A post from guest blogger, Dinesh Kaulgud (@DineshKaulgud), about seeing the queen, a parrot, and an apparition . . . seems like a pretty full day in Leeds.
“The Queen will be arriving in Leeds. Wow! What an occasion?” said Anna.
I had just walked into the office and dropped my jacket on the hanger when I overheard Anna and Julie talk about the Queen’s visit to Leeds.
“It says here that she will do a walkabout in Briggate. We should go. How about you Dinesh? Will you go to see the Queen?” asked Julie.
I was silent as I processed the question. I’m not particularly fond of the Royal family. My wife, Vaishali, on the other hand is a big fan. I remembered Prince William’s wedding last year. We were in Cornwall on holiday and had spent half a day in the youth hostel sat in front of the TV because Vaishali wanted to watch the Royal wedding. It was a complete waste of time. The only saving grace was watching Pippa as she sashayed in her white gown.
So you can guess that I’m not a big Royal fan. However I was not in the good books with Vaishali because I had misplaced our GPS system and an umbrella. If I could now get some decent snaps of the Queen then Vaishali would be pleased. Yes, even though I was not a fan, it was good opportunity to earn some brownie points.
“Yes, I think I will go to Briggate. Maybe get a good photograph of the Queen,” I said as switched on my computer.
“You need to be there by 11am to get a good place,” said Julie.
I nodded my head. Inwardly I wondered – Who goes that early?
I had no plans to go that early.
It was a dull start to the day. But as the day progressed and the sun peeked out of the clouds my mood brightened. By the time it was 11:15am, the sun was on full blast and I was positively perky. I quickly gobbled up my soggy home made sandwich and headed out towards Briggate. The only sign that something special was happening was the sight of a few Bobbies standing at various vantage points in the city centre.
As I wandered out from the station, I could see a few people walking towards me waving the Union jack. On closer inspection I found they were Chinese students. I continued on and could see a white structure plonked in the middle of Briggate with crowds surrounding the structure. There was a flag on the ground and I picked it up. It would help in building my Queen watching mood. I walked briskly and found the whole place was jammed with people. Shucks I should have come early. People here are really crazy about the Queen. I took a few bylanes and went through County Arcade and through the glass doors. I craned my neck over the mass of people to look for the Queen.
“She is very tiny!” shouted one of the onlookers as he too craned his neck and stood on his toes to look for the Queen. I could hear a band playing; some kids singing and cheering crowds. I took out my smartphone and pointed it in the general direction that everyone was looking at and clicked a few photographs.
After 5 minutes of standing up on my toes, craning my neck and clicking my cameraphone, I got bored and walked back into County arcade.
Beep . . . Beep
It was a text message from Vaishali. “Dont forget to get the vitamins from the health store.” I replied “OK” and headed to the health store in the city market.
I walked into the shop and gasped. There was a man in the shop with a huge bird on his shoulder. It looked like a parrot or was it a cockatoo? Anyway it was a large bird. And it looked hungry. Everyone once in a while the man turned and whispered something to the bird and the bird either nodded its head or shook its head. Obviously the bird would not succumb to impulse purchasing. It was a very discerning parrot.
I just stood there totally zapped with the scene. Finally the man completed his consultation with the bird, made his purchase (he brought red peanuts) and walked out of the shop. After some general unnecessary browsing, I too completed my purchase and it was time to go back into the office and finish my work for the day. Watching the bird in the store had been a much more enjoyable part of my lunch time walkabout as compared to seeing the Queen.
It was as I walked back towards my office that I saw an apparition on Wellington street. I’m calling her an apparition because she looked so beautiful that she seemed unreal. I watched her transfixed – long legs, knee length black skirt, red shirt, short cropped hair and a superb figure. I watched as she shimmered down the road. Cool, relaxed, confident. If she was a bird then she would have been a swan. Elegant and graceful.
But I was appalled as I watched her pull out her iPhone and begin texting as she walked. That is dangerous. That is foolish as well.
She continued walking on the pavement as she texted away merrily. I stood there at the signal watching her – What is the world coming to? Can’t people stop using their smartphones while walking on the road. Someone could get hurt.
I quickly pulled out my phone to take a picture. I snapped a few pictures as she crossed the road. Utter madness. People nowadays cannot let go of their phones for even a minute. Earlier it was a matter of talking on the phone as they walked on the road. If that was dangerous, now they are completely engrossed in reading or updating their facebook status as they walk. Even more dangerous!
I watched as she walked towards City square and disappeared from my sight. Foolish behaviour. Such stupidity.
I waited for the signal to turn green so I could cross the road. I looked at my cell phone to study the pictures of the foolish but fanciable girl. Someone passed me as they crossed the road. The signal was green. I looked at the next picture, Yes, this one was much better. I should upload it to my facebook page. People need to be aware of the dangers of using smartphones while crossing the road.
HOOOOONK. HOOONK.
I jumped up with fear. A car was just inches from hitting me. I was shaking with fright and dropped everything into the busy street.
I bent to pick up the phone and my Union Jack and looked up to find the driver angrily gesticulating at me. My heart was beating a million beats a minute.
“Hey you bloody wanker! Who do you think you are, the King of England?” shouted the driver as he sped away.