GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

When the attendant at Kennedy tagged my luggage with LHR (London Heathrow) I was excited, and while the plane flew over the pond I kept track of its progress on the map. Soon I would be eating English sausages and drinking English ale in a comfortable chair in my favorite pub! Then I would sit on upholstered cushions in the tube on my way to Kensington Gardens where I would stroll among the trees and flowers. London is so civilized!

I first came to London in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. I spent the night in a sleeping bag in front of Buckingham Palace. People from every country in the world were my companions. At midnight newspapers announced the successful ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Then Kings and Queens in carriages rode by in the morning sun followed by presidents and prime ministers. Trumpets announced the Queen’s entourage. Her guards were mounted on proud black horses; their hoofs clicking on the pavement. The guards were dressed in red and gold and carried swords. A roar from the crowd announced the Queen and there she was riding in a golden coach! She was smiling and waving at me! I waved back.

Today is the Queen’s eightieth birthday. I won’t have time to see her. I am in London on a mission: to find a gallery for my new paintings.