after the long wait. Frustratingly, we couldn’t work out how the hoist was supposed to move as the buttons had been taped over! After nearly 5 hours and trying to get past the fact they wanted us to come back the next day at 10am, we were able to cross the road to the Palace of Westminster where the queue completely disappeared! Just outside the gates we bumped into the Archbishop of Canterbury! He was very friendly and pleased to hear we had come and said “Well Done!” We then continued through to the security tent which was very calm and the policemen were kind and helpful, allowing us to keep everything in our bags. Next we were directed through a smooth, ramped route to Westminster Hall and in through a side door.
It was incredible to actually be there after seeing it on television and such a long wait! We arrived just as the guards were marching out and we heard the banging of the stick to mark the changeover. The Hall was silent apart from their footsteps. I noticed the guard at the top of the steps was standing as still as a statue. The crown, orb and sceptre on top of the coffin were so sparkly and as we waited in line it was wonderful to see how much brighter everything looked for real, especially the uniforms; it was as if they had been coloured in with brand new felt tip pens! We had an unhurried walk past the catafalque and once we had passed it, I kept wanting to turn around to look again but I was aware that I must not run anyone over in my wheelchair! I had one final look before we went back out into the sunshine. I couldn’t believe we had done it and been part of history.
Big Ben shone brightly and as we were looking up at it, a kind volunteer asked if we would like her to take a photo of us. We then walked along the edge of St James’s Park with all the Commonwealth flags flying, and looked across at Horse Guard’s Parade. We were very surprised to see some pelicans sunning themselves by the lake! When we went on to The Mall, the giant Union Jacks looked stunning with the autumn trees. We were swept along with the crowds of people – at times it was a bit scary as my mum kept going ahead of me and I couldn’t see her. At one point my wheelchair got stuck on a cable cover across the road and I had to call for a policeman to help me! Suddenly there was a buzz in the atmosphere with everyone stopping to see the King’s helicopter flying over us. We met a lovely family who had seen us in the queue and were so pleased to hear we had managed to get into the Hall. We were directed past the courtyard of St James’s Palace (where the Proclamation of King Charles III had taken place) on our way to try to find the flowers. Unfortunately when we arrived at Green Park there were steps and two more wheelchairs unable to get in. At this point we decided we should get a taxi to the station before we got too exhausted. Back at Victoria we found that the Changing Places toilet was out of order so that was very annoying! While we waited for our train we recognised John Berkow and had a very interesting conversation – he was very encouraging about all my work and was pleased to hear about Gillian Keegan MP’s visit to Wheely Wonders last year.
We arrived home almost 12 hours after setting off and felt so proud that we had achieved something we will always remember.
Lizzie Baily 2022
