Media

This week is Open House week in London. As I have some time away from work I thought I’d book onto a few viewings during the week. Which is why at around Noon I found myself outside Peter Jones department store in Sloane Square.

The store is now part of the John Lewis partnership but, after it’s acquisition, was mainly run by John Spedan Lewis (John Lewis’ son) who was responsible for the partnership ethos that still exists in the chain today. We got a very extensive tour of the outside of the building and a walk around the shop floor which had been refurbished in around 2004. It’s interesting to be told how the old buildings came together to form the large store we see today. It’s definitely a mix of architectural styles.

Today, the Queen’s coffin made it’s way to the lying in state inside Westminster Hall. The Palace of Westminster opened to the public at 5pm. After I left the Open House I wandered down towards the procession route but I could not get near it: in particular the area around Parliament Square was very busy and closed off behind some hoardings. So, I took a wander to contemplate what was happening and see the crowds gathering. There is already a substantial media presence. I think most of the main UK news teams will be based on the plot of land near the Palace but there’s a lot of international media opposite Parliament: I guess if your camera can’t get a shot of Buckingham Palace then Westminster Palace is not only where the lying-in-state is taking place but it’s also an image closely associated with Britain.

Even though Westminster Hall did not open to the public until several hours after I’d walked past, there was already a big queue that the media reported as being an hour or so wait. By the time I returned from my Tai Chi class this evening it was running to four or five hours. We did think about joining the queue, as we had done for The Queen Mother in 2002, but decided against a long wait through a weeknight. We will see how the queue changes over the next few days.