TAFF - pg 28 At the palace I learned from one of the Bobbies the times & locations of events coming up & then chose my vantage point accordingly. As time drew near, the crowd increased & we found that we had the best spot. There were not too many American tourists about, due no doubt to the fact that it was just a bit early in the year for them. I did see a man & his wife from New York who had troubles figuring out their new camera equipment & we swapped information for awhile. Then, about 5 minutes before the Guards came marching up the street two busses stopped & disgorged a horde of tourists, mostly German & Japanese. The ceremony lasted about an hour or so & the wind was rather strong & cool, leaving me feeling quite chilly and determined to buy a sweater before the morning was over. I wanted to go to Westminster Abbey & was looking at a map, since Michael wasn't too sure where it was (in fact this was the first time he'd ever seen the Changing of the Guard) when a gentleman walked up and asked if he could help me. I was a bit wary of another tout, but on talking a few minutes with him learned he was a machine tool salesman. He gave me his card: H. G. Harding. I asked him if he'd ever heard of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. "Our biggest competitor", he replied. I said I was from the Cincinnati area and one thing led to another until he said his car was just around the corner & he'd be glad to drop me off anywhere I wanted to go. I said I wanted to buy a sweater & then go to Westminster Abbey. So, Michael & I went with him & he took me to the Army-Navy Store, which was a rather large department store & then pointed out the way to Westminster Abbey. Nice chap. I bought a sleeveless sweater, which I immediately wore out of the store, with my receipt safely in hand in case I was thought to be a shoplifter. The nylon zipper jacket simply was not heavy enough for this cool weather. It was handy to stuff the pockets with extra film, lens hoods, exposure meter, guide maps, etc. I wore this a lot on my trip, along with the white waterproof cap. Apperently there are no such caps available in England. People would openly stare at me, my camera gear & clothing when I rode busses, subways, or trains. I'd have two cameras and a lens slung about my neck and another lens on my belt. This immediately placed me in the tourist class. I'd heard that Londoners were like New Yorkers; nothing could startle them, but this didn't hold true in my case. Michael & I walked down towards Westminster Abbey and it being near noon, I said it was time to eat. We picked a likely looking restaurant & either the help was french or some other nationality as we had trouble being understood when we gave our order. Follow- ing lunch, then, we had only a couple of blocks to go to our dest- ination when I saw a crowd gathered down the street. Figuring some- thing was up I got ready to snap photos of whatever it might be. There was a murmur in the crowd and an official car pulled out from the driveway alongside the Abbey and I shot away and asked questions later. Turned out to be the Queen Mother returning from the Munday Ceremony which is traditional each Easter time. She was represent- ing the Queen, who is supposed to give money, I take it, to 6 paupers. The photo came out just fair. It's good of the limousine, but unless you know who's in the back, you'd never be able to tell.